Review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) by Andy G — 10 Oct 2007

It pains me that The Great Mouse Detective has received such a terrible DVD release, for it is Disney's most underrated movie; a lot of people haven't even heard of it. I was lucky enough to have a parent that bought every Disney movie available on VHS in the early 90s. Supposedly it's a collector's item now, as it should be since the audio and video are both better than they are on the DVD. Heck, even the box art is a lot better. Anyway, even with the terrible sound and muddy picture, seeing the movie in a packed house at UT's Union theater only solidified its place as my favorite Disney movie of all time.

The movie has several adult elements, among them a burlesque barroom brawl and Olivia's mysterious lack of a mother, but it remains firmly rooted in the family fun (for lack of a better term) that all great Disney movies share. Amusing old school sound effects and a CGI scene within Big Ben that was ahead of its time provide technical treats, while the voice acting is dead on. The adorable Olivia Flaversham (whose father sounds like Uncle Scrooge from DuckTales), the sexy showgirl, Vincent Price as the comically sadistic Professor Ratigan, Barrie Ingham as the awkward sleuth Basil, even the bottomless register of Candy Candido in one of his final roles as the gimpy bat... I don't believe there's a single flaw in the casting. Henry Mancini's score provides my favorite Disney theme of all time as well. Try not to hum along; it's near impossible.

It isn't very often that Disney releases a movie without some sort of love story, but whenever they do think about putting one out, they should look to The Great Mouse Detective as inspiration. An action and humor-packed plot drive the entire movie, making it much more enjoyable than some of Disney's most recent offerings and also, in my opinion, more intriguing than even the studio's finest works. If there is a flaw, it's that it's too short, but what with movies getting longer and longer, all of Disney's animated films (sans Fantasia) feel a lot shorter than they used to.

At the time of its release, The Great Mouse Detective had to go head to head with ex-Disney animator Don Bluth's classic An American Tail, another mouse movie and another one of my all-time faves. And though Fievel definitely made more waves than Basil of Baker Street, there really were two great animated mouse movies released in 1986. If you haven't seen The Great Mouse Detective, then see it. Seeing it at UT, I never expected I'd hear so many college students laugh and cheer at a 20 year old film primarily targeted towards kids. You probably won't like it nearly as much as me, but that's ok, at least know that it's arguably the best Disney movie to come after The Jungle Book and before The Little Mermaid started off the Disney Renaissance. And do everything in your power to avoid the horrendous DVD version and see either an original print or one of the VHS releases.

"Elementary, my dear Dawson.".