I recall this being released, but I had missed out on it back then; consequently, I'd been looking forward to catching up with it ever since in view of the subject matter and the distinctive vocal involvement of horror icon Vincent Price in the role of the fiendish Professor Rattigan (it's ironic, then, that when I finally watched it, his voice was dubbed in Italian!). Anyway, while it was generally engaging and mercifully involved only a handful of songs, I was somewhat let down by it: being only 74 minutes long, the plot was too slight and obvious to generate the requisite suspense (still, the way it integrated the kidnapping of a toymaker with Rattigan's intended takeover of the British monarchy was cleverly done).
While the classic Disney animation style is seldom in evidence (the visuals being flat overall when they should have been stylized), the studio's penchant for anthropomorphized characters is well up to par. Basil and Dr. Dawson are close enough, at least, to Hollywood's typical conception of Conan Doyle's creations (with the sleuthing rodent using logical ingenuity when cornered by his arch-nemesis and even adopting eccentric disguise during his investigation). However, much of the proceedings are stolen by Basil's amiable hound and Rattigan's absent-minded bat; the climax involving Big Ben, then, proves to be satisfactorily exciting.
While the classic Disney animation style is seldom in evidence (the visuals being flat overall when they should have been stylized), the studio's penchant for anthropomorphized characters is well up to par. Basil and Dr. Dawson are close enough, at least, to Hollywood's typical conception of Conan Doyle's creations (with the sleuthing rodent using logical ingenuity when cornered by his arch-nemesis and even adopting eccentric disguise during his investigation). However, much of the proceedings are stolen by Basil's amiable hound and Rattigan's absent-minded bat; the climax involving Big Ben, then, proves to be satisfactorily exciting.