I'd heard many great things about "Basil, The Great Mouse Detective." Having never seen it, I looked for it on YouTube and sure enough, I found it. What I got was an entertaining, charming little movie, so quintessentially British, on that fine bridge between the Dark Era of Disney and the Renaissance.
"Great Mouse Detective" is based on a series of children's books by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone, which are heavily inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes". Basil, the titular character, lives in Sherlock's house, for Basil is a mouse. The story starts out with a little mouse named Olivia (Susanne Pollatschek), whose father, renowned toymaker Mr Flaversham (Alan Young), is kidnapped by the evil henchman of Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price). Ratigan is planning to force Mr Flaversham into building a robot replica of the Mouse Queen (the Queen of England in mouse form), so he can fool the people into thinking he is the new ruler of the land. The real Mouse Queen, it is assumed, will be dealt with accordingly. Olivia, desperate to find her father, goes to the great Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham), a charming, cocky little detective who is Ratigan's arch nemesis. Along with his accidental assistant, Dr Dawson (Val Bettin), Basil risks his whiskers in trying to save both Mr Flaversham, and the rodent population of London.
The animation is flowing, the characters very expressive and likable. The protagonist is clever, vindictive and scatterbrained, but with a soft spot. One of the film's best scenes is where Basil believes he has been bested by Ratigan, and you can see how torn he is. It's a very relatable moment, and rather poignant. There is a Bassett Hound named Toby who acts like a regular dog, and is very funny and cute. The real treat however, is Ratigan. It was one of Price's dreams to be in a Disney film, and he is relishing every minute; Ratigan is easily the best character. He is so funny, so twisted, so smarmy. He loves being evil and knows his evilness has no bounds. His expressions are priceless, and it's no surprise he was animated by Glen Keane, who went on to animate the Beast and Marahute, the Golden Eagle from "Rescuers Down Under". The interactions between Ratigan and Basil are very good, and Basil is a very enjoyable character, but it's Ratigan who really steals the show.
The best scene is the riveting climax inside Big Ben, where traditional animation and CGI are married perfectly to create an electrifying finale. "GMD" may not be as Great as Mousedom's greatest detective, but it's charming, good looking, and a lot of fun.
"Great Mouse Detective" is based on a series of children's books by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone, which are heavily inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes". Basil, the titular character, lives in Sherlock's house, for Basil is a mouse. The story starts out with a little mouse named Olivia (Susanne Pollatschek), whose father, renowned toymaker Mr Flaversham (Alan Young), is kidnapped by the evil henchman of Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price). Ratigan is planning to force Mr Flaversham into building a robot replica of the Mouse Queen (the Queen of England in mouse form), so he can fool the people into thinking he is the new ruler of the land. The real Mouse Queen, it is assumed, will be dealt with accordingly. Olivia, desperate to find her father, goes to the great Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham), a charming, cocky little detective who is Ratigan's arch nemesis. Along with his accidental assistant, Dr Dawson (Val Bettin), Basil risks his whiskers in trying to save both Mr Flaversham, and the rodent population of London.
The animation is flowing, the characters very expressive and likable. The protagonist is clever, vindictive and scatterbrained, but with a soft spot. One of the film's best scenes is where Basil believes he has been bested by Ratigan, and you can see how torn he is. It's a very relatable moment, and rather poignant. There is a Bassett Hound named Toby who acts like a regular dog, and is very funny and cute. The real treat however, is Ratigan. It was one of Price's dreams to be in a Disney film, and he is relishing every minute; Ratigan is easily the best character. He is so funny, so twisted, so smarmy. He loves being evil and knows his evilness has no bounds. His expressions are priceless, and it's no surprise he was animated by Glen Keane, who went on to animate the Beast and Marahute, the Golden Eagle from "Rescuers Down Under". The interactions between Ratigan and Basil are very good, and Basil is a very enjoyable character, but it's Ratigan who really steals the show.
The best scene is the riveting climax inside Big Ben, where traditional animation and CGI are married perfectly to create an electrifying finale. "GMD" may not be as Great as Mousedom's greatest detective, but it's charming, good looking, and a lot of fun.