The Great Mouse Detective 720p - (1986 Lang: English)

A Glorious Movie With An Unusually Developed Cast!

This is, by far, one of the most underappreciated Disney classics of all, and one of the most developed as far as the character and the story. Basil is a perfect portrayal of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, and many don't know that it was based off a book about a mouse who lived the life of his idol, none other than Sherlock Holmes.

Personally, I love this movie because it has a colorful, developed cast of characters.

Basil is not your average Disney hero, having no love interest at any point in the movie; he is also a super-intelligent character and often bursts into fits of scientific observation. His facial expressions are timed well and are very well done, as well as his general movement. He is very excitable and you can tell he adores working on cases. He doesn't really like children, as you can see from the way he treats Olivia in the beginning. You really get a feel for Basil when watching him, and he's not easy to forget. Kids may not understand half of the things he's saying, but it's fun to watch.

Olivia is the little heroine mouse who starts Basil on his case, losing her father to a mysterious peg-legged bat of whom Basil is aware of. She is extremely plain-drawn and has no emphasis on her gender really, save for the bow in her hair and her voice, making her very realistic. She also acts alot like a realistic little girl, in her laugh, in the way she reacts to things, even in the way she exclaims "father!" when reunited with her toymaker father. Her curiosity is classic, and she has a high adoration for Basil, though he doesn't appreciate her at the start of the story.

Dawson is the elder mouse who finds Olivia looking for Basil of Baker Street. He isn't sure of who Basil is, but they end up finding him together. Dawson is, of course, Watson in mouse form, and helps Basil in his first case, being this movie.

Ratigan is the villain played by the late horror film star Vincent Price, and quite well in my opinion. He has the likeness of Mr. Price in the way he moves and acts. Of course, nothing is weirder than hearing him sing, but it happens twice in the movie-- "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" and "Goodbye, So Soon" were both written specifically for Price. He is not one of the more frightening villains as far as his looks, and is unique in that up until the climax he uses his intelligence to battle Basil, instead of the strength he obviously posesses. On a special note, Ratigan dislikes being called a rat for some reason, though I cannot remember why.

Fidget is probably one of the darkest villain henchmen in a Disney movie. He is frightening to children in appearance and voice, and the music accompanying him adds a comical aura. Fidget is by far my favorite Disney henchman, just because he's funny. The one thing that bothers me, though, is that a few times in the movie, his peg leg switches from right to left. I think it was just for the reuniting scene in which Olivia steps on his only foot, so it was switched.

The movie has many fast-paced scenes, including "Investigation At The Toy Shop" and "Big Ben Chase", among others. My personal favorite is "Big Ben Chase," because it is one of the longest Disney climaxes and it is a very unlikely setting. The movie itself is about Olivia's toymaker father being kidnapped by Fidget, and her turning to Basil for help. Basil's nemesis, Ratigan, is linked to the bat, and Basil, who was reluctant and annoyed by Olivia's protest at first, jumps at the oppertunity to see if he can finally defeat Ratigan. The movie goes from there with its "many twists and turns", to quote Basil.

If you want a fun-filled, unpredictable adventure, The Great Mouse Detective is your best bet. Especially if you're a Sherlockian or Eve Titus fan who has yet to see this exiciting portrayal of Basil of Baker Street.

The Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 American animated mystery comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 26th Disney animated feature film, the film was directed by Burny Mattinson, David Michener, and the team of John Musker and Ron Clements, who later directed Disney's hit films The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The film was also known as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective for its 1992 theatrical re-release and Basil the Great Mouse Detective in some countries. The main characters are all mice and rats living in Victorian London.

Based on the children's book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, it draws heavily on the tradition of Sherlock Holmes with a heroic mouse who consciously emulates the detective; Titus named the main character after actor Basil Rathbone, who is best remembered for playing Holmes in film (and whose voice, sampled from a 1966 reading of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League" was the voice of Holmes in this film, 19 years after his death). Sherlock Holmes also mentions "Basil" as one of his aliases in the Arthur Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of Black Peter".

The Great Mouse Detective was released to theaters on July 2, 1986 to positive reviews and financial success, in sharp contrast to the box office under-performance of Disney's previous animated feature film The Black Cauldron (1985). As such, the new senior management of the company were convinced that their animation department was still a viable enterprise and this set the stage for the Disney Renaissance.

In London, circa 1897, a young mouse named Olivia Flaversham is celebrating her birthday with her toymaker father, Hiram. Suddenly, a bat with a crippled wing and peg leg bursts into the Flaversham's workshop, kidnapping Hiram. Olivia searches to find the famed Great Mouse Detective named Basil of Baker Street, but gets lost. A surgeon named Dr. David Q. Dawson, who is returning from a lengthy service of the Mouse Queen's 66th Regiment in Afghanistan, stumbles upon Olivia, and escorts Olivia to Basil's residence. Upon their arrival at his residence, Basil is initially indifferent, but when Olivia mentions the peg-legged bat that kidnapped her father, Basil realizes that Olivia saw Fidget, a henchman of Professor Ratigan, a villain Basil has been trying to arrest for years. It is then revealed that Professor Ratigan kidnapped Hiram to create a clockwork robot which mimics the Queen of the Mice so Ratigan can rule England. Hiram initially refuses to participate in the scheme, but gives in when Ratigan threatens to harm Olivia. Ratigan then announces his plans to kill the Queen and become "supreme ruler of all mousedom" to his henchmen.

Meanwhile, as Basil is deducing the case, Fidget appears through the window, scaring Olivia. They give chase as Basil finds Fidget's footprints, declaring that they purse him in order to find Hiram. Basil, along with Dawson and Olivia, takes Toby, Sherlock Holmes's pet Basset Hound, to track Fidget's scent, where they locate him in a toyshop stealing clockwork mechanisms and toy soldiers' uniforms. Fidget then ambushes Olivia from inside a toy cradle and kidnaps her. Basil and Dawson pursue Fidget, but become entangled and fall behind. While searching the shop, Dawson discovers Fidget's checklist, to which Basil does some chemical tests to discover the list came from a riverfront near the Thames. Basil and Dawson disguise themselves as sailors and go into a tavern called the "Rat Trap" and follow Fidget to Ratigan's headquarters. They are caught, and Ratigan has his hooligans tie them to a spring-loaded mousetrap connected with a Rube Goldberg machine laid out to kill them both. Ratigan sets out for Buckingham Palace, where Fidget and Ratigan's accomplices kidnap the queen. Basil, along with Dawson, deduces the trap's weakness and escape just in time, shortly after Dawson helps Basil out of a state of self-pity that he allowed himself into, thanks to Ratigan.

At Buckingham Palace, Ratigan forces Hiram to operate the toy Queen, while the real Queen is taken to be fed to Felicia, Ratigan's pet cat. The toy Queen declares Ratigan the ruler of all Mousedom, and he announces his tyrannical plans for his new "subjects". Just then, Basil, Dawson, and Olivia save Hiram and the real Queen, and apprehend Fidget (along with Ratigan's other henchmen). Basil seizes control of the mechanical queen, making it denounce Ratigan as a fraud and tyrant while breaking it into pieces. The crowd, enraged by Ratigan's treason, start climbing on him and defeating his guards. Ratigan frees himself and escapes on his dirigible with Fidget, holding Olivia hostage. Basil, Dawson, and Hiram create their own craft with a matchbox and some small helium-filled balloons, held together by the Union Jack. Ratigan tosses Fidget overboard to lighten the load, and then attempts to drive the dirigible himself. Basil jumps onto the dirigible to confront Ratigan, causing him to crash straight into the Big Ben clocktower.

Inside the clocktower, Basil manages to get Ratigan's cape stuck on some gears and rescues Olivia and safely delivers her to Hiram. Ratigan, however breaks free and attacks Basil, eventually knocking him to the dirigible, until the clock bell strikes 10:00 and the sound of the bell sends Ratigan falling to his death, taking Basil with him. However, Basil manages to grab the wreckage of Ratigan's dirigible and save himself from falling just in time. Back at Baker Street, Basil and Dawson recount their adventures, as well as the queen's gratitude for saving her life. Afterwards, the Flavershams leave to catch their train. Just as Dawson is about to leave, a distraught new client solicits Basil's help, with Basil noting that Dawson is his trusted associate, prompting Dawson to remain and assist Basil.

The Great Mouse Detective is one of my favorite Disney films of all time, it's also one of the most under rated in my opinion. I think just because I love the story so much and it always brought up good memories, this was the funniest Disney animated movie I had seen at the time. It's just such a cute film, it has fun animation, catchy songs, and such a touching story that anyone could easily fall in love with. My parents and I watched this movie together all the time when I was a child, still to this day, I don't mind sitting down to watch it, it's just that much fun.

A young little mouse girl and her toy shop father are celebrating her birthday, but her father is quickly taken away by a rotten gang of mice who are led by a giant rat, Ratigan, who is planning to over throw the queen and become leader of the mouse world. Olivia, the daughter, goes to Basil of Baker Street, he's a mad detective who has been chasing Ratigan for a long time. Along with the help of an average mouse, Dr. Dawson, Olivia, and Basil go after Ratigan to make sure that his plan fails.

The Great Mouse Detective is such a cute film. I'm very sure that you'll enjoy it, it's one of my personal favorites, I really do think this is one of the better Disney films and is an under rated treasure. I just loved Basil, his madness was just so funny and enjoyable to watch. I also loved Ratigan's song of why he is so great, not to mention how he thinks he's a mouse is just priceless. This is a fun family film to watch, I highly recommend it.

A very cute Disney movie, one of my favorites!