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Hayao Miyazaki only wrote and/or directed the first few episodes of Meitantei Holmes ("Famous Detective Holmes," 1981). Little of his vision of a canine detective survives in these later slapstick adventures, which were made three years later by different artists in a Japanese-Italian coproduction. Most of these episodes suffer from a surfeit of pseudo-Victorian gadgets and a lack of real storytelling. In "World Flight Championship," Professor Moriarty steals an advanced plane engine for a race, then attacks the other entrants with elaborate pincers, saws, etc. "The Rosetta Stone," in which a Japanese exchange student helps Holmes and Watson defeat Moriarty with a giant kite, recaptures some of the entertainment of the early installments in the series. The laughs are provided by Moriarty's overworked, underappreciated assistants Todd and Smiley, and the inept Inspector LeStrade and his Keystone Bobbies. (Suggested 7 and older: minor cartoon violence, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
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