The Great Mouse Detective

Rating:
Summary: Great, great great.
Review: Okay, I have the black diamond release of this movie, which I got for 2 reasons, first of all it was made the year was born (1986) and second, because it was Disney. This movie was actually a test, which Disney hid very well. The clock scene, which is computer animated (primitivly) was a test along with another movie for the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast. But besides that, it is a funny cute movie indead! I highly recomend it! It is a take off of the book "Basil of Baker Street" and "Sherlock Holmes". Funny, touching...wonderful. Not the absolute best I've ever seen from Disney, but certinly up there...somewhat. Enjoy it, no matter what the age!

Rating:
Summary: The great Mouse Detective.
Review: Since I have The Great Mouse Detective on all formats, VHS, Lazer and DVD you have got to know that this is a GREAT Disney Movie. Its witty and well animated.Folowers of Sherlock Holmes will find this spoof of Conan Doyle great fun. I recomend this to children of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Best Disney movie
Review: Such a great film! The music and the characters are great. The climatic ending always chokes me up. Easiliy my favorite Disney film.

Rating:
Summary: I've finally bought it on DVD!
Review: That's right all you fans of Disney and of this movie, the long awaited DVD of this movie has finally arrived and ready for you to own it.

This 1986 Cult Disney Classic is about a Detective Mouse named " Basil" with new assistant " Dawson" who must find out what clever scheme that his foe " Ratigan" ( voice of Vincient Price) is up to and must reveal the secret of what he is planning to do with London.

a Brilliant and unique animated feature full of incredible animation and it first uses early CGI for some scenes, this is a movie worth owning for Disney and Animation lovers cause on Repeated viewings it never bores you.

The DVD is fantastic, it's got good features like two Cartoons, Behind the Scenes footage, Scrapbook, and the Picture is absolutely perfect without no single Dirt or Grain to appear and the Sound is phenomenal, this is a must own Disney DVD.

Rating:
Summary: A great Disney DVD to own
Review: The Great Mouse Detective has a great storyline and good flow, even though it's one of the lesser known Disney animated movies.

The DVD has plenty of bonus material that makes it a worthwhile upgrade from the VHS. The sound and picture quality are good as well.

Rating:
Summary: A definite treat for the Baker Street Irregulars.
Review: The Great Mouse Detective is an excellent film, particularly for fans of Sherlock Holmes. It's a delight to watch how the most famous resident of Baker Street transfers into an animated mouse and still maintain the brilliance and eccentricity of his character. Though Basil of Baker Street is, indeed, a character in himself (from Eve Titus's books), he is a mirror image of the detective who lives upstairs--and toned down for children. Any Sherlockian (or Holmesian) will clearly note that Basil, unlike Sherlock, has no weakness for cocaine injections. Of course he doesn't, it's a Disney film. :)

I was first introduced to the world of Holmes with this film when I was a child, and the Basil of Baker Street books were at the top of my list for a long time. It's an excellent way to introduce children to Sherlock Holmes while still keeping it "pure" for the young'uns. It's a shame that The Great Mouse Detective is so underappreciated and unknown--It's an obscure Disney film that deserves more recognition than it receives. Children may not enjoy it as much as the adults--particularly Holmes fans--do, because it doesn't have the wacky characters and showy production numbers that the modern Disney films have (and if you ask me, it's only going downhill from there).

I recommend this film to the Baker Street Irregulars who want to get in touch with their inner child. :)

Rating:
Summary: Vincent Price - What A Motivating Meany he Can Be!
Review: THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE is one of the Disney animated films that is underrated and not scene or talked about it a lot. The animation and settings are superb. The music is brilliant and the characters very real - for being animated that is.

First off, Mr. Henry Mancini (Pink Panther and the Elephant Walk fame) is the films composer of note. The main theme for Basil (Our Great Mouse Detective) and the subsequent enhancements made by the 'dangerous' moments in the play make this score a fantastically orchestrated one.

The story is a little unique in that Basil and his sidekick Dawson (hence Holmes and Watson like) are searching for the abducted father of our little heroin (age 8) Olivia. The plans get complicated as the bad guy; Professor Ratigan tried to take over the mouse world with one evil plan against the mouse queen. Not only is the day saved, but I think the kids will learn a lot about respect, being brave, being honest and what friendship is all about. Nice moral play in this film. You even get inside the famous Big Ben itself.

Now the supreme evil character is voiced by the one and only Vincent Price. Need I say more?

The DVD extras on this one very good as well and surprisingly entertaining. To keep in the clock themes, there are two 'time' related shorts that are pretty funny and the behind the scenes documentary are very good as well. There is even a sing-a-long for the kids. This is a delightful edition to the Disney and animated collection of any family. 8-20-02

Rating:
Summary: I love it! I love it! I love it!
Review: The story and characters are marvelous. I fell in love with Basil at first sight! I'm so sorry I missed out on it at the theaters---the scene inside Big Ben, with that marvelous computer animation, is never to be forgotten!

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Disney film not to be missed!
Review: The year is 1897 in London. Young mouse Olivia Flaversham (Susanne Pollatschek) lives happily with her father Hiram Flaversham (Alan Young) who is a toymaker. But when her father is kidnapped, Olivia intends to get him back. Aided by Doctor David Q. Dawson (Van Bettin), they go to find the renowned, legendary detective, Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham). At first Basil is reluctant to help her but when he discovers that his evil arch-nemesis, Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price) is behind Flaversham's kidnapping, Basil decides to investigate. As they follow clues and use 'elementary thinking', the mice try to outwit the evil Ratigan if they are to save all of mousedom!

An incredibly charming movie, Disney gives us a fun and entertaining film for all ages. When I was very young, I was an avid watcher of ALL Disney animation films. But I remember that besides "Robin Hood", "Lion King", and "Aladdin", "The Great Mouse Detective" was my most favorite! I used to watch over and over. Unfortunately, over the years I strayed away from watching the old Disney classics until just the other day when I was rearranging my videos. I came across "The Great Mouse Detective" and I remembering how much I loved it, decided to watch it. And my, it's amazing how well I remembered it! I was able to say all the lines and sing all the songs while still totally enjoying myself!

My point in saying all of this is that the old Disney classics are... well... classics gems! Nothing objectionable for parents to be aware of for their kids, just some romping good fun. "The Great Mouse Detective" has it all; mystery, humor, a great setting (London), action, and suspense. And I can't forget to mention about the colorful characters, each and everyone incredibly likable. My favorite characters are Basil (of course, he's the hero!) and Fidget (Candy Candido, who has done the voices of characters in Disney movies "Sleeping Beauty", "Peter Pan", and "Robin Hood"). And I must mention that Vincent Price doing the voice of Professor Ratigan is a must see. I have always been a fan of his, listening to some of the old radio shows (example, "The Saint"), seeing some of movies, even watching him guest star on the old tv show "The Man from UNCLE". Just watching this movie for the chance to hear Vincent Price is worth it all.

And the music is also well-done by Henry Mancini and there are some fun songs:

"The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" (Vincent Price) - A rousingly funny song, I love the part where Ratigan begins strumming his harp!
"Let Me Be Good To You" (Melissa Manchester) - When this chorus mouse starts off this song, you're at first not sure what's going on. But after a while, I'm sure you too will begin kicking your feet up to the beat!
"Goodbye So Soon" (Vincent Price) - Great song, can't help but sing along each time though at this point in the movie, things are looking dire for Basil and his friends.

I can certainly recommend this movie for both kids and adults. Enjoy! Here are a few interesting trivia I found:

*~*Shortly before his death, he said that one of his most favorite roles was the voice of Professor Ratigan in the Disney feature "The Great Mouse Detective", especially since two original songs had been written for him.
*~*Basil of Baker Street and Dr. David Q. Dawson are named after Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson together in several films. Also, in the film, we actually see the shadow of the 'real' Sherlock Holmes, and the voice is actually done by Basil Rathbone.
*~*The clock tower scene is the first major use of computer animation (the clock's gears) in a feature-length animated film.
*~*Impressed with Alan Young's performance of a near-authentic Scottish accent for the voice of Hiram Flaversham, studio brass cast him as the voice of the Scottish-accented Scrooge McDuck in a series of Disney film and television projects. He became the official voice of the tightwad duck.
*~*During the recording of Vincent Price's lines, animators sketched his exaggerated Shakespearean gestures and worked them into the animated poses for Ratigan.

Rating:
Summary: A must for any Sherlock Holmes Fan
Review: This animated feature is indispensable to any who considers himself a Sherlock Holmes fan. There are so many details that you will love, going from Basil Rathbone's cameo to Toby the dog. (The dog is actually depicted in Conan Doyles's "The Sign of Four", and the description fits perfectly.)

I think this is a great movie, in my case I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and I think this is the best way my four year old son and my two year daughter can get to know the "Great Detective".