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As Disney aficionados can tell you, the 1980s were a rough time for the company's animation department. They had a sizable hit in 1977 with "The Rescuers", but Disney just couldn't recapture the magic. The 1981 film "The Fox and the Hound" cost a hefty $12 million, but brought in only $14.2 million domestically, which was not horrible, but not great. Notoriously, the 1985 fantasy epic "The Black Cauldron" lost a bucket of money, made for $44 million (!), and earning only $21.3 million. "The Black Cauldron" was such a bomb, there was some buzz that Disney might shutter their animation department altogether.

At least Disney racked up a modest hit the following year with "The Great Mouse Detective," a $25 million hit from a $14 million budget. That film was a Sherlock Holmes story, but posited that Holmes' apartment was the home of an anthropomorphic mouse named Basil (Barrie Ingham), a clever creature that, in observing Holmes, became a star detective for mice.

In recent years, more animated Disney films have received live-action theatrical remakes, but a few untouched beloved classics might work better as live-action TV shows. The response from critics and audiences to Disney's live-action remakes varies, but with the right filmmaking and creative team behind live-action projects, fan-favorite films getting such a transformation is exciting. So far, many of the remakes don't stray too far from the original plot of their animated inspirations. However, with the TV format, the story of films like The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective can be expanded upon across a limited or multiple-season series.

Live-action TV series also benefit certain movies over others when it comes to films with big casts, such as Meet the Robinsons or Encanto — stretching out a story over multiple episodes allows for more attention toward breakout supporting characters. Additionally, the vast setting of these films can be transformed into breathtaking live-action sets,...

While they may not be as popular as the TV show, Doctor Whos movies are still interesting to watch. Since Doctor Whos first broadcast in 1963, three films from the franchise have also been released, each of which features an iconic villain.

While these titles arent necessarily the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time, they are still appealing to avid watchers of the iconic sci-fi series. They are each a product of their time, but they also offer things that the upcoming Doctor Who season 15 could learn from, too.

Dr. Who And The Daleks (1965) Peter Cushing Takes On The Role Of The Doctor

Dr. Who and the Daleks

Director Gordon FlemyngRelease Date July 1, 1966Writers Milton SubotskyCast Gary Wyler, Virginia Tyler, Ken Garady, Mark Peterson, Bruce Wells, Yvonne Antrobus, Jane Lumb, Jack Waters, Barrie Ingham, Jennie Linden, Sharon Young, Geoffrey Toone, Roy Castle, Michael Coles, Nicholas Head, Martin Grace, Roberta Tovey,...

Melinda Snodgrass wrote a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including the classic "The Measure of a Man." Snodgrass' background as a lawyer helped create compelling stories, like "The Measure of a Man," exploring themes of humanity. Although Snodgrass did not have as many episodes as other writers, her impact on Tng, especially with Data-centric episodes, was significant.

Science fiction author Melinda M. Snodgrass wrote five episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-d, Tng told mostly episodic stories with plotlines spanning only a single episode. Because of this format, many different screenwriters wrote episodes of Tng over the years, and some were more prolific than others. Although Snodgrass did not contribute as many episodes as other writers, only one of her stories failed to translate well on screen.

After the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike,...

Colloquially among Trekkies, the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Up the Long Ladder" is known as "The one with the Space Irish." Or maybe I'm the only one who refers to it that way. Regardless, "Up the Long Ladder" features the Space Irish. In the episode, the U.S.S. Enterprise has to evacuate a colony on the planet Bringloid V, as their sun is experiencing solar flares. Long ago, the Bringloidians adopted an Irish agrarian lifestyle, and they bring along their livestock, hay, and twee Irish accents. The colony's patriarch, Danielo O'Dell (Barrie Ingham), is a caricature Irish drunk, and his daughter Breanna (Rosalyn Landor) is a typically haughty Irish lass. 

It's later revealed that the Bringloidians represent only half of a century-old transport ship, and that the rest of the settlers formed their own colony on a nearby planet. The second colony, called Mariposa, is technologically advanced,...

The live action remakes just keep on coming! Following the massive financial success of Disney’s most recent reboots, the studio is planning on cranking out plenty more over the coming years. According to our sources – the same ones who told us that Black Mask will be gay in Birds of Prey, and that Robert Pattinson will be playing Batman, both of which were later confirmed – one of these projects will reportedly be The Great Mouse Detective. The mice will still be animated, apparently, while everything else will be live action, much like The Lion King and the upcoming planned Chip ‘n’ Dale feature.

For those unfamiliar, this popular cartoon mystery film was released in 1986 to widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Based on the children’s book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, the feature closely emulates Sherlock Holmes and other detective fiction. The main character...

By Tim Greaves

The year is 1962. Aggrieved when Algeria is granted independence by President Charles de Gaulle, the militant underground alliance known as the Organisation Armée Secrète botches an attempt to assassinate him. Within months many of the conspirators, including their top man, have been captured and executed. The remaining Oas leaders, bereft of funds, take refuge in Austria and warily decide to contract an outside professional to do the job for them. They settle on a British assassin (Edward Fox), who chooses to be identified as Jackal. The Oas orchestrate several bank robberies to cover his exorbitant fee of half a million dollars whilst the mechanics of the plotting are left entirely to Jackal's discretion. After capturing and interrogating another alliance member, the French authorities learn of Jackal's existence and, suspecting another attempt on de Gaulle's life may be imminent, they set their best man – Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel (Michel Lonsdale) – on his tail.

James Lomond is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Barry Ingham, a British actor who worked alongside both the small and big screen versions of the First Doctor, has died aged 82 at his home in Florida. Born in Yorkshire, Ingham had an impressive and varied career in stage, television and film working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in musical theatre in both...

The post Barry Ingham 1932-2015 appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Shakespearean actor Barrie Ingham has died at the age of 82.

The British star - who was a leading performer in many West End and Broadway productions - passed away on Friday (January 23) at his home in Palm Beach Gardens.

He was known for providing the voice for main character Basil in Disney's 1986 film The Great Mouse Detective, and appeared in several other films and TV shows.

Ingham co-starred in 16 plays with close friend Dame Judi Dench, while he also performed in 11 roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and had five leading roles on Broadway.

He played a character named Paris in Doctor Who's 1965 episode 'The Myth Makers', and also starred in the movie Dr Who and the Daleks as Alydon in the same year.

The actor had roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Murder, She Wrote, The A-Team and Remington Steele as well.

Barrie Ingham is survived by his wife Tarne,...

Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective re-imagined the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed Sherlock Holmes series as a playful adventure of sleuthing rodents. When a young mouse’s father is kidnapped, Basil of Baker Street, the great mouse detective, is called in to solve the case. Who could the villain be but none other than Professor Ratigan, Professor Moriarty’s pint sized, rat-faced doppleganger.

The Great Mouse Detective may not have the following of more popular Disney movies like Cinderella or Snow White, but it’s delightful adventure doesn’t skip a beat on the Disney magic. What the movie lacks in musical numbers, it more than makes up for with top-notch voice acting. Horror master Vincent Price voices Ratigan. Also, Alan Young, who voiced Scrooge McDuck on Duck Tales, appears as kidnapped father, Hiram Flaversham. You can’t beat that.

The closing scene where Professor Ratigan...

 

Before the advent of Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios was the leader in quality family entertainment. Now that they're both a part of the same company, it's even better. But back then, the Disney Company attempted to differentiate their movies by asking different famous actors to come in and perform their characters in a film. Inspired by Robin Williams' fantastic performance as the Genie in Aladdin, Disney Feature Animation (at the time) decided to get more ambitious with their casting. These are ten actors who were asked to be a part of a film and never got to make it; either due to scheduling conflicts, money issues or even death!

10. Joe Pesci as Mushu in Mulan

In a weird form of typecasting, Academy Award-winner Joe Pesci was originally cast as the little dragon, Mushu. After a few tries at the character, the filmmakers just felt his voice wasn't appropriate...

Disney is re-releasing the 1986 animated feature The Great Mouse Detective on DVD. If you missed it during its original release or its theatrical re-release in 1992, it’s cool. A lot of people did. Under-appreciated and largely forgotten, The Great Mouse Detective wasn’t even the biggest animated mouse movie

of 1986 (Universal’s An American Tail beat Mouse Detective by $22 million that year) though in retrospect, the movie was pivotal to the studio’s animation department coming off of their disastrous feature, The Black Cauldron. The Great Mouse Detective put the studio back on track and helped usher in a new golden age of Disney ‘toons including The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.

The Great Mouse Detective was one of the first animated Disney features to include CGI technology.

Basil of Baker Street (voiced by TV veteran Barrie Ingham) is the world’s greatest mouse detective and lives under the not-so-humble abode of Sherlock Holmes.

This week sees the release of several new movies and TV shows, some for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Of the ones coming out this week, we’re excited for a few of them in particular.

These esteemed examples of entertainment include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Pirate Radio, the debut of Voltron Beast King Golion, the thirteenth season of Dallas, the DVD release of the very funny Defendor and the 15th Anniversary Blu-ray of Apollo 13 (pictured above with Bill Paxton, Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon).

Check them out:

Movies

A Nightmare on Elm Street ~ Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon (Blu-ray)

Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) ~ Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise (Blu-ray)

Creature of Darkness ~ Devon Sawa, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Lawrence (Blu-ray and DVD)

Defendor ~ Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas (DVD)

Final Storm ~ Luke Perry, Lauren Holly...

Recently I asked you who your favorite big screen werewolf was and that got me thinkin’ about some other popular characters portrayed by multiple leading men in the movies. This discussion must always start with the character of agent 007 James Bond, best played by Sean Connery. Other popular Bonds were Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore while Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby aren’t

remembered so fondly for their portrayal of the famous secret agent. Currently carrying the torch and ordering shaken martinis is Daniel Craig who seems to make a lot of people happy; I prefer him on the other side of the law as he was in Layer Cake and Road to Perdition.

Then there’s Dracula, or vampires in general. The list of actors who have played a vampire on film is a long one. So here are a few that come to mind, please remind me of...