The Great Mouse Detective

Great Mouse Detective is one of the best Disney movies I've seen yet. The animation is that classic Disney style and (thank Goodness) it lacks all of those annoying songs.

As a true Sherlockian, I can only say that this is as good as it gets as far as Holmes goes. No matter what everyone says, It is still great. Kids may not get some parts f it, but every Sherlockian knows what's going on. While Ratigan may be no Moriarty, he's still the perfect example of the classic Disney villain.

Vincent Price is a terrific actor, and Alan Young as Flaversham was the perfect fit. Young Susanne Pollatschek is the perfect Olivia and no one could do a better Basil than Barrie Ingham. Val Bettin makes a lovable Dawson. Fidget is the classic evil crony.

This is absolutely a must see. For all you baby-sitters out there, and I know from personal experience, take this to your next job and the kids won't even blink for over an hour. It's one of the most memorable Disney movies of it's age. Although Beauty and the Beast will always be my favorite, GMD runs an extremely close second!

I give it 11/10! It's that good!

I always say when I write these, I loved this movie, but you may not. So how do you decide if you like it? See it! Form your own opinion! After all, one man's trash and all like that! Hope you find a good one!

Under-appreciated is the best way to describe "The Great Mouse Detective" because you never hear mention of this movie. "Renaissance" this and "Classic Disney" that, but never this one. And it's a shame really, since this is a fun, well put-together flick. There's life to the animation (for a story told from a mouse's level, it's pretty good-looking), it makes good use of early CGI, and I really like the new spin on the subject matter while paying respect to earlier Sherlock Holmes adaptations. This is a real treat; good characters, dastardly plot and an outsized adventure.

7/10

This is probably one of the most unknown Disney classics.

For the time the movie was quite new and revolutionary and it doesn't quite fit in with the other movies Disney made in that period., perhaps that's the reason why it has been forgotten. But "The Great Mouse Detective" deserves to be known and seen.

The characters are real classics and one of the best to have ever appeared in a Disney movie. Actually Professor Ratigan (voiced by the legendary Vincent Price) is quite possibly my favorite movie villain of all time. No wonder that it was Vincent Price's favorite role. His style and humor is priceless and it cracks me up every time. But the other characters are also very memorable. I especially like the character of doctor Dawson.

The story is good and very pleasant and very mature compared to other Disney's from that period. But of course the idea of making a story about the mouse version of Sherlock Holmes alone is already good enough to make a fun movie about.

One of the other things that makes this movie different compared to other Disney's from that period are the songs or better said the lack of it. The movie features only one song (3 if you count the bar song and the goodbye, so soon song.). But it's not a miss. The surprising magnificent musical score by famous composer Henry Mancini make up for this loss.

The movie has a very spectacular final on and in the famous Big Ben. It's by far my favorite Disney movie ending.

Certainly a fun movie to watch over and over again.

10/10

P.S.: If you're Dutch speaking, I highly recommend that you watch this movie Dutch spoken. Believe it or not it's even better and more fun then the English version! Believe me, just give it a shot.

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I enjoy this film for one main thing, besides the attention to detail concerning Victorian England...the performance of Vincent Price as Ratigan in his scenery-chewing glory. Yes, it's another mice-beneath-your-feet story, but it's so well done. Holmesians will enjoy it's inside jokes and references to other works about the famous fictional sleuth.

Fans of "Ducktales" may note that Alan Young, the voice of toymaker Hiram Flaversham, parlayed his near-perfect Scottish accent into being appointed the official voice of Scrooge McDuck.

But it's Vincent Price in what he later called one of his most favorite roles ever (He even had two original songs written for him!) that draws me back to this film again and again. He clearly enjoyed this role, and the exaggerated movements of Ratigan are obviously his.

An oddly gothic cartoon from Disney, and well worth viewing.

¨The great mouse detective¨ also titled ¨The adventure of the great mouse detective ¨ is a Walt Disney cartoon feature based on famous characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adapted of Eve Titus' book titled ¨Basil of Baker Street¨ . This amusing cartoon movie deals with Basil , the rodent Sherlock Holmes who investigates the kidnapping of a toy-maker and uncovers its link to his archenemy , Professor Ratigan . It begins when Hiram Flaversham ( voice by Alan Young) , a master toymaker , is abducted by a peg-legged bat , on his daughter Olivia's birthday . The nefarious Professor Ratingan (voice by Vincent Price) kidnapped him for forcing his victim Flaversham to make some diabolical device . The young mouse has no one to turn to for help , so she strikes out on her own , looking for the greatest detective in all mousedom , Basil of Baker Street ( performed with gusto by Barrie Ingham) . En route , Olivia encounters Dr. David Dawson (voice by Bettin) , a mouse recently gone back from military duty in Afghanistan . They manage to encounter his rooms at 221 1/2 Baker Street in the cellar of a very notorious address , and the mouse himself soon makes his appearance running around the apartment , ignoring his two hosts , in anticipation of bringing his latest case to a successful final with an experiment in ballistics . Nevertheless , the experiment is a flop , and the detective is thrown into a deep depression, still unwilling to help poor Olivia . But Basil is again galvanized into action . The Sherlockian mouse matches wits with the nasty Professor Rattingan . The crime lord Ratigan is planning in the sewers of London nothing less than the demise of the Queen on the day of her ¨Diamond Jubilee¨ and his own ascension to the throne . Later on , Basil , Dr. Dawson and Olivia are submitted a tempestuous trap by Professor Ratingan and are imprisoned .

This fun animation is set in England's mouse population, who lives not so different from ours, in the mouse holes and basements of the British Empire . The funny characters are the following : Basil who is a bundle of energy , he is played in a clever , broody and impetuous manner similarly to Holmes-Basil Rathbone . Good Doctor Dawson/Watson is drawn or played in kindly way , he's the perfect counterpoint to Basil/Holmes . Ratigan , the arch-nemesis , a Doctor Moriaty-alike is the worst criminal in London, a veritable Napoleon of Crime . Furthermore , a sympathetic thug ,an unfortunate peg-legged bat . This agreeable animation movie contains a lively and enjoyable musical score by the great Henry Mancini . The motion picture is well realized by Ron Clemens and John Musker (among others) who subsequently would have several successes such as ¨The little mermaid¨, ¨Aladdin¨ , ¨Hercules¨, ¨Tresure planet ¨, and ¨The princess and the frog¨ . Rating : Good , worthwhile watching and reissued successfully in 1992 .