The first half of the 80s was not a great time for Disney, as their films were barely financial hits and they were even threatening to close down their animation facility. It wouldn't be until the new generation of artists at the studio gave us their second film, The Great Mouse Detective, based on the Basil of Baker Street book series. While it was beaten out by An American Tail the same year, it did well with critics and earned enough money to save Disney from bankruptcy, so at least we would get Roger Rabbit, The Disney Renaissance and more down the road. But how does this film hold up?The main story centers in Victorian London, England, where a little mouse named Olivia Flaversham has her toymaker father abducted by a peglegged bat. Along with Major David Q. Dawson, she seeks the aid of Basil of Baker Street, basically Sherlock Holmes as a mouse. The case expands as Basil uncovers the crime's link to a plot against the British crown from the notorious Professor Ratigan. Pretty simple concept, yet the movie finds a way to make it fun, interesting, and even heartwarming at times. For one, the characters are absolutely delightful, whether it be the arrogant yet quick witted, intelligent and bold Basil, to the kind hearted albeit absent minded Dawson, to the innocent and cute Olivia, to even the villain Ratigan.Speaking of Ratigan, he is one of my favorite Disney villains, especially with Vincent Price lending his voice and mannerisms to the character. Ratigan is a villain who may seem cunning and cheery at first, but it's clear that he is hiding his inner demons, and it's not until the end when he finally lets it out. If there's one thing I adore about a villain, it's one who adores being evil and just embraces it all. Granted, his sidekick Fidget is kind of annoying and rather pathetic, but whenever Basil is around Ratigan, that's when his hatred for Basil shines through and it creates such a maniacal albeit witty presence that's always delightful to watch.The animation for this film was actually made in a year to reduce costs along with the aid of computers, and needless to say, it looks great. Not only does it feature the same lovable character designs one would expect from a Disney film, but the character animation is upbeat visual eye candy, the gritty backgrounds of London really fit the setting, the effects are fun to watch, and the usage of CGI (specifically the clock tower cogs) is barely even noticeable it's that well made. The music score and villain songs done by Henry Mancini, Ellen Fitzhugh and Larry Grossman are fun to listen to, deliciously sinister, fast and suspenseful when needed, and even subtly emotional when need be. Although one song written and perfumed by Melissa Manchester is.....well, let's just say it almost got this movie a PG rating....yeah.So overall, The Great Mouse Detective is not only a massive improvement over The Black Cauldron (which came out a year earlier mind you), but it's simply a delightful, upbeat and often suspenseful feature filled with lovable characters, high stakes, solid fast paced animation, hearty laughs, a chipper soundtrack, and overall, a fun adventure. It's a shame this movie isn't as talked about as other Disney films, because this is a movie worth checking out whether you're a fan of Disney, animation, or even the book series that this was based on. Fievel may have taken their glory, but who's to say this film can't be adored either?

In this movie, that most people have not seen, we are shown the great sophistication and creativity of the Disney studios. First of all, we are taken to a wonderful subculture, the world of rodents in the city of London. A young female mouse loses her father, a toy maker, and is left alone. She goes to the Sherlock Holmes of mice to get help. In the process, she is introduced to the dark underbelly of this culture, populated with the worst of the worst, including a Moriarty figure, Ratigan. As is the case with most Disney animated villains, his hiring practices leave something to be desired as he surrounds himself with useless ding dongs. This has an intricate plot and is quite captivating. A real plus is Ratigan, who is voiced by the inimitable Vincent Price.

The animation for this particular Disney outing, in my opinion, is a bit sub-par. In fact I do recall the film getting less than stellar reviews for that very aspect.In fact the animation was so sub-par (for a Disney film at least) that I had a hard time concentrating on the story. As a comparison, Dumbo, the two Rescuers films, and even the Aristcats are visually interesting with very dynamic characters. But this film is fairly difficult to watch because of a lack of artistry on the part of the Disney studios. It quite literally looks like Don Bluth was hired with a skeleton cast to make this production come off the ground.I like the fact that our main character is named after the quintessential actor who played the famous Sleuth of 221 B-Baker street, and the Sherlock Holmes parallels, but the production values for this Disney offering are not up to what we expect from the worlds most famous, well respected, and beloved animation studio.I love Disney films; live action and animation alike. But this particular film falls a little short of my expectations. Even with the then new assistance of computer aided animation to contrive the gears of Big Ben (the Clock Tower), the film still feels dreary and somewhat static.Having made all these criticisms, I can't really say it was a bad film, just not really up to snuff for a Disney production. I think if mister Walter Disney were alive when this film was in production, he might have folded his arms and tapped his foot in impatience with the animation crew working on this film.But that's just my take. If you want Sherlock Holmes on your TV or computer screen, then please rent or buy one of the great British films staring Basil Rathbone as the world's most famous sleuth.I really hate to say this, because I do love Disney films, but I think I would avoid The Great Mouse Detective.

One of the most underrated films from Disney that never got the respect it deserves.The Great Mouse Detective is like Sherlock Holmes but as a mouse, making him the greatest detective of all moused om. It's such a shame that this film doesn't get much star treatment as it deserves because it is such a good film.The story centers around Basil of Baker Street (Voiced by Barrie Ingham) who is hired by Olivia Flaversham (Voiced by Susanne Pollatschek)to help find her father Hiram Flaversham (Voiced by Alan Young) Basil along with Dr.David Q.Dawson (Voiced by Val Bettin) begin the investigation against Professor Ratigan (Voiced by Vincent Price) who is the criminal mind behind the kidnapping of Olivia's father. This film is what I best know Vincent Price for and listening to performance in the film he was the right choice to voiced Professor Ratigan. Barrie Ingham sold the role of Basil very well his performance was like seeing a stage actor during a play he did a very good job as the Greatest Detective of Mousedom. The Great Mouse Detective had a lot going for it and of course it being a Disney animated film you would expect nothing less.Animation for this film is so well done with great background, the fog effect really helps tell the story of the film. And the water effects are very detail as well. Lighting and thunder is very well time.The Characters are very well animated and when you watch the film it feels like you're watching a play like the animators watch each actor during the recording sessions.The voice acting is very well done and the cast helps sold the story with their performances.The music is so well done I love the score that was written for the film it is some of the best work ever in animation. Another reason to watch the film because of the music helps sold the story of the film and can build up the next scene. The setting for each scene is like the classic detective story of Sherlock Holmes and all the famous detectives in fiction.The Great Mouse Detective is one of Disney's most underrated films in their collection of animated films but once you watch the film you will appreciate the story telling and animation along with clever voice acting with strong performances by Barrie and Vincent.The whole family will enjoy this classic film and it's one of my favorites as well.Do yourself a favor and check out this classic film.I give The Great Mouse Detective an 8 out of 10