The Great Mouse Detective
The Great Mouse Detective (released as Basil the Great Mouse Detective in some countries and as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective for its 1992 American re-release) is a 1986 American animated mystery adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the children's book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone, and was written and directed by John Musker, Dave Michener, Ron Clements, and Burny Mattinson in their feature directorial debuts. Featuring the voices of Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin, Susanne Pollatschek, Candy Candido, Diana Chesney, Eve Brenner, and Alan Young, the film's plot follows Basil of Baker Street, a mouse detective who undertakes to help the young mouse Olivia find and save her father from the criminal mastermind and Basil's sworn enemy, Professor Ratigan.
The Great Mouse Detective
- John Musker
- Dave Michener
- Ron Clements
- Burny Mattinson
- Pete Young
- Vance Gerry
- Steve Hulett
- Ron Clements
- John Musker
- Bruce M. Morris
- Matthew O'Callaghan
- Burny Mattinson
- Dave Michener
- Melvin Shaw
Burny Mattinson
- Vincent Price
- Barrie Ingham
- Val Bettin
- Susanne Pollatschek
- Candy Candido
- Diana Chesney
- Eve Brenner
- Alan Young
- Roy M. Brewer Jr.
- James Melton
- July 2, 1986
74 minutes
United States
English
$14 million[1]
$38.7 million[1]
The Great Mouse Detective draws heavily on the tradition of Sherlock Holmes with a heroic mouse who consciously emulates the detective. Titus named the main character after actor Basil Rathbone, who is best remembered for playing Holmes in film (and whose voice, sampled from a 1966 reading of "The Red-Headed League"[2] was the voice of Holmes in this film, 19 years after his death). Sherlock Holmes also mentions "Basil" as one of his aliases in the Arthur Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of Black Peter".
The Great Mouse Detective was released to theaters on July 2, 1986, to positive reviews from critics and financial success, in sharp contrast to the box office underperformance of Disney's previous animated feature film, The Black Cauldron (1985). The film's timely success has been credited with keeping Walt Disney Animation a going concern after the previous film's failure by renewing upper management's confidence in the department, thus setting the stage for the Disney Renaissance when feature animated films would become the corporation's most lucrative and prestigious product.[3]
Plot
In London in June 1897, a young mouse named Olivia Flaversham is celebrating her birthday with her single father, toymaker Mr. Flaversham. Suddenly, a bat with a crippled wing and a peg leg bursts into the toyshop, kidnapping Flaversham. Olivia leaves to find Basil of Baker Street, the famous Great Mouse Detective, but gets lost. David Q. Dawson, a retired army surgeon mouse newly returned from Afghanistan, meets Olivia and escorts her to Basil's residence. Being busy already, Basil initially dismisses them. Olivia then mentions the bat that abducted her father, and Basil realizes that Olivia saw Fidget, the assistant of Professor Ratigan, the criminal mastermind whom Basil was working to catch. It is then revealed that Ratigan kidnapped Flaversham to create a clockwork robot replica of the Queen of the Mice, so that Ratigan can usurp her place as "Supreme Ruler of all Mousedom". Flaversham initially refuses to participate in the scheme, but capitulates when Ratigan threatens to harm Olivia.
Meanwhile, Fidget appears in Basil's window, then suddenly disappears. Basil, Dawson and Olivia take Toby, Sherlock Holmes' pet Basset Hound, to trail Fidget's scent. They trace Fidget to a human-sized toyshop; while searching the area, Dawson finds Fidget's checklist, and Basil discovers Fidget has been stealing clockwork mechanisms and toy soldiers' uniforms.
Fidget ambushes and kidnaps Olivia before Basil and Dawson can stop him. Basil does some chemical tests to the checklist, discovering it came from the "Rat Trap", a tavern near the junction of the sewer and the Thames. Basil and Dawson disguise themselves as sailors and head to the tavern; they spot Fidget there, and follow him to Ratigan's headquarters, only to be ambushed by Ratigan and his henchmen. Ratigan has the pair tied to a spring-loaded mousetrap connected to a Rube Goldberg machine of various killing devices. Ratigan then sets out for Buckingham Palace, where his henchmen hijack the royal guards' roles and kidnap the Mouse Queen. Inspired by a remark Dawson made, Basil deduces the trap's weakness, freeing himself, Dawson and Olivia.
At Buckingham Palace, Ratigan forces Flaversham to operate the toy Queen, while the real one is taken to be fed to Felicia, Ratigan's pet cat. The toy Queen declares Ratigan the ruler of all Mousedom, and he announces his dictatorial plans for his new "subjects". After Basil, Dawson, and Olivia save Flaversham and the real Queen, they restrain Fidget and Ratigan's other henchmen, while Toby chases Felicia until she jumps over a wall, inadvertently into a pack of Royal Guard Dogs. Basil seizes control of the mechanical queen, making it denounce Ratigan as a fraud while breaking it into pieces. Realizing Ratigan's treason, the enraged crowd attacks, but Ratigan escapes on his dirigible with Fidget, holding Olivia hostage.
Basil, Dawson, and Flaversham create an airship from a matchbox, balloons, and a Union Jack, and set off in pursuit. Ratigan tosses Fidget overboard to lighten the load; however, Basil jumps onto the dirigible to confront Ratigan, causing it to crash straight into Big Ben's clockface. Inside the clocktower, Basil restrains Ratigan, rescues Olivia, and safely delivers her to Flaversham. Ratigan breaks free and attacks Basil; however, when the clock strikes 10:00, the vibrations cause Ratigan to fall to his death. He attempts to take Basil with him, but Basil grabs a part of Ratigan's dirigible and saves himself.
Back at Baker Street, the group recounts their adventures. The Flavershams depart for home, and Dawson reluctantly resolves to leave as well. A new client arrives, and Basil introduces Dawson to her as his friend and investigative partner, prompting Dawson to remain and assist in Basil's future cases.
The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Reception
Critical reaction
On their syndicated television show, At the Movies, the film received a "two thumbs up" rating from critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. In his print review for The Chicago Tribune, Siskel enthusiastically praised the film as the most "truly memorable animated feature in 25 years" that "travels a wide emotional range, taking us from cuddly to scary, from recognition to wonder."[31] Likewise, in his print review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert gave the film three stars out of four in which he praised the film's animation and compared the film to that of Disney's golden age. He summarized that "the result is a movie like The Great Mouse Detective, which looks more fully animated than anything in some 30 years."[27]
London's Time Out magazine wrote, "As usual with film noir [...] it is the villain who steals the heart and one is rooting for in the breathtaking showdown high up in the cogs and ratchets of Big Ben."[32] Nina Darnton of The New York Times applauded that "[t]he heroes are appealing, the villains have that special Disney flair – humorous blackguards who really enjoy being evil – and the script is witty and not overly sentimental."[33] Johanna Steinmetz, also from The Chicago Tribune, graded the film three-and-a-half stars (out of four) writing "This movie is cute, cute, cute, but it's a higher grade of cute than The Rescuers (1977) and The Fox and the Hound (1981). The key to good Disney animation is character and facial expression, and Detective abounds in both."[34] Alex Stewart reviewed The Great Mouse Detective for White Dwarf #83, and stated that "After their dismal fudge of The Black Cauldron, it's good to see the Disney studios taking a step, however cautious, towards the world of animation as it is today. The style is looser and more vigorous, and, in a climactic fight inside Big Ben, effectively amalgamates computer-drawn clockwork with hand-drawn characters."[35]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 77% approval rating with an average rating of 7.1/10 based on 26 reviews. The website's consensus states that "The Great Mouse Detective may not rank with Disney's classics, but it's an amiable, entertaining picture with some stylishly dark visuals."[36] Metacritic gave the film a score of 73 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37]
Animation critic Charles Solomon listed this as one of the best animated films of the 1980s while singling out Keane's key work on Ratigan.[38]
Box-office
The film grossed around $50 million worldwide against a budget of over $14 million during its initial release.[39] Its inexpensive success after its predecessor's under-performance gave the new management of Disney confidence in the viability of their animation department, though it was surpassed at the box office by An American Tail.[40][41] Re-titled as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective, the film was re-released theatrically on February 14, 1992, where it grossed $13,288,756.[42] The Great Mouse Detective has had a lifetime North American gross of $38.7 million across its original release and reissue.[43]
Legacy
Basil and Professor Ratigan were characters to meet-and-greet at the Disney Parks, until both were retired after 2004.
In the television series Darkwing Duck, a little statue of Basil opened the secret passage to Darkwing's hidden base. Some of the characters from the film have recurring cameo appearances in the television series House of Mouse.
Professor Ratigan is one of the villains with a main focus in the anthology film Once Upon a Halloween. He is also one of the villains present in the board game Disney Villainous.[44]
Basil of Baker Street appears as a playable character in the video game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode.[45]
Like every other Walt Disney Animation Studios character, Basil, Ratigan, Dawson, and Olivia have cameo appearances in the short film Once Upon a Studio.[46]
Additionally, in honor of Mickey Mouse's 75th anniversary, was planned a film under the title The Search for Mickey Mouse in which Mickey gets kidnapped by unknown forces, forcing Minnie Mouse to enlist Basil of Baker Street to investigate his disappearance. However, the project was cancelled after it suffered script problems.[47]