great storyline, fantastic characterisations, scene stealing turn by Vincent Price
Disadvantages:
not widescreen
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
~~~Background~~~
Unknown to many, in 1986 Walt Disney was reeling from a lacklustre box office performance from their last release, The Black Cauldron, and were in serious discussions about the future, or lack of, for their animation department. Stepping into the breach next was a little film called Basil, The Great Mouse Detective, which, like most of the Disney animations, was based upon a book. In this case, the book was Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titis. knowing the name of the book, and the name of the Disney film, no doubt you have a pretty fair idea of the Holmesian heritage of the story that unfolds. Indeed, even the name of the main character is a tribute, being a reference to Basil Rathbone who is most famous for his onscreen portrayals of Sherlock Holmes. The film was a box office and critical success, saving the animation department from further action, and paving the way to what would become a second golden age for Disney's animations, with the Little mermaid and other hits following suit. The film was re-released in theatres again in 1992, again to great success, and then subsequently onto VHS and DVD.
~~~~The Film~~~ It is Victorian London, and in its fog filled streets, there walks a rat of a villain. A Scottish toymaker is in his shop, celebrating the birthday of his little girl. Enter a bat with a crippled wing, who kidnaps the hapless toymaker, leaving his small daughter Olivia to sob in sorrow. Found by Dr. David Q. Dawson, on his way home from service in the Mouse Queen's 66th Regiment in Afghanistan, she is taken to the one and only mouse who can help her...the famed mouse detective, basil who lives on baker Street. At first disinterested, he perks up and realises the game is afoot when he hears mention of the peculiarly crippled bat. it smells of his arch nemesis, a tyrant of a rat known as professor Ratigan, and never a more vile villain crawled along he alleys and sewers of London! Supported by Toby the dog, Basil and Dr. Dawson investigate, uncovering clues and racing to save the toymaker, and in so doing, to defeat the nefarious plans of Ratigan, before he hatches his evil plans for London any farther...
~~~The DVD~~~ This is another basic DVD release by Disney. Priced from about £15, it comes in English only, and in Dolby 5:1, fullscreen. The only proper extra is a making of featurette, which was pretty run of the mill and nothing to shout about. They have also tacked on a few bonus cartoons, but to be honest, they were nothing terribly exciting either, and not very memorable. I would actually have to shovel the DVD in and play it to tell you what they even were! So not that exciting, lol. The colours and sound are crisp and bright, having been remastered before transfer.
~~~My Thoughts~~~
This rather underrated film is one of those that you remember fondly from childhood and revisit excitedly when you see it on the store shelf. Unlike most, this one does not then disappoint. Like The Rescuers, it has a host of famous character voices and features rodents as the main characters who save the day. In this case, most of my kudos go to Vincent Price, who was absolutely delicious in the voicing of the nefarious Professor Ratigan. He quite steals the show in his scenes, and indeed, his song is the only one out of the three in the film that is so catchy as to be memorable.This is a jubilant and exciting romp of an old fashioned Holmes type mystery, and one that does not disappoint. First sharing this DVD with my then three year old daughter, I was pleased to see that not only was it still pleasing to me, but that it completely captivated my small daughter. It remains a firm favourite with the entire family, from 3 year old son to Daddy. who declines me to give his age, but admits to being older them there hills.
~~~What the Children think~~~ My five year old says, "Basil is a very smart mouse with lots of great ideas on how to save Olivia's daddy. he knows he has to stop ratigan and he does. The movie was lots of fun and I want to watch it again."
My three year old son says, "I like it. Can I hear the Ratigan song again, please?"
~~Verdict~~~
This is a nice little film, and with a running time of 71 minutes, one that is not too long for the younger members of the family to sit through. With an engaging storyline and charming characters, it is a real crowd pleaser up there with the best of their releases from the 60's and 70's. Definitely one to rent or buy for your family viewing shelf.
More details
Soundtrack
Good
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Good
Value for Money
Excellent
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
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