The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
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A mouse detective must team up with a retired soldier to rescue a young girl's father from a criminal mastermind.
The story
In 1897 London, a young mouse named Olivia Flaversham celebrates her birthday with her father, a gifted toymaker. When a mysterious bat kidnaps him, Olivia seeks the help of the famous Great Mouse Detective, Basil of Baker Street. Basil, initially dismissive, realizes the gravity of the situation when he learns of the kidnapper's identity. He joins forces with David Q. Dawson, a retired army surgeon, to track the villainous Professor Ratigan. The duo must navigate the city's underworld to find the missing toymaker before he is forced to complete a sinister task for the mastermind.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1897 London, a young mouse named Olivia Flaversham is separated from her father, a toymaker, who is kidnapped by a bat serving the criminal mastermind Professor Ratigan. Ratigan intends to force the toymaker to create a clockwork replica of the Queen of the Mice. Olivia seeks help from the renowned detective Basil of Baker Street. Basil joins forces with David Q. Dawson, a retired army surgeon, to track the kidnappers. They discover Ratigan's plot to usurp the Queen's throne. After a series of investigations and a confrontation at Ratigan's headquarters, the heroes are captured. They eventually reach Buckingham Palace, where Ratigan attempts to crown himself. Basil and his allies rescue the Queen and the toymaker. In the final confrontation, Ratigan escapes on a dirigible with Olivia. Basil and his companions pursue him in a makeshift airship. The chase ends in a crash into Big Ben's clocktower. Inside, Basil defeats Ratigan as the clock strikes ten, causing the villain to fall to his death. The film ends with the group reuniting and Dawson choosing to stay as Basil's partner.
- First release year
- 1986
- Runtime (minutes)
- 74
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Musker; Ron Clements; Dave Michener; Burny Mattinson
- Writers
- Pete Young · story; Vance Gerry · story; Steve Hulett · story; Ron Clements · story; John Musker · story; Bruce_M._Morris · story; Matthew O'Callaghan · story; Burny Mattinson · story; Dave Michener · story; Melvin Shaw · story
- Cast and characters
- Vincent Price · Professor Ratigan; Barrie Ingham · Basil; Val Bettin · David Q. Dawson; Susanne Pollatschek · Olivia Flaversham; Candy Candido · Fidget; Diana Chesney · Mrs. Judson; Eve Brenner · the Mouse Queen; Alan Young · Mr. Flaversham
- Genres
- adventure; animation
- Themes
- bravery; friendship
- Tone and mood
- adventure; mystery
- Premise and plot tags
- detective; animal protagonists
- Source material / true-story basis
- Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, credited with revitalizing the animation department at Disney.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 73 · scale: 100 · review count: 13
- Production trivia
- The film's title was changed from 'Basil of Baker Street' to 'The Great Mouse Detective' because the original name was considered 'too English'.; The film was the first Disney production to extensively use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for the clockwork in Big Ben.; The voice of Sherlock Holmes was provided by a recording of actor Basil Rathbone, who died nearly 19 years before the film's release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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