The Great Mouse Detective

 "Item 96: A heavy tax shall be levied against all parasites and spongers, such as the elderly, the infirm, and especially little children."

When toy maker Hiram Flaversham (Young) is kidnapped, his young daughter Olivia (Pollatschek) doesn't know what to do.  She is found by Dr. David Q. Dawson (Bettin), who is returning to England after a stint in the military.  Together they seek the great mouse detective Basil of Baker Street (Ingham).  Basil is an eccentric detective, who has no problem destroying the property of his landlady, Mrs. Judson (Chesney), to solve a case.

Coincidentally, his case and Olivia's missing father are one and the same.  He is trying to find the notorious criminal Ratigan (Price), who always manages to stay a step ahead.  Ratigan's hunchman Fidget (Candido), a bat with a crippled wing and a peg leg, kidnapped Olivia's father.  With Basil's trusty bloodhoud Toby sniffing out clues, can Basil stop Ratigan's latest crime?

The film was based on the children's series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, which was based on the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Disney winks at the connection by showing shadows of Holmes and Watson (voiced by Basil Rathbone, who portrayed Holmes in numerous films, and Laurie Main).  Physically the characters of Basil and Dawson are based on Holmes and Watson, but filmmakers didn't want the characters to have the personalities of Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (who appeared as Watson opposite Rathbone), making them a mini Holmes and Watson.  They wanted the characters to have their own personalities, that made adults see the connection to Holmes, but didn't shove it down your throat.

While the film is about Basil, it belongs to Ratigan.  Ratigan is voiced by horror icon Vincent Price, who has an incredible, distinctive voice and laugh, dominates the film.  He is the only main character that sings, "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" and "Goodbye, So Soon," and he gets the best lines.  As I was looking for a quote to open the review, all the funny ones belonged to Ratigan.  Yes, he is the villain, but with someone like Price voicing the character, do the good guys really stand a chance at being memorable?

After the failure of The Black Cauldron, Disney wanted a simpler film that could be a success.  The animation department was tasked with bringing the story to live, unlike relying on CGI like The Black Cauldron.  The film was a moderate success and was one of the films that kick-started Disney's renaissance (as seen in Waking Sleeping Beauty).

A solid, entertaining flick (probably not suitable for young children... there are a few scary moments for kids).

You should check out Waking Sleeping Beauty's review of the film.  She is very detailed and has extensive knowledge about the artists and what else was happening when the film was released.

The Great Mouse Detective (1986) 74 minutes
Director: Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener, John Musker
Starring: Barrie Ingham as Basil of Baker Street
Vincent Price as Ratigan
Val Bettin as Dr. David Q. Dawson
Susanne Pollatschek as Olivia Flaversham
Candy Candido as Fidget
Diana Chesney as Mrs. Judson
Alan Young as Hiram Flaversham