It may not have the cachet as some of the other Disney animated movies recently released on Blu-ray, but this only makes rediscovering this entertaining underdog all the more fun. Loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s popular Sherlock Holmes adventures, the movie follows the adventures of Basil of Bakker Street (voiced by Barrie Ingham) as he helps a little mouse named Olivia (Susanne Pollatschek) rescue her toy maker dad from the clutches of the evil Professor Ratigan (a wonderful Vincent Price). The script is fun, particularly in the way it both pays tribute and pokes a wee bit of fun at the Holmes legend, and the acting is strong. The film, the first feature length animated movie to combine hand-drawn images with computer generated ones, looks fabulous, too. The musical numbers are a bit dated, especially the big song performed by Ratigan called "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind," but they’re cheesy fun. The only downside is that the Great Mouse Detective never generated a sequel; not having one is a crime.
No comments:
Post a Comment