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If there’s one Disney film in the entire canon that I’m incredibly familiar with, it’s The Great Mouse Detective. I can’t even imagine how many times I’ve watched this film throughout my life. Without a doubt, this is my undisputed favorite Disney film. I admit, it’s an odd choice. It’s not a film from one of the cherished areas, but there’s something about its lower key that just appeals to me.
Perhaps it’s that this isn’t a film about the titanic clashing of good and evil, typically played out with a bland princess heroine and a more likable villain, but the clashing of two towering egomaniacs. It borrows this from the Sherlock Holmes stories so clearly indebted to its DNA. I never read the book series this film was based upon, Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, so, for me, this has always been a Disney-centric spin on Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty. And as that, The Great Mouse Detective works brilliantly.
I said while discussing The Rescuers that Disney always does well when they put the focus on mice-related stories. Watching Basil, a tiny mouse with the same occupation, eccentricities, and lifestyle as Holmes, whose floorboards he lives under, investigate a hidden conspiracy by Ratigan to overthrow the queen and rule all of the mouse kingdom is thrilling. Basil is a flawed, mercurial hero, one who prides himself on his intelligence and wit, prone to temper tantrums when things don’t go his way, but noble underneath it all. Barrie Ingham’s vocal work is stellar, perfectly capturing the academic and histrionic sides of the character.
His foil, Ratigan, is bursting with drollery and personality. If Disney’s films are only as successful as the villains they produce, then The Great Mouse Detective deserves higher praise for Ratigan. His emotional undercurrents are dark and obsessive, his yearning for upward mobility and power masks a deep shame and hatred of his identity as a rat. Vincent Price’s vocal performance, the realization of a life-long dream and allegedly one of his all-time favorite roles, is the kind of over-the-top, campy delight that makes for the best of villains. Price attacks the role of Ratigan as if he’s been handed one of the juiciest Shakespearean roles.
As these two egos circle each other, this film finds the culmination of their career-long fascinating and hatred with each other. Long have these two wanted to take the other down, partially because they stand on opposite sides of justice, but mostly because they want to be considered the most brilliant mind and the satisfaction of out-thinking and out-performing the other. What keeps The Great Mouse Detective running, and what makes it so fun to watch again and again, is this clash of engaging hero and villain. Finally, there’s a film in the Disney canon in which they are on equal footing as each other, and while Ratigan maybe more charismatic and grand, Basil is sneakier and unafraid to play dirty.
Since this was released in the Bronze Era, that’s not to say that the film is without its problems. The backgrounds and atmospherics of the film are stellar, and, truly, this is a grimy and dirty London, standing in stark contrast to the theme park pristine quality of Peter Pan. Things look dirty, dank, and dark, at times, too dark. It’s well-known that Disney gives plenty of love and attention to the films it considers the crown jewels, and gives the tiniest bit to those it considers lower in the canon. This is not a film with a sterling reputation, despite its modest success after the colossal failure of The Black Cauldron being the first step towards the Renaissance. Watching it on DVD, one can clearly see specks and artifacts, colors that appear too dark, and a general lack of care taken with the print. I demand justice for The Great Mouse Detective.
Perhaps if this film were more prone to the bombast and rafters-shaking musicals they would treat it better. A more cerebral film, I return to this film for many of the same reasons I did as a child. First, I just really love Sherlock Holmes and Disney, so the two together are magnificent. Second, there’s a lovable and fun assortment of supporting players, from the precocious Olivia to the pitiful and frightening Fidget, there’s a very strong ensemble at work here. Third, because Basil and Ratigan are my two absolute favorite characters from the Disney canon, and I will defend them as undervalued and unheralded. I always wondered why they never spun this off as a franchise. The potential for one was right in front of them all along.
