Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Chantel Contreras It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Hitchcoc In this movie, that most people have not seen, we are shown the great sophistication and creativity of the Disney studios. First of all, we are taken to a wonderful subculture, the world of rodents in the city of London. A young female mouse loses her father, a toy maker, and is left alone. She goes to the Sherlock Holmes of mice to get help. In the process, she is introduced to the dark underbelly of this culture, populated with the worst of the worst, including a Moriarty figure, Ratigan. As is the case with most Disney animated villains, his hiring practices leave something to be desired as he surrounds himself with useless ding dongs. This has an intricate plot and is quite captivating. A real plus is Ratigan, who is voiced by the inimitable Vincent Price.

MartinHafer "The Great Mouse Detective" was a very important Disney film for two important reasons. First, the studio was in horrible shape in the 1980s and it needed a hit badly...and the film was a considerable improvement in quality of some of the previous films (such as "The Black Cauldron"). Second, it was the first full-length Disney cartoon to have any computer animation and was way ahead of its time.As for the film itself, this is an enjoyable film and should please everyone. However, it's also a bit slight--easier to forget and not one that is what I would consider a must-see. The animation is about that of the Disney TV shows of the time (such as "Duck Tales" and "Gummi Bears") and the characters decent but derivative. Let's face it-- it's essentially Sherlock Holmes in mouse form. Also, the sexy singing mouse scene was unnecessary and a little bit gross (as is Ratigan's sidekick). On the plus size, Vince Price is terrific and the Olivia character quite cute. Worth seeing, of course, but not quite on par with their great films of the next two decades.

Anssi Vartiainen The Great Mouse Detective was a critical film for Disney Studios. The Black Cauldron has bombed spectacularly at the box offices, and the corporation was seriously considering closing down its entire animation department. Either The Great Mouse Detective proved that Disney could still produce some income through its films or the legacy of Disney films would have ended right there.Luckily, it did more than well and allowed the animation studio to stay open, which in turn led directly to the Disney Renaissance a few years later. Since then, it has become something of a forgotten Disney classic. It has its own fans, certainly, but most 90s kids tend to remember the Renaissance films over it, and for a good reason, given their quality. But this movie has a lot of good things going for it as well, and should be appreciated because of them.The greatest thing about the movie is no doubt its energy. It captures the mood of Sherlock Holmes's London perfectly and is overall a bouncing, fast-paced adventure to stop the evil Professor Ratigan - a rodent version of Moriarty, obviously. The film flows flawlessly and even the animation style has an excellent grasp of movement, fluidity and space.The characters are also a lot of fun, from quite honestly nutty Basil of Baker Street to Dr. Dawson to Hiram Flaversham, a genius toymaker utilized for his talents for nefarious purposes. Ratigan is also a great Disney villain, voiced by the great Vincent Price, who gives him a suave yet menacing purr.It's a great movie, all things considered. I wouldn't call one of the best Disney films, it's not quite there, but it's definitely one of the most important films in Disney's cinematic history. Absolutely worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.

ikrani Forget The Lion King, forget Frozen, forget Wreck-It Ralph (well, maybe not FORGET it), THIS is the greatest movie Disney's ever animated.The story is a pretty fun ride from start to finish, the movie taking full advantage of its animated medium to give us scenes in a toy shop with the mice riding on and making use of the toys to chase the villain, and a long ongoing shot in a clocktower that perfectly blends 3D computer animation with 2D hand-drawn animation.At first glance, one might mistakenly assume this is nothing more than a Sherlock Holmes story told with mice. Except it's not. The two main leads may be based on their human counterparts, but they do have their own characters.Basil is this egotistical but still very likable jerk-hero on a quest to match wits once again with his arch-nemesis, Professor Padriac Ratigan II. Basil has the same style as Sherlock Holmes, but the animation medium allows him to be a lot more cooky and funny than Holmes ever could be. He's really the best Disney hero. There have been a fair amount of handsome action heroes or Disney Princesses waiting to find true love. There is only ONE Basil of Baker Street, and his reputation remains untarnished by a lack of forced direct-to-video sequels.But by far the best thing this movie has going for it is Vincent Price as Professor Ratigan. Holy sh*t, this is the best villain that Disney has had. He's this egotistical, conniving, mustache-twirling villain that completely blows James Moriarty out of the water as far as enjoyability goes. He loves how much of a sick, twisted fiend he is so much that it's impossible not to enjoy it along with him.And, to date, he is the only Disney villain who actually gave our competent, highly intelligent hero a run for his money without leading to his own downfall. Yeah, really think about that. Maleficent played opposite to a guy with a sword and was taken down because she was too evil to just finish him off. Ursula's plan was to manipulate her way to the Trident but forgot to account for Prince Eric entering the equation and got stabbed for her efforts. Ratigan lost because even though he calculated every move Basil would make down to the time the Great Mouse Detective would arrive at his secret lair, coupled with the fact that he'd been beating Basil to the punch for years, Basil was able to match him and eventually best him. THAT is what a good villain does: he/she challenges and compliments the hero without compromising themselves as characters.With all that said, this movie isn't flawless. There is one scene that drags a bit where they have a tacked-on music number at a bar, but it doesn't last very long and it's pretty funny to watch after the shock of it wears off. But, despite that, I still call this the best Disney movie to date. It's message of intelligence and wit still holds up, its characters timeless and still very entertaining, its hero great, its villain great, and its villain song one of Disney's best. And THAT is why it's my favorite Disney animated movie.