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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
246 .......................... 282
__________________________
October 9th
—— 1986 ——
THE
GREAT
MOUSE
DETECTIVE
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.26
REWATCH
London's crime-fighting ace
on his most baffling case!
Somewhere in the midst of the 00s, Disney seemed to slowly crumble in quality, thereby leaving cracks in their otherwise legendary legacy, while laying out way too many crumbs behind them to be able to pull off one complete and perfect production after another into the endlessness of eternity... When examined under the looking glass, the studio had already begun to show slightly more crooked curves than sharp edges earlier on, which might make some loose a little interest or appear less invested as a viewer. Disney never actually scraped the lowest surface of awfulness, at least not in the 80s, but I was destined to dig deeper into what was dragging them down. A lot of answers came with 'The Black Cauldron', which saw a change in chairmen, production team, studio location as well as animation technology. The studio seemed to be searching for clues on how to continue making movies and this “animated investigation” was less imaginative than earlier works. Thankfully, the phase proved to be nothing but a minor misstep towards the trophy that awaited them, commonly known as, The Disney Renaissance...
Anyways, the films helping with the foundation of this coming period were never that bad to me, personally, despite being dragged down by some. In fact, I rather enjoyed the experimental adventures of pure nostalgia merged with a few new and enthusing ideas, which, thankfully, 'The Great Mouse Detective' is an excellent example of – or at least in my own investigative eyes. But what truly separates the mice from the rats here – or however the saying goes – is the amount of trust in their audience and belief in themselves and their talents, which Disney drives delicately forward with this film. The movie honestly holds one of the best collections of characters ever in an animated film aimed at children - well, at least among the many Disney classics, in my opinion. The best of the bunch is perhaps a strong wording, but I was seriously surprised with the great character development and the depth they all had within them.
At first glance, Basil seems to be just another simple and generic character, but as the movie moves forward, the small details slowly begin to derail the clichés and presents instead a much more fragile character; someone who shows clear motivations, after a deliberatively blurry set-up, and someone who shows some weaknesses despite of acting as the winning personality. Basil is an unlikely hero, who is not forcefully likeable either, nor does he have the usual love interest to make him loose track on the way through his character arc. He is a well-rounded character, who goes through personal phases throughout, which then changes him and his surroundings gradually. All this may make you think that this little mouse might amount to more than merely a great detective, which indeed does mean that you are coming closer to solving this case than before.
The same can be said about the rest of the main characters, who all evolve elegantly and efficiently throughout, while showing a very human side that is easily relatable as well. This is especially true with the nervous right hand mouse, Dr. Dawson, the brave young girl, Olivia, or her sympathetic and caring father, who is also the one who got kidnapped. The villain who kidnapped him, Professor Ratigan, voiced wonderfully by the great Vincent Price, has a superb yet simple set-up, which is beautifully realized with a great introduction piece that points to his huge hunger for power and greatness – something that gradually gains momentum throughout with his many mannerisms and the main focus on his humongous ego and eternal hatred of who he really is on the inside and outside... especially the outside. Anyways, this rat is quite simply rad, even if the side-kick bat is somewhat bad and bland beside him, though never awful and admittedly better than many character-clichés before it.
The actual story is really refreshing, truly riveting and a lot more mature and meaningful than other familiar and family-friendly films. There is a build-up, a middle and an end, which all feel more measured, calculated and clearly made as a mystery with a little bit of Sherlock in mind. The soundtrack is great as well, while the visuals are wonderful and imaginative all the way into a tense and titanic third act finale, which clocks in at a rodent-sized runtime of seventy-four fast-paced minutes of Disney in their (almost) finest hour of the decade.
-
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
246 .......................... 282
__________________________
October 9th
—— 1986 ——
THE
GREAT
MOUSE
DETECTIVE
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.26
REWATCH
London's crime-fighting ace
on his most baffling case!
Somewhere in the midst of the 00s, Disney seemed to slowly crumble in quality, thereby leaving cracks in their otherwise legendary legacy, while laying out way too many crumbs behind them to be able to pull off one complete and perfect production after another into the endlessness of eternity... When examined under the looking glass, the studio had already begun to show slightly more crooked curves than sharp edges earlier on, which might make some loose a little interest or appear less invested as a viewer. Disney never actually scraped the lowest surface of awfulness, at least not in the 80s, but I was destined to dig deeper into what was dragging them down. A lot of answers came with 'The Black Cauldron', which saw a change in chairmen, production team, studio location as well as animation technology. The studio seemed to be searching for clues on how to continue making movies and this “animated investigation” was less imaginative than earlier works. Thankfully, the phase proved to be nothing but a minor misstep towards the trophy that awaited them, commonly known as, The Disney Renaissance...
Anyways, the films helping with the foundation of this coming period were never that bad to me, personally, despite being dragged down by some. In fact, I rather enjoyed the experimental adventures of pure nostalgia merged with a few new and enthusing ideas, which, thankfully, 'The Great Mouse Detective' is an excellent example of – or at least in my own investigative eyes. But what truly separates the mice from the rats here – or however the saying goes – is the amount of trust in their audience and belief in themselves and their talents, which Disney drives delicately forward with this film. The movie honestly holds one of the best collections of characters ever in an animated film aimed at children - well, at least among the many Disney classics, in my opinion. The best of the bunch is perhaps a strong wording, but I was seriously surprised with the great character development and the depth they all had within them.
At first glance, Basil seems to be just another simple and generic character, but as the movie moves forward, the small details slowly begin to derail the clichés and presents instead a much more fragile character; someone who shows clear motivations, after a deliberatively blurry set-up, and someone who shows some weaknesses despite of acting as the winning personality. Basil is an unlikely hero, who is not forcefully likeable either, nor does he have the usual love interest to make him loose track on the way through his character arc. He is a well-rounded character, who goes through personal phases throughout, which then changes him and his surroundings gradually. All this may make you think that this little mouse might amount to more than merely a great detective, which indeed does mean that you are coming closer to solving this case than before.
The same can be said about the rest of the main characters, who all evolve elegantly and efficiently throughout, while showing a very human side that is easily relatable as well. This is especially true with the nervous right hand mouse, Dr. Dawson, the brave young girl, Olivia, or her sympathetic and caring father, who is also the one who got kidnapped. The villain who kidnapped him, Professor Ratigan, voiced wonderfully by the great Vincent Price, has a superb yet simple set-up, which is beautifully realized with a great introduction piece that points to his huge hunger for power and greatness – something that gradually gains momentum throughout with his many mannerisms and the main focus on his humongous ego and eternal hatred of who he really is on the inside and outside... especially the outside. Anyways, this rat is quite simply rad, even if the side-kick bat is somewhat bad and bland beside him, though never awful and admittedly better than many character-clichés before it.
The actual story is really refreshing, truly riveting and a lot more mature and meaningful than other familiar and family-friendly films. There is a build-up, a middle and an end, which all feel more measured, calculated and clearly made as a mystery with a little bit of Sherlock in mind. The soundtrack is great as well, while the visuals are wonderful and imaginative all the way into a tense and titanic third act finale, which clocks in at a rodent-sized runtime of seventy-four fast-paced minutes of Disney in their (almost) finest hour of the decade.
-
__________________________