This day is a special one for me. You see, today celebrates the 40th Anniversary of one of my favorite movies in the Disney Animated Canon, Movie #26: The Great Mouse Detective!
It was on this day that the film was released. Set in 1897 London, it was based on the Basil of Baker Street children's books written by the late American author Eve Titus and illustrated by the late Hungarian illustrator Paul Galdone. The film told the tale of the brilliant detective Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham), and his crimefighting compatriot Maj. David Q. Dawson (Val Bettin) as they help find the kidnapped toymaker father of a young mouse girl named Olivia Flaversham (Susanne Pollatchek) from the evil criminal rat known as Ratigan (Vincent Price). The film also uses archival audio of the late Basil Rathbone to give a cameo to Sherlock Holmes.
In the mid-1980s, Walt Disney Animation was in trouble. After the critical and commercial failure of the 1985 film The Black Cauldron, the higher-ups were seriously considering closing down the studio. The decision was further spurred by the company wanting to expand and concentrate on other endeavors, including theme parks and live-action projects. It started out as an alternative project thanks to the animators' displeasure with the direction Cauldron was going in.
The film was originally intended to be budgeted for $24 million and released on Christmas 1987, but Disney CEO Michael Eisner slashed the budget down to $10-14 million (sources differ) and pushed up the release date to July 1986, leaving the production team only one year to complete the movie. Eisner had also called for the film to be renamed The Great Mouse Detective (its original title was Basil of Baker Street) in response to the underperformance of Young Sherlock Holmes, fearing the original title was "too English". The genius of executives, folks.
The rename was not popular with the production crew. Alongside The Black Cauldron, this film was one of the first Disney animated films to use CGI (both films were being made at the same time). It was the first project directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who would both go on to work together on other films, most notably The Little Mermaid.
Despite all of the obstacles, the film was given critical praise and was a box office hit, making around $50 million in the USA and overseas. While it was not the highest-grossing animated film that year (it was outperformed by An American Tail), it did convince Disney their animation studio was still viable, paving the way for the Disney Renaissance.
Sadly, despite its role saving the studio, this film has become rather forgotten. And I think that's a shame. I think personally that it's because it's not what people think of when they think of a Disney animated movie: there's no Princess, it's not based on a fairy tale. It's a detective story. And that's what I love about it. Growing up, it felt like it was a movie a boy could enjoy. As I grew older, I really grew to appreciate the film's story and how it was made. I still love it in my 40s as much as I did as a kid. It's available on Disney+, if you want to view it. You'll have a good time, I guarantee it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! If you like what I write and want to give this blog some additional support, please make a donation to my Ko-fi! See you next time!
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