The Great Mouse Detective

1986 Disney cartoon

Rating: 14/20 (Abbey: 20/20)

Plot: Directly beneath Sherlock Holmes' pad, Basil the Great Mouse Detective resides. A little girl comes to him for assistance following the kidnapping of her toymaker father, Hiram Flaversham. Basil is reluctant to help despite the insistence of Olivia and Dr. Dawson, another mouse she met on the way. However, when he hears that his archenemy Ratigan is behind the scheme, he's ready to jump into the case. With the help of Dr. Dawson, they uncover Ratigan's scheme to overthrow the queen and take over the throne.

Despite the happy-looking Disney animals on the poster there, this one is pretty dark. There's violence and drinking and sexuality and fisticuffs in a shady nightclub. There's also a really good villain (voiced by Vincent Price) with a scary peg-legged sidekick bat. The good guy is actually easy enough to like too; he's got his faults and is not a one-dimensional hero. The film's got nice texture and tones with the animation used to depict the shadiest parts of London's underground. Action, suspense, character depth, mystery! Good Disney animation.

Here I am completely understanding why Disney would make sequels to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Fox and the Hound, and Cinderella but not understanding why Basil doesn't at least get some straight-to-video follow-ups: