i'd hire him any day!

Sometimes movies are forgotten. It's a sad thing to be forgotten too. Just look at Mowava Pryor from The New Mickey Mouse Club. But when Disney forgets you, like they did her, it's one of the saddest things of all. Disney fans and the company alike forget one movie more than the rest-- and it's not The Emporer's New Groove. The Great Mouse Detective had a lot of things going for it, but it was buried in the late 80's by new animated features that you all know and love-- like princess movies and Aladdin. Still, there were good old days when animals had control in movies.

The Great Mouse Detective was an homage to the classic character Sherlock Holmes. You know him, slim detective with the funny hat and pipe, joined by Watson, the chubbier sidekick who wasn't stupid, but couldn't match the intellect of ol' Sherlock. These two would go around solving only the most curious of crimes that Scotland Yard couldn't generally handle. Those are old school books though, and the kids don't know Sherlock. They needed a neo-Sherlock, in mouse form. Enter Basil of Baker Street (the street that Sherlock lived on).

Basil was the mouse that lived in Sherlock's house or basement or something. Sherlock was smart, but not smart enough to get rid of mice, I guess. Basil is top notch. He only takes the highest order of mouse cases. So when Little Olivia comes in with tales about her kidnapped toy-maker father, he has no time for it. Worthy of note, The Great Mouse Detective is a pretty scary movie. The nemesis is a giant rat with claws, a personality that can turn on a dime, and a gang consisting of a scary bat. It's no Labyrinth, but it can have some creepy moments.

Basil only takes on the case when Olivia mentions the kidnapper as a peg-legged bat, Fidget. He knows that Fidget works for his arch-enemy, Professor Ratigan! Ratigan is a giant, royal-looking mouse who is actually a rat. He doesn't like being called a rat though, so don't even try it. He's a criminal mastermind and he kidnapped the toy-maker. Why? Well I'll give it up early, but in this mystery, Basil, and you, have to piece it together. Ratigan plans to have the toy-maker create a giant toy replica of the Queen so he can be made a new government authority. It's a good plan, and it almost works, except for the wily Basil.

The direction is very calm for the majority of the film, but the action sequences have very good visuals to them. The British may have qualms with the mice crashing into Big Ben, but hey, sometimes landmarks get broken in the mouse crime world. You gotta roll with it. The songs in the film are mediocre at best. There are no songs that people are singing on their own after the movie is over, so that's a negative against the film. The only good song is "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind," a Ratigan theme, if you will. Music for it is by legendary composer Henri Mancini.

Now, here's the kicker everybody: The Great Mouse Detective should never be forgotten because it's star, playing the world's greatest criminal mind, Ratigan, is none other than Mr. Spooky himself, Vincent Price. Price is a complete legend, and when you forget the work of a legend, then you let the world fall around you. Nobody likes you either. Vincent Price is the most superb villain in the Disney catalog as Ratigan. He's superb for the same reason that Batman is superb. He's flawed by being confined to reality. He's no Arab magician or half-octopus sea-witch-- he's a rat. Not only that, but he is also flat out psychotic. He ranges from professional and composed to animalistic and savage. He truly is a frightening foe because he's so unpredictable.

The Great Mouse Detective is one Disney classic that you should have in your collection. It's not wussy like The Little Mermaid, it's not preachy like Pocahontas, and it's no CGI like everything in the past six years. The Great Mouse Detective stands on its own as a truly unique take on a classic and an imaginative, but realistic, romp through adventure and emotion. Find it, buy it, love it. The end.