Basil the Great Mouse Detective

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Although the concept of ‘Sherlock Holmes with Mice’ sounds bizarre on paper, Basil the Great Mouse Detective is actually a really fun mystery with a great villain and some brilliant uses of CGI considering the time in which it was made.

Like many a Disney film before and after, its’ greatest asset is undoubtedly it’s villain, Ratigan – he is a character who just revels in being completely evil, with his swooping cape and Vincent Prices’ fantastic voice acting. Balancing him out is the very likable hero, Basil of Baker Street, who again is just a great character to watch and they play off each other brilliantly.

This sense of fun is also reflected in much of the music, in addition to the over the top story, which involves Rattigan’s plot to replace the Queen with an animatronic counterpart to declare him King.

The best sequence in the film is definitely the climax inside of Big Ben, with an aforementioned revolutionary use of CGI, thrilling music and great action.

This is one of the most underrated Disney films out there, but hopefully more people will come to appreciate it soon.

Ratings

Good guys: Basil makes for a great protagonist and there are some good supporting characters too, so the good guys get 7/10 

Bad guys: Ratigan is one of the most fun villains in the canon, so the bad guys get 9/10

Animation: The clock tower sequence was brilliant for the time in which it was made and the rest of the animation looks nice too, so overall the animation gets 7/10 

Music: There are some fun tunes, so the music gets 6/10

Plot: Although it sounds bizarre on paper, it the story works surprisingly well, so it gets 7/10

Overall Rating: 36/50

Next review: Oliver and Company

   

The Black Cauldron

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.
                                                   
                                                    

When it comes to Disney Animation, this one is a monster of a film to tackle, in spite of it's obscurity. This was the most expensive fantasy film ever made, infamously beaten in the box office by the Care Bears movie, the film that almost killed Animation at Disney, arguably their greatest shame- but is it all that bad? Sort of...

It's a frustrating one to watch, because it had the potential to be good. The dark fantasy genre could have been a great fit for animation and would have allowed Disney to go in a new and exciting direction, but in this case a paper thin plot combined with irritating and/or flat characters results in disappointment. 

It's essentially a tired retread of story done many times before- a young boy named Taran wants to be a warrior and goes on a quest to find the Black Cauldron of the title, before it can be used by the evil Horned King. The way in which the first two books of Lloyd's Alexanders' Chronicles of Prydain series were adapted results in a by the numbers fantasy film which offers no real surprises to it's viewers. 

The film also clearly suffered as a result of it's troubled production, as much of what was supposed to be impressive animation-wise was eventually scaled back and cut during Jeffery Katzenberg's infamous edits, when he became head of Animation several years into the film's production. In spite of this however, there are some nice backgrounds and the Horned King does have a pretty cool character design. 

It doesn't help, however, that none of the characters in the film are particularly interesting, or even likeable for that matter. In a 'journey' film like this, you need to like the protagonists you are spending time with. Unfortunately, in this film we're stuck with a cliche of a lead character, completely forgettable supporting characters and the most irritating 'animal' side character in the canon with...whatever Gurgi is supposed to be. 

The Horned King can be pretty menacing at points, but one decent villain is not enough to save this film. 

Ratings

Good guys: All of the leads are forgettable and Gurgi is very annoying, so the good guys get 2/10 

Bad guys: The Horned King is an ok villain, so the bad guys get 5/10

Animation: There are some nice backgrounds and a cool character design in the Horned King, meaning the animation gets 6/10 

Music: The score is nice in some places and repetitive in others, so the music gets 5/10

Plot: Like I said, it's simply a paint by numbers fantasy film, so the plot gets 4/10

Overall Rating: 22/50

The Fox and the Hound

The Fox and the Hound

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This story of a doomed friendship between a Fox and a Hound was certainly a tonal shift for Disney, being far bleaker than anything that had come before it. The inevitable tragedy of the storyline gives the entire film a surprising gravitas and it is also offset by many sweeter moments earlier on in the more Disney-like beginning, meaning that these two sides generally balance each other out overall. At its core, this is a beautiful and tragic story.

In spite of this, some aspects of the plot don’t quite go as far as they need to towards the end, meaning that it doesn’t pack quite the punch it needs to for the story to function as a whole. 

On another note, there is also a bit of goofy side character filler, which doesn’t link to the plot in any way, but it’s brief enough that it doesn’t become too much of a problem.

Visually, it is also a very pretty film in places, with the animation of the climax being particularly impressive. Having said this, the animation can be a bit inconsistent, switching between harder and softer looks several times, which gets a bit distracting. The music is…tolerable for the most part- the best song by far is ‘The Best of Friends’- the rest of the music is ok, but like most of the songs of this era it’s not exactly Disney’s best work.

The Fox and the Hound is a good movie overall, even if some poor creative and story decisions let it down a little.   

Rating

Good guys: The protagonists are all likeable enough, so the good guys get 5/10

Bad guys: Amos Slade is threatening enough to be…a threat, so the bad guys get 5/10

Animation: Parts of this film are impressive, in spite of some inconsistencies, so the animation gets 7/10

Music: Best of Friends is a nice song and the rest of the music is at least tolerable, so the music gets 5/10

Plot: A beautiful and tragic story in spite of some clunky decisions, the plot gets 8/10

Overall Rating: 30/50

Next review: The Black Cauldron

The Rescuers

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This film is a pretty big departure from what we’ve seen so far, being a non-musical, more adventure-based film with a more serious tone overall. And it does provide a pretty entertaining primary narrative and a fantastic villain in Madame Medusa, although a lot of the music leaves something to be desired.

The Rescuers is a pretty simple story, as you would expect. Two mice are sent to rescue a little girl named Penny from the evil Madame Medusa, who is using her to try and find an elusive diamond.

The film doesn’t come across as too cartoony for a lot of its runtime, which is obviously extremely surprising for a Disney film in general, let alone an animal based one. It is packed with enough sillier moments to be entertaining, but it also has some very good action sequences and these two aspects balance each other out very nicely. Unfortunately, it also starts out with a lot of potential for character development in the journey the two characters go on, which isn’t really developed all that well in the long run, so that’s a shame.

For example, Bernard starts off as a lowly cleaner, whilst clearly wanting to be a part of the Rescue Aid Society and is given a chance to go on a mission, but in spite of this set up, he just goes, with no excitement or desire to prove himself and doesn’t really go on any emotional journey throughout the film, which leaves his story feeling a little flat overall.

Other than the opening song, the music is also not great- it’s not awful, there is just nothing particularly memorable about it. The same also goes for the animation- it looks nice and the lines are certainly softer than the movies that came before it, which is a nice change, but there is just nothing particularly outstanding.

What is great about The Rescuers is the villain. Madame Medusa has everything that made Cruella De Ville great- from her over the top demeanour to Geraldine Page’s brilliant voice acting, she’s just a lot of fun to watch.

Overall, whilst not being particularly ground-breaking, The Rescuers is a fun adventure with a great villain and an entertaining enough storyline.

Rating

Good guys: In spite of a lack of development and overall blandness, Bernard and Bianca are likable enough, so the good guys get 5/10

Bad guys: Madame Medusa is a really fun villain, so the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: It’s nice to see some softer lines to the characters, but there’s nothing else particularly noteworthy animation wise, so the animation gets 5/10

Music: Other than the opening song, none of the others are memorable, so the music gets 5/10

Plot: The action is entertaining, but the lack of character development is a bit disappointing considering the potential that was there, so the plot gets 7/10

Overall Rating: 29/50

Next review The Fox and the Hound

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

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Something about this franchise is just so innocent and earnest that it’s essentially impossible to hate. This could have made it difficult to review, but luckily The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an excellent film in any case.

It of course has some of the most lovable characters in the Disney Animated Canon, in addition to some lovely animation, especially considering the declining quality in the other films of this era.

The stories are of course as charming as the characters and the episodic plot structure works remarkably well here, due to A.A Milne’s classic books having the same narrative. Additionally, an issue with the narratives a lot of films going down the same route is a lack of character development and overall cohesiveness. But here- well…it’s Winnie the Pooh, so the appeal is in the characters and individual stories rather than anything else.

The music is of course great too- all of the songs have a really fun atmosphere which matches the tone of the film overall.

Like I said before, it would have been impossible to hate this film anyway, but the animation and music also help to make it great.  

Rating

Good guys: Some of the most likable characters in the canon give this movie a 9/10 on this one

Bad guys: N/A- (but just to even out the score, any film with N/A will automatically get 6/10)

Animation: The animation is as charming as the film itself, so it gets 7/10

Music: As fun as the rest of the Sherman brother’s work, the music gets 8/10

Plot: Sweet and heart-warming, the story gets 8/10

Overall Rating: 38/50 

Next review: The Rescuers 

Robin Hood

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This movie has all the fun of the original Robin Hood legend, with some decent music and great characters, all of which make it one of the better films of this era.

These characters are also brought to life brilliantly by some fantastic voice acting, including Brian Bedford, who makes for a charming Robin Hood and Phil Harris as Little John. Even though Little John is basically just a brown version of Baloo from the Jungle Book, the voice work of Phil Harris once again provides a warmth that makes Harris’ performances in both films (he also voiced Baloo) extremely likable.

Prince John is one of the funniest villains in the canon, even if he isn’t the most menacing- something about his childishness is just so funny, especially when compared to Disney’s previous villains.

A lot of the music is also really fun, with the best song by far being The Phony King of England. I personally find some of the other songs a bit dull, the biggest example being Robin Hood and Maid Marian’s love song, but the rest of the soundtrack is very enjoyable.

As for the animation… objectively it’s really not great. It’s just a rough as the other films of this era and it re-uses a lot of animation, which can be distracting if you recognise it. However, the film was made on a shoestring budget, so it’s really not fair of me to judge it too harshly for this.

Overall, this is a fun and entertaining movie, with some great characters and good music.

Rating

Good guys: The cast are all fun and likable, even if many are pretty derivative of previous Disney characters, meaning that the good guys get 7/10

Bad guys: Prince John is also a lot of fun, so the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: The animation is pretty good considering the budget that was put into it, so the animation gets a 6/10 

Music: Most of the songs in this film are fairly enjoyable, so the music gets 6/10

Plot: This really captures all the fun of Robin Hood’s adventures, so the story gets 8/10

Overall Rating: 34/50  

Next review: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Aristocats

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Much like Dumbo, this is another one that’s cute and fun, even if it’s not one of the better classics.

At its core, the story matches the simplicity of the film overall- a group of cats are set to inherit the fortune of their rich owner, so her butler (who is next in line) attempts to get rid of them. Luckily, they encounter an alley cat named Thomas O’Malley (who has a great introductory song by the way), who helps them get home. Others have pointed out that the plot is essentially 101 Dalmatians crossed with Lady and the Tramp and yeah, overall it is pretty derivative of the animal films which came before it.

This isn’t helped by the fact that the plot is stuffed with filler scenes. The good news is that for the most part it is good filler- all of the sequences that make up the movie as a whole are fairly entertaining, even if they don’t contribute much overall.

Sometimes the scratchier style of animation Disney used at the time works here and at other points it really doesn’t. For example, sometimes a sketchier style matches the overall atmosphere of the film, adding a sense of fun much like The Jungle Book. At other times, it just looks ugly, so the animation is a mixed bag overall.  

The characters are also good - the kittens are cute and O’Malley is a very entertaining character. On the other hand, Edgar is a pretty forgettable villain. I know, my standards for Disney villains are always way too high, but I know Disney could and would do better.  

Really the only vaguely outstanding about this film is the music. Everybody Wants to Be a Cat is of course a classic and the other songs are a lot of fun too.

In general, The Aristocats is not one of Disney’s best classics, but it’s not completely awful either.

Rating

Good guys: Cute kittens and a Tramp-esque hero put the characters for this film at a 5/10

Bad guys: Edgar isn’t irritating by any means, but he’s not exactly Disney’s most memorable villain either, so the villain gets 4/10

Animation: As I said, sometimes the animation style works and at other times it really doesn’t, so overall the animation gets 6/10  

Music: There are a lot of fun tunes in this film, so the music gets 6/10

Plot: Whilst it is derivative and full of filler, it still manages to be entertaining, so overall the plot gets 5/10

Overall Rating: 26/50

Next review: Robin Hood