Basil the investigator

History

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Video

Basil, Topson and Olivia - Basil the investigator

Original title: The Great Mouse Detective Characters: Basil, Doctor Topson, Olivia Flaversham, Hiram Flaversham, Professor Padraic Rattigan, Vampirello, Regina Maustarda, Mrs. Placidia Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker, Burny Mattinson, David Michener Production: Walt disney Feature Animation Country: United States

Year: 1986 Broadcast in Italy: 1986 Gender: animation, adventure, thriller Episodes: 1 Duration: 72 minutes Recommended age: Children from 6 to 12 years old

Basil, the detective (The Great Mouse Detective in the American original) is the 33rd animated film and the 26th "Animation classic" of the Disney production, released in 1986. It is inspired by the Basil of Baker Street crime novel series by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone published between 1958 and 1982, in turn inspired by the character of Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887.

History

In London, in June 1897, a young mouse named Olivia Flaversham celebrates her birthday with her father, the toy maker, Hiram Flaversham. Suddenly, Vampirello, a mysterious bat with a broken wing and a wooden leg, bursts into Flaversham's workshop, kidnapping Hiram. Olivia turns to famous detective Basil the Baker Street detective, but gets lost. A surgeon named Dr. David Q. Topson (a sort of Sherlock Holmes' Watson), who has just returned from a long service with the 66th Regiment of the Rat Queen in Afghanistan, meets Olivia and accompanies her to Basil's house. Upon their arrival, Basil is initially indifferent, but when Olivia describes the one who has kidnapped her father, Basil realizes that Olivia has seen Vampirello, a henchman of Professor Ratigan, a villain Basil has been trying to arrest for years. It is later revealed that Professor Ratigan has kidnapped Hiram to create a clockwork robot, which mimics the design, but gives up when Professor Ratigan threatens to harm Olivia. Professor Rattigan then announces his plans to kill the queen and become "supreme ruler of all freedom" for his henchmen.

Meanwhile Vampirello, Ratigan's henchman, is seen appearing through a window, so he's chased by Basil, Topson, Olivia and Toby, Sherlock Holmes' dachshund, to follow Vampirello's scent. They manage to find him in a toy shop stealing clockwork mechanisms and uniforms of toy soldiers. Vampirello, however, manages to kidnap Olivia, with a trap. Basil and Topson chase Vampirello, but they get entangled and can't reach him. While searching the shop, Topson uncovers Vampirello's checklist, which Basil does some chemical tests and discovers that Ratigan's shelter is in an area on the bank of the Thames. Basil and Topson disguise themselves as sailors and head to a tavern called "Mousetrap". They find Vampirello and follow him to Professor Ratigan's headquarters, but are taken prisoner in an ambush. Professor Ratigan has tied them to a spring-loaded mousetrap connected to a machine set to kill them both. Professor Rattigan leaves for Buckingham Palace, where his henchman kidnaps the queen. Basil thanks to his intuition, understands the flaws of the trap and escapes with Topson and Olivia just in time.

Meanwhile at the palace, Ratigan forces Flaversham to use the robot Queen to be elected King, while the real Queen is about to be fed to Lucrezia, Ratigan's ferocious cat. However, Basil and his friends arrive in time and save the Queen, while Lucrezia is chased away by Ugo and, in escaping from him, enters by mistake the estate of the royal dogs, ending up torn apart. Basil then knocks out Ratigan's henchmen and unmasks him, after freeing Hiram, who can hug his daughter again. However, Ratigan escapes with his airship from the angry mob of rats with Vampirello, taking with them Olivia, whom he kidnapped in the confusion. Basil, Topson and Hiram create their own little balloon out of a matchbox and some helium-filled balloons held together by the Union Jack. Professor Ratigan throws Vampirello overboard to lighten the load and attempts to steer the airship himself. Basil leaps into the airship to confront Professor Ratigan, knocking him directly into Big Ben's clock tower.

Video of Basil the detective

Production

The idea of ​​making an animated Sherlock Holmes movie with animals was first discussed during the production of The Rescuers. Layout veteran Joe Hale is credited with suggesting adapting Eve Titus' Basil of Baker Street children's book series, but the project fell into development limbo due to the similarities to The Rescuers. In 1982, Ron Clements proposed adapting the children's book series to an animated film and, along with artist Pete Young, was introduced to Disney President and CEO Ron Miller who approved the project. Early in his career, Clements created a fifteen-minute animated Sherlock Holmes short film recorded in the Super 8 movie. As animators were unhappy with the direction The Black Cauldron was heading, Basil of Baker Street was approved as a project. alternative. Burny Mattinson and John Musker were assigned as original directors, while Dave Michener was added as co-director. Miller became the film's producer. The victim's first idea was for Olivia, then a larger and potential love interest that Topson falls in love with, but Miller suggested the character was "a little girl, someone the audience can feel sorry for." One of the abandoned characters was a pigeon that was always prowling around Buckingham Palace.

Images Basil the investigator, the animated film