The Great Mouse Detective

Director Ron Clements (who went on to direct Disney favorites The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog) imbues his mouse tale with a nod to all familiar with Holmes stories. Based on Eve Titus' popular children's book series about a Victorian mouse detective who models himself after Holmes, the movie contains all of the elements of a good mystery: an initial crime, an innocent party in search of help, a series of clues that help Basil and his newfound assistant Dr. Dawson all across London (often on the back of the real Holmes' pet hound Toby) to find where the not-quite-clever-enough villain is hiding. Children, even kindergarteners, will be able to follow the action and learn about the basics of sleuthing and suspense.

The city of London plays as a big a role in the plot as any of the characters, and Clements and company lovingly detail major landmarks such as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace -- the big chase scene inside Big Ben is a notable early example of CGI. The animated set design aside, the scenery chewing star of this production is obviously Price, who somehow had never been asked to voice a Disney villain until this 1986 production, just seven years before he died. Price's every word as the dastardly Professor Ratigan is deliciously evil sounding. The unflappable Basil (voiced elegantly by Ingham, a veteran British theater actor), is naturally up to the challenge of confronting and defeating the greedy Ratigan, but it's the tension between the two characters that makes this a treat to watch even for adults.