The Great Mouse Detective Discussion

GhostHost · Post by **GhostHost** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:43 pm

Tolhurst wrote:
Timon/Pumba fan wrote:
Also this is one of the first animated movies to ever have CGI in it. I personally think it's tied with The Lion King and Tarzan with having the best use of CGI in a hand-drawn animated movie. I mean it's so hard to tell what's computor animation and what's hand-drawn.

The CGI elements (the clock gears)are actually drawn by a machine and then transferred and painted manually in the real world, not cels super imposed over a computer image like the Beauty and the Beast ballroom sequence (for example).

why bother with that , when you still have to manually paint?

Tolhurst · Post by **Tolhurst** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 10:59 pm

GhostHost wrote:
Tolhurst wrote: The CGI elements (the clock gears)are actually drawn by a machine and then transferred and painted manually in the real world, not cels super imposed over a computer image like the Beauty and the Beast ballroom sequence (for example).
why bother with that , when you still have to manually paint?

Probably easier to render the clock gears that way. The ballroom in Beauty and the Beast sticks out badly (IMO) imagine how bad it would have looked in 1986. Somebody in the production obviously felt a computer would render the gears better/faster then a human.

(and yes, manualy paint is an akward term isn't it?)

Roger Rabbit · Post by **Roger Rabbit** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:34 am

Tolhurst wrote:
GhostHost wrote: why bother with that , when you still have to manually paint?

Probably easier to render the clock gears that way. The ballroom in Beauty and the Beast sticks out badly (IMO) imagine how bad it would have looked in 1986. Somebody in the production obviously felt a computer would render the gears better/faster then a human.

(and yes, manualy paint is an akward term isn't it?)

I never knew that was computer animated. Also I didn't think it was out of place either.

BrandonH · Post by **BrandonH** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:58 am

I remember seeing this as a young child, but I had not watched it again until I bought the DVD last week. Seeing it through an adult's eyes, I loved it!

The voices, music (Mancini, Price, and the pop star), characters, and situations all were wonderful, and it felt like I was watching Sherlock vs. Moriarty. The only part I found out of place was the abrupt shift in mood from the prologue to the opening title music.

I can see why it has the "underrated" reputation. It lacks universal appeal because it targets the niche that likes mystery, adventure, espionage, and especially Sherlock Holmes. However, I love all of those things, so this movie gets five stars from me.

Isidour · Post by **Isidour** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:27 am

geez, I really thought that it was the long-forgoten Teedee(She-who-must-not-be-named

) who brought back this thread

Well, I didn`t know either that the grinds were CGI

yankees · Post by **yankees** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:46 pm

I LOVE THIS FILM!!!

In my opinion this is one of disneys most underated films...will we ever geet a 2 disc of it??
________
Toyota Wish Specifications

Pluto · Post by **Pluto** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:11 pm

Hey that seems to be great!!!

Zoltack · Post by **Zoltack** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 10:13 pm

Isidour wrote:geez, I really thought that it was the long-forgoten Teedee(She-who-must-not-be-named ) who brought back this thread

Yeah that's what I was thinking too but I doubt that anyone wanted to bumb one of her threads up.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:22 am

Big *bump*!

Here's an interesting review of TGMD:
http://www.freewebs.com/greatmousedetec ... 072786.jpg

I didn't know that Glen Keane designed all the major characters except for Basil! I had no clue- I just knew he did Ratigan! So, he created Dawson and Olivia? What about Fidget and Mr. Flaversham? Toby? I'm so intrigued!

It's facinating when you think of how quickly TGMD's production was- especially compared to how long The Black Cauldron took. I don't think that anything suffered- does anyone know if any ideas had to be scrapped for the film due to the short production time?

Here's an article on Basil and Ratigan at Disneyland:
http://www.freewebs.com/greatmousedetec ... ancos.html

I really wish that characters weren't "Vaulted"- I would love to meet them! They look great!

Some interesting trivia:

http://www.freewebs.com/greatmousedetective/trivia.html

There are some identical character movements in the film that are parallel to characters in other Disney films. For example, when Basil catches Olivia, she falls harshly into his chest and looks up to him briefly. This similar movement occurs with Ariel and Prince Eric in "The Little Mermaid" (1989), and with Jasmine and Aladdin in "Aladdin" (1992). Incidentally, all three films were directed by Ron Clements.

In some beautiful concept art, there are many unused scenes or ideas during the storyboard sequences. Some of these include: an older version of Olivia, Basil on top of the head of a carriage horse and telling it to go to Buckingham Palace, and Mrs. Judson exclaiming that it was Ratigan who kidnapped Olivia.

Bing Crosby was considered for the voice of Basil, but when it came to the artwork, the character seemed too mellow. According to one of the directors, Rob Minkoff, Barrie Ingham was chosen, "because his interpretation of the character established his whole attitude and gave us the perfect timing and movements."

Due to the poor reviews of Steven Spielberg's Young Sherlock Holmes, Disney almost removed everything Sherlockian to this film. The "All New! All Fun!" movie poster is proof when Basil is wearing a normal suit instead of his traditional Inverness cape and deerstalker hat. Rumors also began of changing the British voice cast with American actors for the U.S. release. (Is this really true?!? It's hard to believe.)

More trivia!

http://www.mousedetective.com/mouse_det ... trivia.htm

"Let Me Be Good To You" was originally to be sung by Madonna, but the directors decided that this was not contemporary enough for the audience to enjoy. Melissa Manchester was hired as the new singer of the song. "Let Me Be Good To You" was also once entitled, "Look At Me". Wow. I can't imagine Madonna singing a song in a Disney film for some reason. I absolutely love "Let Me Be Good To You"- it's definitely one of my favorite Disney songs. I mean, I know the song itself and its performance doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, but it's so fun and colorful!!! I love the girls' outfits during the scene.

It bothers me when people (reviewers mostly, I guess) say that TGMD was the first time that computers and animation were blended together- TBC holds that distinction! Get it right, people!

I really like TGMD. I've been meaning to watch it for the past week, so hopefully I'll get to it within the next few days. I really like the music in it, and Ratigan is one of my favorite villains. Toby and Olivia are just adorable. It's completely underrated. Even Oliver & Company is underrated. Does anyone think that that has anything to do with the fact that both movies weren't put on video until 1998 (I think) and 1996, respectively?

As I've mentioned a while ago, the '80s is my favorite era of Disney animation. The production of DACs has always interested me, and the '80s was such a time of change for the studio, what with the older artists leaving and the newer artists coming in, and then the executive changes. And all the movies are underrated except for The Little Mermaid. The '70s also was a time of change and underrated movies, too, though.

ajmrowland · Post by **ajmrowland** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:44 am

All upcoming DVDs for this film should contain the old VHS cover art.

MrIncredible · Post by **MrIncredible** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:01 pm

You know, I think this is one of those ones where I don't think I've even seen it. I've always wanted to, and it's next on my "Disney titles to buy" list (although it's been there for a while, and I keep buying other ones instead). But does anyone know about a new DVD coming or should I be fine with the current release for now?

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:03 pm

I haven't heard anything about a new release, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is one in the next three years or so, since Disney has been rereleasing the Gold Collection and other not-Gold-Collection-but-similar titles.

*edit* In my previous post, I was wrong- the first TGMD VHS release was in 1992, so that wouldn't have as much effect on its underratedness as would Oliver & Co.'s 8 year theater-to-VHS gap.

Flanger-Hanger · Post by **Flanger-Hanger** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 1:20 pm

That's some interesting trivia Amy! I've never seen pics of the walk around characters before.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:16 pm

Yeah, I hadn't seen them as walk-around characters before, either! I'm assuming that they were only at the park while the movie was out...?

[Back Stage 27.(June 20, 1986): pp53(3). (1167 words)]

"The Great Mouse Detective' is the first of the Disney releases to be made under a system that has been put into motion to guarantee a new production in 18 months rather than the three or more years that recent features have taken. Also, there are some scenes that have been originated on electronic devices and then xerox copied onto cels for opaquing.

"We tried to incorporate the actual computer images directly into the production but the style conflicted with the cel art,' explained Musker. "Eventually we decided to develop the images electronically and then finish them in the regular manner,' added Clements. The key scene that employs computer art appears inside an animated replica of London's Big Ben. This extremely intricate configuration of gears and wheels was developed from actual architectural layouts of the giant clockworks and then designed for computer animation by Disney graphic artists Phil Nibbelink and Tad A. Gielow of the Imagineering division of the company.

PixarFan2006 · Post by **PixarFan2006** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:05 pm

I bought this movie on DVD today (though I had to send away for the DMR points). It's been a long time since I have seen this movie (I stupidly sold the VHS tape a long time ago). I remember the beginning of the movie and the scene at the toy store.

ajmrowland · Post by **ajmrowland** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:23 pm

I too haven't seen the movie in a while.

Is the transfer good?

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:36 pm

ajmrowland wrote: Is the transfer good?

I have no problem with it, but let's see what the expert says:

Jack Seiley's UD review wrote:I didn’t expect this film to have that great of a transfer, but I was pleasantly surprised. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:66.1 and enhanced for 16x9 TVs, the image is very sharp, with almost no film deterioration or dirt. However, don’t expect a really colorful looking transfer, since the majority of the film retains a blue-ish pallet.

On the other side, I was disappointed by the audio. It is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, but I don’t remember once hearing a sound coming from my back speakers. If there was, it certainly was miniscule. My real irritant, though, is that the dialogue is too strong throughout almost the entire movie. Sound effects & music are quite soft whenever a character is speaking, and I found that to be pretty annoying. That may have been the way it originally sounded in theaters, but either way, I wish it were better.

Sky Syndrome · Post by **Sky Syndrome** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:10 pm

ajmrowland wrote:All upcoming DVDs for this film should contain the old VHS cover art.

While I think the old VHS cover art is better than the cover art for the Gold Collection DVD, I'd still prefer the following cover art over the VHS's:

^^^I love it! It's what the United Kingdom got on their VHS or DVD.

JiminyCrick91 · Post by **JiminyCrick91** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:41 pm

Let's show the 1992 cover too just to be fair.

-Sky

Goliath · Post by **Goliath** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:04 pm

That's the cover rt I remember from the 1990's, Jiminy. Beautiful, indeed.

The film has always been a favorite of mine, ever since I saw it the first time when I was 7 or 8 years old. What I love about it most, is the score by Henry Mancini. It's really quite unique, it fits the film perfectly, and it's very pleasant to listen to even when not watching the film. I'm listening to it right now; it's on YouTube. There are also great characters, but I like Basil most, because he's so unlike any other Disney hero. He's arrogant, moody, selfish etc. And yet he changes very slowly during the movie. You would be hard pressed to find such nuance in Disney movies nowadays.

I can't help but watching it in Dutch. I've tried the English version, but it ruins the film for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd4QAOL4Cbs

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