The Napoleon of Crime!

[tealin]

I just finished watching The Great Mouse Detective for the first time in what feels like ages.

And it struck me (not for the first time): why hasn't Disney tapped this movie for sequels? It's made for sequels! The ending practically sets it up for a whole franchise! It's got interesting characters and an interesting setting and you could have no end of fun with it. On top of all the intrinsic franchisability just in terms of the story, to be brutrally honest, the production values set a fairly low bar. The animation is very good, but the Sequel Studios (or what's left of them) have gotten just as good if not better, and as for art direction and background painting, most of the cheapquels are an improvement. Not only would a Great Mouse Detective sequel not be a travesty upon the original (depending what they did, of course – they'd probably insist on throwing a romance in there, the blaggards), but the original is practically crying out for a sequel. I can think of two reasons they haven't got one on the slate already:
1. Eve Titus' estate is being persnickety with the rights (though if the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate let them make Tarzan II, I can't see how they wouldn't be able to overcome it).
2. The original is so overlooked by the purchasing public that it hasn't even registered on the Disney board's collective mind.
The only reason I, personally, wouldn't greenlight it is if they couldn't get Barrie Ingham (or a perfect replacement) to do Basil's voice. That is an essential ingredient.

Comments

[modestlyhott.livejournal.com]

We never buy Disney sequels for that reason. Most of them are stupid, anyway, and we get sick of them. (With the exception of "The Rescuers" ones. We have both of those...)

ps: I love your icon. John Lennon (and that entire movie!) rules.

Danie

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Well, The Rescuers Down Under was done as a feature film that happened to be a sequel to one they'd done before. It got the full feature treatment: story, animation, everything. This was back when the people who knew what they were doing were still allowed to be in charge of making movies, so of course it's good.

I put forth the suggestion of sequelizing The Great Mouse Detective only because they seem set on sequelizing everything they can get their hands on, but yet have somehow missed the obvious one for which it might actually work..