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

[(Anonymous)]

I rally like GMD, having seen it again in January after nearly 7 years of not having seen it. It's actually a very good movie; it's a pity more people haven't seen it. The animation and the voices (I really liked Basil and Olivia, Ratigan is a close third) are very nice.

I wish Disney would just return to the production values of this and other movies. I remember seeing commercials for "Home of the Range" and hating the train. Computer animation within traditional animation movies only works wll when it is used as it was in the clock gears scene in GMD and the ballroom scene in "Beauty and the Beast." Thank God ABC and Disney Channel are showing classic Disney movies -- "Bambie"! *hugs it* But I think Disney's main problem is poor writing, not the public's interest in traditionally animated films.

(I have stalked your art site for ages and recently began snooping through your LJ. I LOVE your art. So much.)

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Writing and other storytelling concerns are definitely the downfall of recent Disney movies. That and its closely related nemesis, interference by businessmen who think they know better than actual story people.

3D can work in 2D films ... It just has to be done right, in a way that doesn't stand out. Large vehicles do well in 3D, where you don't have to rely on the draughtsmanship of the effects animator. Props do not, as evidenced by the music box in Anastasia. 3D is very useful for areas of the backround that have to move, rather than having that oh so obvious I'm-going-to-move look of a held cel. Just... toon render things that should be toon rendered. Is it such a difficult concept?