In April 2014 I became interested in rediscovering a lot of the less popular Disney films from the animation canon, particularly the ones from the eighties that were, pre-Little Mermaid. Re-watching them to see if they were better or worse than I remembered, and also to try and find things about them that made them special. After all, some of them had developed cult followings from the generations of children who grew up with them.
One of these films in question was, "The Great Mouse Detective." I brought the movie over to my friend Brad's house one night, for our monthly get together of booze, weed, movies, and laughter. Those four ingredients always made for epic nights. It was our thing and it was what we did best. I can't remember what had possessed me to bring along something as random as the Great Mouse Detective for Brad to watch though, other than the fact that I wanted to watch it and suggested that it might end up being fun to watch stoned.
We light the pipe and the movie begins. As the opening credits start rolling I'm thinking gosh, I really hope Brad doesn't get bored with this. We had never watched an animated children's movie together after all. But pretty soon the smoke clouded my brain and I was completely focused on the movie. The animation was so eighties, in that it carried that sort of toned down, hand drawn animation we were all so familiar with growing up and seeing in other Disney films from that time such as, Fox and the Hound, Oliver & Company, etc. It was an eighties animated film, and it's staple on that note brought back waves of nostalgia that in my heightened state of mind produced a feeling of being a kid again. And who doesn't love that feeling when they're watching movies?
Enter the great mouse detective himself, Mr. Basil of Baker street(the film's original working title mind you). For a mouse he's a handsome fellow, thanks in part to that wardrobe, and also due to his handsome sophistication.
Suddenly the movie's big main baddie, Ratigan, appears on screen. Voiced by none other than the classically spooky, Vincent Price. Brad and I both shared our awe'd sense of Vincent's brilliant narration as Ratigan's mice cronies sing a song in his honor. Until one of them mentions Ratigan's dirty little secret(he's a fucking RAT). In true diva fashion Ratigan decides this guy's gotta go. And he rings a neat little bell that brings forth a monstrous shadow...
As I stare transfixed at the screen with my pot glazed eyes I focus in on this cat shaped shadow against the animated wall that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Till suddenly, a giant overweight cat paw descends upon the ground, Jurassic Park style. And then it happens. I lose my shit. Giggling all over the place, causing Brad to giggle along with me, the stoner giggles have officially begun. And unbeknownst to either one of us, they were just beginning.
And then there's this dog named Toby who in that moment I realize there's a trend with mice having pet dogs. Mickey and Pluto for instance? Did the animator's play off that or was it a coincidence?
Next is, in my memory, the best scene of the whole film(in terms of the stoner giggles Brad and I were experiencing),the toy shop scene. At the start of the scene, Fidget the Bat is doing some weird thing with the toy soldiers(whom Brad pointed out all had Afros), until he looks out and see's Basil, Dawson, and Olivia approaching from outside. He freaks out, starts flying around, and says, "Oh, I gotta hide, I gotta HIDE!!" in a scratchy, throaty, Tom Waitsy voice. I laugh my ass off while Brad laughs and makes the afro comment. During this scene I started to reload my pipe, and every time I would look up there would be another demented ass toy in the frame. From dolls to Jack-in-the-Boxes, it just wouldn't stop. So I laugh, Brad laughs, and we both laugh together when little Olivia sets off the noisy as fuck electric marching bad. Look familiar by the way?
My memory gets hazy from here, so let's jump ahead to the big confrontational scene Basil has with Ratigan. Proving himself balsy, Basil screams at Ratigan that he is nothing but a sewer rat. And Vincent Price, or sorry, Ratigan, has this fantastic moment where he stands frozen with a painful smile etched on his diseased face for about five long seconds. Before finally snapping his compact mirror shut. It's a great moment in which Brad and I both held in high regard with our laughter and amazement in how much we saw Vincent Price in that moment.
Two exciting moments happen after this within close proximity to each other. The first is the great escape made from the giant mouse trap machine, and the second is the epic climax from within the Big Ben clock tower. Much like watching the epic dragon sequence in Sleeping Beauty, these moments went by too fast for me. I was completely in them while they were happening with straight on stoner focus. But knowing they were coming, my anticipation was too high and I got too caught up in them before the next thing I knew they were over. Brad mentioned something about Big Ben being a level on Kingdom Hearts, which I never played.
Overall, the Great Mouse Detective was a great Disney stoner experience. The main reason being that it was pure comedy. I'll never forget the laughter that Brad and I both got to share for it together. It carries with it that 80's sense of wondrous hope that the Disney animators were desperately clinging to at the time, hoping they could resurrect that classic feeling that Disney films once carried. I think the movie goes to show that they were getting there. And what they ended up with was indeed destined to become an underrated Disney classic. Furthurmore, it was after that night that I decided to set my goal in place. The goal to watch every Disney film stoned, and discover what really happens when you wish upon a bud.
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