Production
The layouts were done on computers, and the use of video cameras made a digital version of pencil testing possible. The movie is also notable for its early use of computer generated imagery (CGI) for a chase scene that takes place in the interior of Big Ben. The movements of the clock's gears were produced as wire-frame graphics on a computer, printed out and traced onto animation cells where colors and the characters were added. The Great Mouse Detective is sometimes cited as the first animated film from Walt Disney Pictures to use CGI; in reality, 1985's The Black Cauldron has this distinction.
Initially, Olivia was to be an older character with the potential as a love interest for Basil or even an infatuated Dr. Dawson, before it was decided that she should be a child to better garner audience sympathy. While visually, Basil and Dawson were based on Rathbone and Bruce, their voices and personalities were not. Basil's voice was modeled on Leslie Howard’s portrayal of Henry Higgins in the film Pygmalion while Dawson's voice was modeled on Disney animation legend Eric Larson.
"We didn’t want to make them simply miniature versions of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce," Clements affirmed. "Dawson’s not a buffoon. He’s a foil for Basil but also a warm and caring person."Disney decision to call the film The Great Mouse Detective and not Basil of Baker Street was unpopular with the filmmakers. Animator Ed Gombert wrote a satirical interoffice memo, allegedly by studio executive Peter Schneider, which gave other Disney films generic titles such as Seven Little Men Help a Girl, The Girl with the See-through Shoes, and Puppies Taken Away.
Read more about this topic: The Great Mouse Detective
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—John Dewey (1859–1952)
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—Gus Hall (b. 1910)