History NightmareFuel / TheGreatMouseDetective

** Basil's [[OhCrap facial expressions during Ratigan's]] CurbstompBattle are also of note. Throughout the movie, Basil has shown various emotions such as arrogance, excitement, despair, surprise and even mania. But very rarely has he shown fear. Not even when he and Dawson were caught in Ratigan's deathtrap from Hell did he show that he was afraid. The reason for this is simple; Basil is confident enough in his intelligence and cunning to get himself (and by extension others) out of any tight conundrum by using whatever tools he has on hand or even outright MacGyvering his way out of the situation (such as him building the balloon ship to chase Ratigan's dirigible). Not this time. He's got no tools, is isolated from his allies and his enemy is not only stronger and faster than he is but is also driven to beat the everliving piss out of him come Hell or highwater...and he ''knows'' it.

* When Ratigan learns Fidget not only lost the list but that Basil is on his tail, he gets so furious that Fidget cowers in fear and his face gets [[HighPressureEmotion bright red]]. After a tense moment, his face resumes its normal shade and he playfully laughs and says "Oh my dear Fidget! You've been hanging upside down for too long!" calming Fidget down. He even smiles and lets Fidget drape one wing around his shoulder in a bro hug as he carries Fidget behind a crate. You breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Ratigan decided to spare Fidget...that's until you hear the bell and Fidget's terrified screams.

* Unless you consider his survival canon--and even then it's still a dubious scene, Fidget's death at Ratigan's hands. While it's a KarmicDeath since he was suggesting throwing Olivia off the dirigible, he's thrown into the open air where he's forced to flail futilely and helplessly with his broken wing before then plummeting into the water below. Adds an extra layer of suffering that it's hard not to cringe at certainly.

** Basil's [[OhCrap facial expressions during Ratigan's]] CurbstompBattle are also of note. Throughout the movie, Basil has shown various emotions such as arrogance, excitement, despair, surprise and even mania. But very rarely has he shown fear. Not even when he and Dawson were caught in Ratigan's deathtrap from Hell did he show that he was afraid. The reason for this is simple; Basil is confident enough in his intelligence and cunning to get himself (and by extension others) out of any tight situation by using whatever tools he has on hand or even outright MacGyvering his way out of the situation (such as him building the balloon ship to chase Ratigan's dirigible). Not this time. He's got no tools, is isolated from his allies and his enemy is not only stronger and faster than he is but is also driven to beat the everliving piss out of him come Hell or highwater...and he ''knows'' it.

** Basil's [[OhCrap facial expressions during Ratigan's]] CurbstompBattle are also of note. Throughout the movie, Basil has shown various emotions such as arrogance, excitement, despair, surprise and even mania. But very rarely has he shown fear. Not even when he and Dawson were caught in Ratigan's deathtrap from Hell did he show that he was afraid. The reason for this is simple; Basil is confident enough in his intelligence and cunning to get himself (and by extension others) out of any tight situation by using whatever tools he has on hand or even outright MacGyvering his way out of the situation (such as him building the balloon ship to chase Ratigan's dirigible. Not this time. He's got no tools, is isolated from his allies and his enemy is not only stronger and faster than he is but is also driven to beat the everliving piss out of him come Hell or highwater...and he ''knows'' it.

* Ratigan's [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown savage beating]] of Basil tops them. We see this [[FauxAffablyEvil previously friendly-acting crime boss]] tear his cape, run through a maze of gears to get to Basil, knock him from the roof of Big Ben onto the hands of the clock, leap down at him, tearing him with claws, throwing him around, etc... and then there are the sounds of pain and terrified facial expressions Basil expresses. It's no surprise that an image of Ratigan beating the shit out of Basil was the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown trope image for a while.

** The late Creator/VincentPrice delivers Ratigan's PreMortemOneLiner "There's no escape this time, Basil!" in an obsessed snarl with barely contained rage. Keep in mind that during the majority of the movie, Price has been playing Ratigan as a campy ham with a side of cheese. Even in his threatening moments before this, Ratigan has retained the cheese. This time? [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness He's playing it completely straight.]] That is how much Ratigan HATES Basil.

** As terrifying as the jump scares at both the Flaversham home and toy shop are...the second time he does a JumpScare deserves special mention. It's been a few minutes between Ratigan sending Fidget on his quest to capture Olivia and his appearance in Basil's window (which, in animation time, is a very long time), enough for the audience to relax and let down their guard. You can even be forgiven for forgetting about him. That's until you see his outline appear in the window, the lighting and thunder roll and Olivia screams in terror as Fidget [[SlasherSmile smiles menacingly at her]].

* Ratigan's [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown savage beating]] of Basil tops them. We see this [[FauxAffablyEvil previously friendly-acting crime boss]] tear his cape, run through a maze of gears to get to Basil, knock him from the roof of Big Ben onto the hands of the clock, leap down at him, tearing him with claws, throwing him around, etc... and then there are the sounds of pain Basil expresses. It's no surprise that an image of Ratigan beating the shit out of Basil was the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown trope image for a while.

*** Not long after this scene...we learn that Ratigan ''is'' sending Fidget to find Olivia so he could keep Flaversham under his thumb. Thank God Dawson found her first and got her to safety with Basil and Mrs. Judson.
* Both of Fidget's [[JumpScare jump scares]], at the beginning and when he pops out of the baby carriage. He may be a bumbling minion to the true threat of the film, but Fidget proves himself to be a credible threat many times.

** The late Creator/VincentPrice delivers Ratigan's PreMortemOneLiner "There's no escape this time, Basil!" in a calm and obsessed snarl. Keep in mind that during the majority of the movie, Price has been playing Ratigan as a campy ham with a side of cheese. Even in his threatening moments before this, Ratigan has retained the cheese. This time? [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness He's playing it completely straight.]] That is how much Ratigan HATES Basil.

** The late Creator/VincentPrice delivers Ratigan's PreMortemOneLiner "There's no escape this time, Basil!" [[HeReallyCanAct in a calm and obsessed snarl]]. Keep in mind that during the majority of the movie, Price has been playing Ratigan as a campy ham with a side of cheese. Even in his threatening moments before this, Ratigan has retained the cheese. This time? [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness He's playing it completely straight.]] That is how much Ratigan HATES Basil.

** Bartholomew's accidental insult happens in the middle of a joyful song (which Creator/VincentPrice is hamming up to the Nth degree). The song stops dead and Ratigan [[SuddenlyShouting shouts]] "What was '''THAT?!''' What did you CALL ME?!" His minions try to save Bartholomew's life and appease their boss's ego. They're unsuccessful and as Ratigan returns to his throne room after feeding Bartholomew to Felicia, he says "I trust there will be no further interruptions. And now...as you were singing...?" and holds up the bell that summons Felicia and starts the song again in classic MoodWhiplash fashion. Keep in mind, this isn't the first time we see Ratigan's dark side (we get a glimpse of it in his opening scene when he's threatening Flaversham) but we finally get that he's not somebody who plays around. The Napoleon of Crime indeed!

-->'''Ratigan''': (''[[FauxAffablyEvil faux-apologetic tone]]'') Oh, my ''dear'' Bartholomew. I'm afraid you've gone and upset me! (''takes out his bell with a SlasherSmile'') And you ''know'' what happens [[FedToTheBeast when someone]] ''[[FedToTheBeast upsets me]]''...!

* Unless you consider his survival canon--and even then it's a dubious scene, Fidget's death at Ratigan's hands. While it's a KarmicDeath since he was suggesting throwing Olivia off the dirigible, he's thrown into the open air where he's forced to flail futilely and helplessly with his broken wing before then plummeting into the water below. Adds an extra layer of suffering that it's hard not to cringe at certainly.

** Felicia is also extremely obese for a cat, implying [[BadBoss Ratigan]] feeds her a ''lot'' of his henchmen. Every time his henchmen see her, they know exactly why Felicia has gotten so fat. And then they get to watch Felicia happily lounge on a full stomach afterward when Ratigan pampers her.

* Unless you consider his survival canon--and even then it's a dubious scene, Fidget's death at Ratigan's hands. While it's a KarmicDeath since he was suggesting throwing Olivia off the dirigible, he's thrown into the open air where he's forced to flail futilely and helplessly with his broken wing before then plummeting into the water below.

** And then there's Felicia's untimely end. After getting chased away by Toby, she strolls off, flips her tail defiantly up... and jumps right into the yard where the Royal Palace Guard dogs reside. All we hear is angry barking and feline squalling, so [[NothingIsScarier we don't know if]] she got away or if they ''tear her to bits''.
*** If it's the latter, then it's a case of KarmicDeath: EatenAlive by things bigger and with more teeth than ''she'' had.

** Not to mention that, unlike their battle of wits where they're more or less on equal footing, Basil is completely outmatched against Ratigan in a physical confrontation, since Ratigan is a sewer rat and Basil is just a mouse. If Ratigan hadn't been taken down by the bells ringing, he would have [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath torn Basil to shreds]]...[[ImAHumanitarian or eaten him.]][[note]]Wild rats can and do eat mice.[[/note]]

* The entire bar scene can be rather offputting, where you have all manner of criminals and lowlifes all gathered in one place indulging in all of their vices.....Before it explodes into a full blown ''bar fight'' where every thug in the room is whipping out their clubs, guns, and fisticuffs as they proceed to absolutely trash the saloon.

** Fidget happens to be at the bar spying on Basil when the fighting starts. What does he do? He ''ignores'' the carnage behind him and carries on with his drink.

*** FridgeHorror: Ratigan actually ''had'' an escape route - the balloon with Dawson, Olivia and her father was floating right next to him. If he hadn't wasted time gloating over his victory until he was thrown off the clock hand when the bells tolled, he could've easily leapt onto the ballon, and then nothing would've saved the heroes.

* And speaking of Felicia, there's poor Bartholemew's fate at the beginning. He's drunk out of his mind, [[InnocentlyInsensitive accidentally insulted his boss while intoxicated]], and is completely oblivious when [[DisproportionateRetribution Ratigan calls Felicia out to dispose of him]], right in front of his terrified comrades. Worse still, he is ''completely conscious and swallowed whole'', [[AndIMustScream meaning he surely did not die a quick death as he is digested]].

*** FridgeHorror: Ratigan actually ''had'' an escape route - the balloon with Dawson, Olivia and her father was floating right next to him. If he hand't wasted time gloating over his victory until he was thrown off the clock hand when the bells tolled, he could've easily leapt onto the ballon, and then nothing would've saved the heroes.

* One relatively subtle but creepy moment is when Ratigan is intimidating Flaversham into working for him by threatening Olivia's life. To emphasize his point, he plucks up the little transforming dancing doll that Flaversham made for his daughter and crushes it, his face contorting in rage till it breaks in his hand. For a moment he relaxes with sad expression in mock sympathy, and then ''snaps'' at Flaversham, eyes wide and teeth bared in a feral expression - our first glimpse of the savage that lurks under the civilized exterior he tries to present.