History YMMV / TheGreatMouseDetective

* CommonKnowledge: Disney promotes this film as the first use of computer animation with the Big Ben scene. But that honor actually goes to ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', which was released a year prior and used CGI for a few objects.[[note]]That said, there is some truth to the statement, as ''The Black Cauldron'' and this film were both in production at the same time, and this film is indeed the first to use CGI animation production-wise, as the Big Ben scene was produced and finished first, with ''The Black Cauldron'''s producer -- John Hale -- deciding to enlist some of this film's staff to animate the CGI objects in ''The Black Cauldron'' after being impressed by this film's use of it.[[/note]]

* AccidentalInnuendo: "I love it when I'm nasty!"

* FanficFuel: “The Sideshow Sea Beast”, [[https://damailbox.tumblr.com/post/186261780754/the-great-mouse-detective-the-sideshow-sea-beast a mere five-page and otherwise unremarkable tie-in comic]], shows Olivia and [[AdaptationalHeroism Fidget]] as best friends who have apparently been solving mysteries together, with Fidget even calling the former [[AffectionateNickname Livy]]. This has spawned a number of fanfics trying to explain Fidget’s HeelFaceTurn and [[BefriendingTheEnemy how he befriended Olivia]].

** Renaming Disney movies with extremely simple titles.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Oh, hey there, Creator/AlanYoung! Fancy hearing your fake Scottish accent in [[WesternAnimation/MickeysChristmasCarol another]] [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 Disney animated production!]]

* RootingForTheEmpire: The writers were clearly trying to make Ratigan a HateSink so that the audience can root for Basil over him. However, given how much of an InsufferableGenius Basil is and how LaughablyEvil and [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] Ratigan is, many fans ended up rooting for the latter over the former. It doesn't help that his, "I love it when I'm nasty!" quote has gained MemeticMutation.

** For as much as film hypes up the rivalry between Basil and Ratigan, it can be a bit underwhelming how little they're actually seen together. The moment when Basil and Dawson get caught outside Ratigan's lair is the only time you actually get to see Basil and Ratigan have a normal conversation.

** For as much as film hypes up the rivalry between Basil and Ratigan, it can be a bit underwhelming that they only ever interact one time before the FinalBattle. This being the moment when Basil and Dawson get caught outside Ratigan's lair.

** For as much as film hypes up the rivalry between Basil and Ratigan, it can be a bit underwhelming that before the FinalBattle, they only ever interact with each another one time. This being the moment when Basil and Dawson get caught outside Ratigan's lair.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Many fans note the irony of the film being one of few Disney didn't churn out any sequels for, despite the SequelHook and source material leaving plenty of potential for further adventures, not to mention the tons of CanonFodder left from its universe.

* BrokenBase: A minor one among Disney fans as to whether or not this film counts as the "official" beginning of the Renaissance Age or is still somewhere in their AudienceAlienatingEra.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Comics about Basil are very popular in the Netherlands. But Dutch Disney comics tend to feature relatively obscure Disney characters anyway - a good half of the weekly comics are about Bre'r Rabbit, Madame Mim, Hiawatha, Panchito, or Horace Horseshoe.
* HilariousInHindsight:

** Music/HenryMancini, people. Why this film didn't get a soundtrack release at the time is a mystery (and when it did, it wasn't via Creator/{{Disney}} - step forward Creator/VareseSarabande with the re-release in 1992).
** Despite the film as a whole not being a musical, the filmmakers couldn't resist giving Creator/VincentPrice not one, but two {{Villain Song}} as Ratigan in the form of "[[https://youtu.be/qtcxqTcgJx4 The World's Greatest Criminal Mind]]" and "[[https://youtu.be/20krcN-iXBo Goodbye So Soon]]", and both songs are just as delightfully nasty as he is.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Basil's MoodSwinger tendencies could be a hint towards a mental disorder, perhaps a form of Bipolar Personality Disorder.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This is widely credited with the first extensive use of computer animation in a Disney feature film, when in fact it had been used for several special effects and a boat in ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''. Of course, Disney [[OldShame doesn't like to talk about that one]].

* PresumedFlop: The film tends to be grouped alongside Disney flops such as ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' and ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', with some considering it to be a failure due to how overlooked it is. While the film didn't do spectacularly well and was outdone by ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' released that same year, it still performed moderately well at the box office, grossing 50$ million worldwide against a budget of 14$ million, which was good enough to convince Disney that animation was viable, saving the animation department (which was in a dire situation due to the failure of ''The Black Cauldron''), and leading to the Disney Renaissance.