"Nothing is worse then when your biological parent gets abducted by criminals on your birthday."
The Great Mouse Detective may have a few sad moments compared to other Disney movies, but they can still strike at the heart of the audience like every other.
- Basil's reaction to Olivia's Missing Mom moment. It's sad enough for her to reveal that she doesn't have a mom, but Basil's strong reaction raises questions about his own parentage.
- Basil's Heroic BSoD moment. Sure it seems petty considering that essentially Ratigan is laughing at Basil like a bully – until you realize how much Basil thrives on his intelligence. He's supposed to be the greatest detective so any amount of failure eats at him, and he just walked into Ratigan's trap where his whole gang have Basil surrounded. So it makes sense that being mocked by Ratigan after he's completely outmaneuvered Basil would so easily get to him. This was shown when Basil initially tries to ignore all the mocking laughter that Ratigan and his men are giving, but gives in with a sad look as it is too much for him; even Dawson can't help but feel a little sorry about this while Ratigan takes delight in breaking Basil's spirit with this quote:Ratigan: (seeing Basil's sad look on his face and laughs) Oh, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT!! (continues laughing) Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it!!
- Mr. Flaversham thought of Ratigan's plot as monstrous. He's only a toymaker, and an evil rat wants his talents to be used for evil. When Ratigan states that he would kill Flaversham if he fails on his work, Mr. Flaversham doesn't care by saying that he would die instead of helping Ratigan. But once Ratigan hints at applying the same threat to his daughter, the toymaker resigns to his fate and continues his work.
- In particular, Flaversham being forced to operate the Robot Queen at knifepoint is sad.
- The moment when Dr. Dawson finds Olivia. She's a little girl who just saw her father get abducted. She's wandering the city at night, scared out of her mind with no one to look after her, eventually ending up hiding in a forgotten rain boot crying because she got lost looking for the one person she's desperately hoping can help her. Turns into Heartwarming when Dawson comforts her and offers to take Olivia to Baker Street to find Basil. Also verges into Nightmare Fuel when you realize she could have easily been found by a less upstanding mouse...
- On top of this, this all happens on the night of her birthday. A Birthday, Not a Break indeed...
- Dr. Dawson having a My God, What Have I Done? moment, after Olivia, whom he was supposed to watch, is captured by Fidget in the toy store. Even Basil, who had yelled at him for not keeping a closer eye on her, almost immediately feels sorry for him...
- Basil's Disney Death, especially after we just watched him get his ass kicked by a deranged Ratigan for the last three minutes. Fortunately, Basil managed to save himself just in time with the motor of Ratigan's destroyed dirigible.
- Olivia and Flaversham bidding farewell to Basil and Dawson after their long adventure comes to an end. After an entire film spent where he saw Olivia as something of an annoyance, he's truly sad to see her go after all they've been through. It's quite the bittersweet farewell, and Basil almost tears up when she departs, admitting to Dawson that she was a good kid after all.
- Bartholomew's fellow goons begging for him to be spared, only to watch him be fed to Felicia while still in a drunken state for having insulted Ratigan. Even though he was done in by his own stupidity, you can't help but feel a pang of sadness for the defenseless hood. That his friends were legit petrified and scare for him and all have mournful faces too—from tilted head, to a removed hat, to a tear being shed—just further drives the point home.
