History Awesome / TheGreatMouseDetective

-->"Frankly, I expected you fifteen minutes earlier. Trouble with the chemistry set, old boy?"

** She bit Ratigan on the hand during the clock tower chase as well, allowing Basil to grab the mastermind's cape and stuff it into the gears.

-->"You have no idea what a ''delightful dilemma'' it was, trying to decide on the most apporpriate method for your demise. I had so many ingenious ideas, I didn't know which to choose! So... I decided... to use them all."

** After using the trap's components against each other to free himself and the doctor, he gets out of disguise - complete with an orchestral "TAH-DAH!" - catches Olivia (who had gone flying after uncorking her prison), pulls Dawson into frame, and with great cheer says, "Thank you, Dawson. Smile, everyone!" just before posing for the picture Ratigan intended to show Basil's death with a bewildered Dawson and Olivia.
** Even without the context, this is still a moment of awesome, showing off just how awesome Basil can be.

-->"[[WhatTheHellHero Dash it all, Basil, the Queen's in danger, Olivia's counting on us, we're about to be horribly splatted,]] [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan and all you can do is lie there feeling sorry for yourself!]] I know you can save us. But if you've given up, then why don't we just set it off now and be done with it?!"

'''Ratigan: DON'T SAY IT!!!''' (''panicking and trying to hold the robot's mouth shut'')\\

'''Ratigan: ''DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!'''''\\

-->'''Basil:''' You, professor...\\

'''Ratigan: DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!'''\\

---> '''Basil:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner "On the]] [[NotQuiteDead contrary...]][[MeaningfulEcho THE GAME'S NOT OVER YET."]]

---> '''Basil:''' "[[MirthlessLaughter Heh.]] Set it off now." ({{beat}}) "[[EurekaMoment Set it... off... now?]] Ye... heh heh... ''[[HesBack ha ha ha]]''! Yes! We'll set the trap off ''now''!"

'''Robot Queen:''' ...are none other than a foul ''stenchus rodentus'', commonly known as a...\\

** She bit him on the hand during the clock tower chase.

*** The fact that Basil managed to steal the bell right out of Ratigan's coat pocket while he was slashing him up with his claws and beating the cheese out of him is awesome on its own. Probably the only thing he could do on his end.

** He gets out of disguise - complete with an orchestral "TAH-DAH!" - and with great cheer says, "Thank you, Dawson. Smile, everyone!" Posing for the picture Ratigan intended to show Basil's death with a bewildered Dawson and Olivia.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/basil_82.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Basil's not half bad for someone who's a few inches tall.]]

--> '''Basil:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner "On the]] [[NotQuiteDead contrary...]][[MeaningfulEcho THE GAME'S NOT OVER YET."]]

*** The fact that Basil managed to steal the bell right out of Ratigan's coat pocket while he was slashing him up with his claws and beating the cheese out of him is awesome on it's own. Probably the only thing he could do on his end.

* Ratigan's attempted AwesomeMomentOfCrowning is foiled by Basil taking control of the robot queen and using it to give Ratigan a ''blistering'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech while making the robot expose itself as such. As we see Olivia happily reuniting with her father, and Dawson and even [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething the Queen]] tying up Ratigan's minions. Basil caps his speech off by ''slamming'' Ratigan's berserk button ''again''.
--> '''Basil''': You, professor...
-->'''Robot Queen''': ...are none other than a foul ''stenchus rodentus'', commonly known as a...
--> '''Ratigan''': ''' DON'T SAY IT!!!''' (''Panicking and trying to hold the robot's mouth shut.'')
--> '''Basil''': (''emerges from the curtains and points at his nemesis'') ''SEWER RAT!''
--> '''Ratigan''': '''DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!'''
--> '''Basil''': Arrest that fiend!

* The ending: not only did they play up the Reichenbach Falls story (complete with a DisneyDeath for their Holmes stand-in), but the way the movie changes from a madcap, comedic mystery into a breathtaking chase sequence, a climactic fight inside the ClockTower of Parliament, the NightmareFuel of Ratigan's [[VillainousBreakdown evil transformation]] into a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown crazed killer rat]], and finally Basil's [[IronicEcho clever usage]] of Big Ben striking to topple the villain to his death (all of it with a very effective musical score) is simply incredible. Most people who talk about the Disney Renaissance say it began with ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', but just as many contend that ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' should be the real beginning, or at least that the seeds of it were planted here. (The movie, while vastly entertaining, does perhaps pale a bit compared to what followed it.) This ending sequence may be one reason why it deserves such an inclusion.
** Basil's actual takedown of Ratigan is awesome all on it's own. Ratigan has knocked him from the clock hand they were fighting on, and the crazed rat laughs as he thinks he's finally won. Only for Basil's voice to cut the celebration short.
--> '''Basil''': [[PreMortemOneLiner "On the]] [[NotQuiteDead contrary...]][[MeaningfulEcho THE GAME'S NOT OVER YET."]]
** With that line Basil rings Felicia's bell that he managed to snatch from Ratigan in the scuffle, he distracts Ratigan for just a moment. The moment when the clock reaches the top of the hour and tolls. The vibration from the rung bell sends Ratigan off to his DisneyVillainDeath.
** Plus, that sequence marked only the second time CGI was used by Disney's feature animation department.[[note]]The first usage was in ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron''.[[/note]] The gears were computer animated, then traced by hand. Bonus points for it being completely accurate to Big Ben's internal workings.

* Though Ratigan's schemes such as the Big Ben Caper were rather impressive to begin with and earned him a lot of money, he manages to outdo himself when he comes up with a scheme that will make him become the supreme ruler of all mousedom.

** Even without the context, this is still a moment of awesome, showing off just how CrazyAwesome Basil can be.

* ''Olivia'' gets one [[PluckyGirl for calling Ratigan a rat]]! The last guy who did that got fed to a giant cat.
** She bit him on the hand during the clock tower chase.

--> '''Ratigan''': '''AAAARGH!'''

-->'''Robot Queen''': are none other than a foul ''stenchus rodentus'', commonly known as a...
--> '''Ratigan''': DON'T SAY IT!!! (''Panicking and trying to hold the robot's mouth shut.'')
--> '''Basil''': (''emerges from the curtains and points at his nemesis'') ''SEWER RAT!''

--> '''Basil'': You, professor...
-->'''Robot Queen''': are none other than a foul ''stenchus rodentus'', commonly known as a...

--> '''Robot Queen''': You, professor, are none other than a foul stenchus rodentus, commonly known as a...

--> '''Ratigan''': '''DON'T SAY IT!!!''' (''Panicking and trying to hold the robot's mouth shut.'')
--> '''Basil''': (''emerges from the curtains and points at his nemesis'') ''SEWER RAT!''

--> '''Ratigan''': Don't say it!!! (''Panicking and trying to hold the robot's mouth shut.'')
--> '''Basil''': ''SEWER RAT!'' (''Stepping on stage with a finger-point that [[Franchise/AceAttorney Phoenix Wright]] himself would be proud of.'')

** With that line Basil rings Felicia's bell that he managed to snatch from Ratigan in the scuffle, he distracts Ratigan for just a moment. The moment when the clock reaches the top of the hour and tolls. The vibration from the rung bell sends Ratigan off to his DisneyDeath.

* Ratigan's attempted AwesomeMomentOfCrowning is foiled by Basil taking control of the robot queen and using it to give Ratigan a ''blistering'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech while making the robot expose itself as such. As wesee Olivia happily reuniting with her father, and Dawson and even [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething the Queen]] tying up Ratigan's minions. Basil caps his speech off by ''slamming'' Ratigan's berserk button ''again''.