Basil of Baker Street

Basil of Basil Street was a detective based on the fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes and the main protagonist of The Great Mouse Detective. His main goal is to get Professor Ratigan behind bars and rescue Olivia Flaversham's father, while simultaneously preventing a royal assassination. There are a few differences between Basil in the book series and in the film version, such as mercurial moods in the latter. He also plays the violin rather well in the movie, whereas the book series stated Basil's violin playing was atrocious-instead, Basil played the flute.

Basil is voiced by the late Barrie Ingham.

Role in the film
In the film, when Dr. David Q. Dawson meets a lost and frightened Olivia Flaversham, desparately searching for Basil to help her locate her kidnapped father, he helps her find Baker Street. Before long, all 3 are involved in a maze of mystery and intrigue, looking for clues and realizing that all clues point to one person—Basil's arch enemy, the nefarious Professor Ratigan. When Olivia is kidnapped as well, Basil is able to track down Ratigan's hideout using skillful observation and deduction.

Basil's keen and penetrating mind save the day when, after a near coup of the English royalty, becomes involed in a fierce battle with Ratigan at the top of the tower of Big Ben, where Ratigan, out of sheer bad temper, transforms from a very formal, composed rat to a highly savage one. He pursues Basil with great speed and leaps into him, and they both fall onto the clock's hour hand. Finally, Ratigan extends his long and strong claws and begins slashing and violently beating Basil, causing some serious injuries to him such as smacking him in the throat, a gash across his muzzle, scratched deeply by Ratigan's claws across the flesh of his back, and a bleeding arm. Because of these injuries and Ratigan's size, Basil is unable to fight back and Ratigan manages to knock him off the hand. However, Basil grabs onto the wreckage of the blimp saving his life. Suddenly the clock bell tolls,causing Ratigan to plunge off off the hand; as he falls he tries to take Basil with him but fails and falls 278 feet into the clouds below. The fall kills Ratigan. Basil recovers from his injuries and Dawson becomes his new assistant.