Like I'm sure most people do, I usually prefer reading the book before watching the movie. Reading takes more time, and if the book isn't as good, it's significantly tougher to plough through it. However, the even bigger reason for me personally is the fact that the inevitable differences are more difficult to ignore in a book. I prefer imagining the characters myself, and if they're not the same in the adaptation, it distracts me when I'm reading.

The Great Mouse Detective (1986) doesn't have those problems. The book doesn't take long to read because it's a children's book, and because the animation has animals, I'm not bothered by the discrepancies in characters etc.

Anyway, the movie is one my favorite animations of all time. It slightly creeped me out when I was a child. The bat with a wooden leg, the absolute demented Ratigan who tries to pretend he's not a rat, the cat that gets to eat all the mice that piss Ratigan off, the intense finale inside Big Ben etc. I kept going back to the VHS over and over again to experience the foggy atmosphere of Victorian London (could it be that this movie started my obsession with the Victorian era?).

The book isn't nearly as dark, which I admit disappointed me at first, but I completely understand why Titus wanted to keep it clean. It didn't make me enjoy it any less, but it just caught me off guard. There's also no bat and no Moriarty/Ratigan (he should appear in later books) but instead three ordinary bland crooks. Actually, the entire book has completely different characters aside from Basil and Dawson and a completely different plot, so no point listing all the differences.

The one I found the most interesting, though, is the creation of Holmestead (modelled after Hampstead, perhaps?) in the cellar of Baker Street 221B. While in the movie the parallels between Basil and Sherlock are more subtle or at least not discussed, in the book Sherlock Holmes is given much more attention. Basil admires him tremendously and has a slight inferiority complex because of it. The poor thing also can't play the violin like his idol!

All the differences, however, were more interesting than annoying or distracting. Although I like the movie more, Basil is a perfectly competent and adorable children's book that feels, for a 1958 novel set in the 1800s, remarkably modern in terms of writing. I'm sure today's kids would enjoy the adventure just as much, and the illustrations are absolutely lovely. The appeal of Victorian London is so great, though, that I'm not sure if I will continue with the series (looks like it has books set in Mexico and Switzerland, for example).

I'll just keep the movie close to my heart. The world would be a better place if everyone had as much fun as the glorious Vincent Price playing Ratigan.