Often times I'll come across a random find within something I already own, become amused by it, and I'll want to share it with others to see their thoughts. Hopefully I'll get some feedback, but if not, then thank you in advance for at least viewing this journal entry! :heart:

In The Great Mouse Detective coloring/activity book, there is a page on how to properly write schedules on a calendar. Basil was used as the subject for when he has tea with the queen, practice his violin, and yes, this was a real entry: plays polo!

Polo? As in the game where the players ride on horses? How could a mouse play polo on a horse? Does he ride with a human on the animal? Judging by the picture of him from the coloring book, he's got his own equipment, ergo, he must be the actual rider in the game. But on what?

I then started brainstorming just for fun. What other animal more closer to his size would work? I then thought: puppies! Little hyper hound dogs, kind of like Toby, only runt-sized and can move at fast speeds. How cute and amusing that would be to see Basil playing polo with other mice on a field and they all ride on miniature canines! :aww:

It could happen, right?

If anyone decides to draw this idea, please show it to me! :)


Basil in polo attire is from TGMD Coloring/Activity book.
Digitally colored by me. Please do not take it and use it elsewhere.


Looking back at old journal dates, the last time I talked about Basil's height was on April 4, 2011. That means for two years I've been wondering what is the exact height of the famous mouse detective and never getting a definite answer...until now! I recently had a one-on-one talk with a Disney animator, and what he told me was extremely helpful!

First of all, the circles on animation height charts represent 'head units.' The height chart of Basil and Dawson uses heads to determine their height. Basil was given 4½ heads, Dawson was given 3. Talking to the animator, I asked him if the heads could also stand for inches. He believes this is true because, being mice, they would be measured that way, whereas humans would be measured by feet.

He also told me that, in animation, the characters have to be made larger than usual size, and this definitely includes mice. Animating a mouse at normal size would be too small. The animators have to increase the body mass to a bigger size so that their details/expressions are seen better by audiences.

Disney's approximate height of Basil is 4½ head units, or what the animator agreed with me as inches since he's a mouse. If you wanted to round it off to avoid halves, the more possible answer is 4" because Basil is supposed to be one head unit taller than Dawson, who's own head comes up to his chin.

And there you have it! :faint:
Hello everyone,
The following contains a discussion about corporal punishment (spanking), therefore, it may be too uncomfortable for some. If you don't wish to continue, that's perfectly all right.



**********

As many of you know, I've been a long time fan of The Great Mouse Detective and mostly the lead character, Detective Basil. Ever since I watched him in the film, I considered him a role model, as someone I could go to if I had a problem. Since it was his job to help mice in the world, he felt like someone I could trust. If I were a mouse in trouble, of course. I rediscovered my love for the movie in 2006, and it went from there to keep it popular in this day and age.

As the years went on, I was finding a variety of fan-made material, some of which I fancied, and some of which I did not personally care for. This was expected when many creators each take a turn at drawing or writing the characters in their own unique way. It was a few years back when I found a one-shot that opened one big question as well as leave an everlasting impression.

The warning that it was a spanking fic was at the bottom in the writer's description, after the story. I don't read the descriptions first because they often contain spoilers. This meant I didn't know what to expect until I got to the actual punishment scene. Olivia disobeyed Basil, he gave her orders, and she didn't listen to them. As the scene was coming up, I felt a chill run through my body. I figured it may not be so bad, and kept reading. While I read, I started flash-backing to age five, when I disobeyed my own father. As the spanking continued in the story, I was seeing myself getting the same painful swats.

To this day, the scene has never left me, nor has that moment with my father in real life. I never commented to the writer, never felt the need to say anything. It was a request for them to write it, so I decided to try and move on. Yet, with having such a strong, psychological fear of that type of punishment, I couldn't get it out of my head.

Other than activities with GMD, I like to play PC games from Big Fish, mostly the ones with hidden object scenes. "Escape from Ravenhearst," for the record, contains corporal punishment. I read reviews to see what it was about, and none of them mentioned that scene. As a follower of the Mystery Case Files series, I bought the game. The scene soon arrived and it came upon me by surprise. Combined with disturbing visions and repairing a spanking machine, a child is heard screaming and crying on and off in the background track. I eventually turned off the sound. Since the player is called the Master Detective, I sort of feel like Basil or Sherlock Holmes, and I knew they wouldn't let a portion like that stop them. I forced myself to continue and beat the game. It was one of the most difficult moments to get through.

Just when I thought I survived the game and the spanking fic was somewhat dormant, I came across a different story in recent times. Thanks to a brief summary, I knew what to expect, and I skimmed through it mostly out of curiosity. To my relief, it didn't affect me the same as the first story did, and that might have been because I was warned in advance.

In truth, both stories had an explanation of why Olivia was reprimanded. But, would Basil, the Sherlock Holmes of the mouse world, have done the deed himself? In the first book by Eve Titus, there is a brief moment when he is stern with the Proudfoot twins for going off with a stranger and worrying everyone. Instead of a verbal lecture, what if he and Dawson each took a twin and spanked them? Or in the Disney movie, how would anyone react to him paddling Olivia because she turned on the fireman band music box in the toyshop?

Furthermore, this is during the Victorian era, where corporal punishment was very common in schools and private homes. With that thought in mind, would these children have received such a punishment if this were not in a book or a film? Meaning, if these characters existed as real life people in the 19th century, like if Basil was a human detective helping these young children, would he spank them for disobedience?

That's all for now. I really hope I haven't offended anyone with this journal entry. I meant no disrespect to the story and PC game writers, either. I'm mainly curious to know your thoughts on Basil using corporal punishment as a means to reprimanding children.

Thank you for reading!


In honor of the premiere of BBC's Sherlock on PBS (tonight at 10 p.m., or check your local listing), I decided to share some amusing art pieces of Basil crossed over with Benedict Cumberbatch's version of the super sleuth. There are so many wonderful pictures, and I'm still finding more all the time. These were some I wanted to share here. If anyone is upset with me for sharing their work, I apologize in advance. Instead of yelling obscenities in comments, please Note me instead, and ask to have the work removed from this journal. I will do it without haste. I am only showcasing the work because of today's date of the UK show's premiere.

Featured is one picture per artist. This took a long time to collaborate, so I may find more and add them in from various artists. I've properly credited each picture with a link back to their original page and artist. Enjoy!





Basil Costume 10: Sherlock by ALS123
Smiley by Atarial
"Bored!" by ctrayn
Sherlock the Great Mouse Detective by Lintunen
Blinking Basil by murr-ma-ing
Reichenbach Basil by SashDoesDoodles
Sherlock Holmes by TopHatTurtle



Hi everyone!
I'm ashamed to admit I haven't done a blog for this group in over a year! :faint:


I've only kept :iconthegamesafoot: active for its weekly updates. The reason why is probably due to the fact that I never know what subjects to cover for this particular mouse detective! I did, however, come up with one pondering...

If I had to name something I admire on Basil's character, it would probably be things like his kind and handsome facial features, mannerisms, and sense of humor, right? True, but another part I've always admired were his hands...or paws? Hmm...

To the fan writers out there, how do you describe them? Do you call them hands, or do you go the book route and call them paws? What do they feel like? Is the skin texture much like human hands or more like the skin of a rodent?

For me, I've been calling them "hands," but I'm pretty sure "paws" has snuck in a few times. As for how they look and feel on the surface, I'd personally think Basil has put them through a lot of pain and abuse. He does a lot of chemical experiments for one, so he's probably got a lot of scratches, burn marks, bruises, splotches of skin-irritating potions, and other known injuries.

Let's also not forget his line of work as a detective: handling all sorts of objects on his cases, murder weapons, getting into fights, and running through environments that are dirty, wet, and dangerous. Imagine those hands constantly touching, grabbing, and being used on a repeated basis.

And how often does he find the time to thoroughly scrub those precious digits of his? Umm... the answer remains unknown, but with so many nasty diseases and illnesses in the Victorian era, I hope he does it a lot! ;)

One last thing; I found a short yet amusing read about this subject. It's appropriately titled A Study of Hands (by Muffled Chimes).

That's all I've got for now. Thoughts, anyone? :)

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