Shades of Sherlock Holmes

Director: Ron Clements
Date: 1972
Rating: ★★
Review:

Ron Clements, of later e.g. ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Moana’ fame, turns out to be influenced by cheap television animation in his early short ‘Shades of Sherlock Holmes’.

His cartoon features generic designs, limited animation, a lot of dialogue and a rather Scooby Doo-like plot. Absolutely nothing in this short indicates a great talent, and the film is as generic as it is boring. The bad sound mixing doesn’t help either. Luckily, Clements turned out fine, and became one of the most famous directors in feature animation.

‘Shades of Sherlock Holmes’ is available on the DVD ‘Giants’ First Steps’