Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape - TV Tropes
- ️Thu Nov 07 2024
The game is afoot... or apaw?
Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape is a Chinese animated film based on Sherlock Holmes (in particular, the Chinese children's book series The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes.) It was directed by Toe Yuen and Matthew Chow, and released in 2019.
The film takes place in a version of 1800's England where everyone is an anthropomorphic animal. The story begins with Sherlock solving a relatively small murder case to show his prowess. Then the story focuses on Sherlock's pursuit of Mack, an elegant thief who goes by "the White Storm." As Sherlock pursues Mack, he makes some interesting discoveries about how Mack is a more decent person than originally thought. Sherlock makes the grievous mistake of arresting Mack in front of Mack's daughter, Alice. Alice didn't know her father was a thief. To make things worse, it happens on Alice's birthday. This incident causes Sherlock to be shunned by nearly everyone around him.
When Mack escapes prison, Sherlock is forced to tail him once again. But another, much fouler prisoner named Scarface escapes not long after and kidnaps Alice. Sherlock must team up with the local police and Mack himself to save Alice.
The English voice cast includes Robbie Daymond as Sherlock Holmes, David Errigo Jr. as Dr. Watson, Greg Chun as Mack, and Jason Marnocha as Scarface.
Not to be confused with Sherlock Hound, another East Asian animation that depicts Sherlock Holmes as a bipedal dog.
This film contains examples of:
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Dr. Watson is a pink cat.
- Asshole Victim: The rich man who is murdered at the beginning turns out to have been blackmailing several lower-class workers, including his own bodyguard.
- Balloon Belly: Dr. Watson gains a noticeable paunch after eating several cakes at one point. It disappears after just a few scenes.
- Bears Are Bad News: The main villain, Scarface, is an anthropomorphic bear. He is a violent, crude individual who uses his size and strength to intimidate others.
- Brains Evil, Brawn Good: Inverted. The hero, Sherlock Holmes, is a brilliant detective as usual, while the villain, Scarface, is a brutish thug who uses intimidation and violence to get his way.
- Buffoonish Tomcat: Dr. Watson is depicted here as an anthropomorphic cat. He has a few vices, such as gluttony and cowardice, but is still a plucky and comical good guy.
- Detective Animal: Sherlock Holmes is depicted here as an anthropomorphic dog.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Scarface has a deep, growly voice, perfect for an evil bear.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: As his name indicates, the villainous Scarface gets his name from the big, jagged scar across his right eye.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Mack, aka the White Storm. He's an elegant thief who cares for the poor, so he robs the rich to provide food and money for them.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The villainous Moriarty is depicted as a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes as his only discernable features.
- Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: Implied. This film has an original villain, Scarface, and there's no sequel yet. But the mid-credits scene reveals that Professor Moriarty was behind some of the events in the film, and it sets him up to be the villain of a potential sequel.
- The Stinger: There is a mid-credits scene in which Sherlock realizes that someone has been manipulating events behind the scenes. It's Professor Moriarty, who will likely be the villain of a potential sequel.
- Sweet Sheep: The kindhearted orphanage caretaker is a sheep.
- World of Funny Animals: All the characters are anthropomorphic animals.