Mouse Evolution Original

Yes, this is Basil of Baker Street...in one form or another! This is something I've been pondering to draw for quite a long time, and now I've made it into a reality. On the left is the original illustration design by Paul Galdone while the right is, of course, the irresistible and ever so charming look from the Disney film. Left to right is usually the correct direction of past to future, and that's why I chose to draw it that way.

Originally, I had planned to make multiple drawings of Basil dressed or posing from each book cover up until the film. The second book, "Basil and the Lost Colony" depicts him rock climbing. The third, "Basil and the Pygmy Cats" has him looking through a telescope on a ship. The fourth, "Basil in Mexico" has him treading through a desert, and the fifth, "Basil in the Wild West," has both him and Dawson dressed as cowboys (or cowmice?) by a campfire.

This plan went to dust when I discovered I still draw very big, and I didn't have enough room on the paper to make this idea possible! My eye sight must be going if I need to continue to make my images big enough to see. Hmm...

I felt the best word to use in the title is 'evolution' due to how much this character has changed from looking very mouse-like to practically human with smaller details of a real rodent. It was never explained why Basil doesn't have whiskers, or why he couldn't just walk around in only his deerstalker and Inverness cape like his early self did. My guess would be with Disney making him look more of a human and less of an animal, it would be inappropriate to half-dress in London society! As for the whiskers, he trims them down, like additional scraggly hairs of a beard, he must be well-groomed for his audience.

The image of Basil on the left was hand-drawn by me, I did not copy and paste it from the book cover. I studied it carefully and that's about it. Basil on the right was also hand-drawn, and I studied over various screenshots to get the most accurate look as possible. Coloring it is an idea, but for now, I'm enjoying the black & white classic look.

Incidentally, the original Basil of Baker Street book by Eve Titus was published in 1958, thus making Basil a milestone of 50 this year. I guess I'll consider this drawing as a thank you to Eve Titus, for creating such a popular and beloved character in children's literature.

Basil of Baker Street is © Disney/Eve Titus