8/10
Wonderful Little Gems
31 December 2003
These Four Sherlock Holmes cartoons, as well as the literary adaptations done by Burbank Studios Australia, are fun little pieces. They were made in the 80's, and played on TV, sometimes on Saturday mornings, but mostly on school holidays to give kids an alternative to Soap Operas in the days when there were only three channels from which to choose.

For kids raised on anime, these will seem boring, they also lack all the high pitched screaming and shrieking prevalent in the cartoons on TV today.

The cartoons give a nice representation of Victorian England both in locations and in the characterizations.

This Study in Scarlet is the closest I've seen to the book. The 1954 TV show with Ronald Howard used the elements of this story in several different episodes. The meeting. The carriage wheel tracks outside the location. The writing of a word in blood on the wall. Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century also used some of the elements. The 1933 version with Reginald Owen goes off in an entirely new direction with a secret society and a Chinese brothel. This version with Peter O'Toole actually stays with the book to the end. As it is a cartoon for kids, all mention of Sherlock Holmes pharmicudical endeavors are non-existent.

Definitely recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and cartoon adaptations of literary classics.
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