Scene of the Week: The Historical Significance of Young Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 adventure film that unsurprisingly tells the story of a young Sherlock Holmes. While the film is based on the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle character, it is a completely new story written by Chris Columbus. If having one Academy Award nominated filmmaker is not enough for you, Young Sherlock Holmes was directed by Academy Award winner Barry Levinson. Still not enough Hollywood pull for you? Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg was an executive producer and the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler, was a producer. All this weight behind the film makes for an enjoyable watching experience. However, this is not what makes Young Sherlock Holmes significant in the annals of film. Young Sherlock Holmes has the first fully computer-generated photorealistic animated character in a movie!
This week’s scene of the week takes a look at the CG legend Young Sherlock Holmes and features a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window attacking a drugged priest and ends with a good old fashioned horse trampling. The short scene took four months to complete and was an early project for animation maven John Lasseter. While it may seem a little primitive compared to Hollywood’s big budget action films of today (don’t forget this came out in 1985,) I want you to remember the original the next time you see a fully computer-generated photorealistic animated character on screen. All other CG movies must bend a knee to Young Sherlock Holmes.
