Review: Young Sherlock Holmes

Today, on the recommendation of the lovely daasgrrl, I saw the movie Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)—not to be confused with Young Sherlock: the Mystery of the Manor House (1982), which I reviewed here. In Young Sherlock Holmes, John Watson and Sherlock Holmes meet as schoolboys and solve an action-packed mystery. I think of this film as kind of a predecessor of the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes (2009) film with its creepy cult sacrifices and the exciting (though implausible) stunts and fight scenes that the leads pull off.

The screenplay for the movie was written by none other than Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter movies). I love it when my fandoms collide unexpectedly. And whoa, do they collide here. (There’s even an article listing all their similarities with the title “Did Harry Potter Plagiarize Young Sherlock Holmes?”)

The worlds do feel extremely similar, so much that I started thinking of this as an AU in which Sherlock Holmes and John Watson attend Hogwarts. Which I’m totally okay with! Both boarding schools are warm and welcoming—and have great halls with tons of candles—but hide some pretty dark secrets and mysteries. Other similarities include John Watson’s standard-issue national health glasses that are the exact same that Harry Potter wears (this was so squee-inducing that I smiled whenever Watson was onscreen), the pretty scarves, the castle with its spiraling staircases and attic room that serves as Dumbledore’s office (i.e. full of cool gizmos), the two guys/one curly-haired girl dynamic, the blonde Draco Malfoy character, the morally ambiguous teachers, etc. Even the special effects creatures (real in Harry Potter, hallucinated in Young Sherlock Holmes) resemble each other, particularly the dragons.

( Thoughts on the characters )

Back to my Sherlock Holmes Adaptations Masterlist: (Taxi!)