The Mouse and His Child (film)

The Mouse and His Child
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Swenson
Fred Wolf[1]
Written byRussell Hoban (novel)
Carol Monpere
Produced byWalt deFaria
StarringPeter Ustinov[2]
Cloris Leachman
Sally Kellerman
Andy Devine
Music byRoger Kellaway
Production
companies
Murakami-Wolf Productions
  • Sanrio
  • DeFaria-Lockhart-Sanrio
Distributed bySanrio[3]
Release dates
  • November 18, 1977 (1977-11-18) (U.S.)
  • December 18, 1980 (1980-12-18) (Australia)
Running time
83 minutes[4]
CountriesUnited States
Japan [5]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.6 million[6]

The Mouse and His Child is a 1977 animated film[7][8] based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Russell Hoban.[9][10]

Plot[edit]

The mouse and his child are two parts of a single small wind-up toy, which must be wound by a key in the father's back. After being unpacked, they discover themselves in a toy shop where they befriend a toy elephant and toy seal. The child mouse proposes staying at the shop to form a family, which the other toys ridicule.

They accidentally fall off the counter and end up in the trash. Once transported to the dump, they become enslaved by Manny the rat, who runs a casino and uses broken wind-up toys as his slave labor force. With the aid of a psychic frog, the mice escape and meet other animals on a quest to become free and independent self-winding toys.

They rediscover the elephant and seal, who are somewhat broken down. Together they manage to form a family and destroy the rat empire.[11][12]

Cast[edit]

Character English[13] Japanese
Manny the Rat Peter Ustinov Ichirō Zaitsu
The Elephant Joan Gerber Masumi Harukawa
The Seal Sally Kellerman Shinobu Ôtake
The Frog Andy Devine Kinba Sanyûtei
The Crows Frank Nelson
Cliff Norton 		Gorō Naya
The Clock Regis Cordic Joji Yanami
The Tramp John Carradine Unknown
Euterpe Cloris Leachman Yukiji Asaoka
Iggy Neville Brand Osamu Katō
Muskrat Bob Holt Kazuo Kumakura
Jack in the Box Robert Ridgely Ichirō Nagai
Starlings Iris Rainer
Maitzi Morgan 		Chiyoko Kawashima
Yumi Nakatani
Paper People Iris Rainer
Charles Woolf 		Fuyumi Shiraishi
Makio Inoue
The Mouse Alan Barzman[14] Hiroshi Sakamoto
The Mouse Child Marcy Swenson Atsuko Sakamoto
Ralphie Mel Leven Shunji Fujimura
Teller Maitzi Morgan Keiko Han
Serpentina Cliff Osmond Unknown
Bluejay Charles Woolf Kaneta Kimotsuki

Home media[edit]

The film was first released on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on VHS in 1983 [15] and re-released in 1985 [Magic Window and RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video] [16] in the United States. A DVD version has yet to be released in the United States,[17] but it was released on DVD in Japan.[18]

Reception[edit]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the direction, writing and music score, but criticized the darker elements and stated that "83 minutes is a long time for an adult to think about mice".[19]

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide rated the movie BOMB (his lowest rating) out of four stars. He says "Boring animated film. Talk, talk, talk, and no action."[20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ TCM.com
  2. ^ The Mouse And His Child (1977) TV Spots - The Duke Mitchell Film Club on YouTube
  3. ^ Sanrio Films Studio Directory-Japanese Studio Title: Kabushikigaisha Sanrio, 株式会社サンリオ|BCDB[dead link]
  4. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
  5. ^ MUBI
  6. ^ "Russell Hoban/Forty Years: Essays on His Writings for Children", Alida Allison. "The movie of the novel had an alleged budged of $1,600,000 and was retitled The Extraordinary Adventures of the Mouse and His Child."
  7. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  8. ^ Don Bluth Goes Independent - AWN.com
  9. ^ UCLA Film & Television Archive
  10. ^ The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban: moving metaphysics for kids|Books|The Guardian
  11. ^ Internet Archive
  12. ^ Time Out London
  13. ^ Behind The Voice Actors
  14. ^ Alan Barzman - 3 Characters|Behind The Voice Actors
  15. ^ The Mouse and his child (VHS tape, 1983)-WorldCat.org
  16. ^ Amazon.com The Mouse and His Child VHS
  17. ^ Top 10 movies starring toys that come alive|Den of Geek
  18. ^ The Extraordinary Adventures Of The Mouse and His Child (DVD) (Japan Version)|YesAsia
  19. ^ Screen: 'Mouse And Child' - The New York Times
  20. ^ "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide", Wikipedia, 2020-04-17, retrieved 2020-10-13

External links[edit]

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