The Mouse and His Child (film)
| The Mouse and His Child | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Swenson Fred Wolf [1] |
| Written by | Russell Hoban (novel) Carol Monpere |
| Produced by | Walt deFaria |
| Starring | Peter Ustinov [2] Cloris Leachman Sally Kellerman Andy Devine |
| Music by | Roger Kellaway |
Production companies | Murakami-Wolf Productions
|
| Distributed by | Sanrio [3] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 83 minutes[4] |
| Countries | United States Japan [5] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | 1ドル.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 | Gorō Naya |
| Cliff Norton | ||
| The Clock | Regis Cordic | Joji Yanami |
| 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 | Chiyoko Kawashima |
| Maitzi Morgan | Yumi Nakatani | |
| Paper People | Iris Rainer | Fuyumi Shiraishi |
| Charles Woolf | 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 |
| Bluejay | Charles Woolf | Kaneta Kimotsuki |
Additional English Voices
[edit ]- John Carradine (The Tramp)
- Cliff Osmond (Serpentina)
Home media
[edit ]The film was first released on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on VHS in 1983 [15] and re-released in 1985[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 ]- ^ TCM.com
- ^ The Mouse And His Child (1977) TV Spots - The Duke Mitchell Film Club on YouTube
- ^ Sanrio Films Studio Directory-Japanese Studio Title: Kabushikigaisha Sanrio, 株式会社サンリオ|BCDB [dead link ]
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ MUBI
- ^ "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ドル and was retitled The Extraordinary Adventures of the Mouse and His Child."
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
- ^ Don Bluth Goes Independent - AWN.com
- ^ UCLA Film & Television Archive
- ^ The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban: moving metaphysics for kids|Books|The Guardian
- ^ Internet Archive
- ^ Time Out London
- ^ Behind The Voice Actors
- ^ Alan Barzman - 3 Characters|Behind The Voice Actors
- ^ The Mouse and his child (VHS tape, 1983)-WorldCat.org
- ^ Amazon.com The Mouse and His Child VHS
- ^ Top 10 movies starring toys that come alive|Den of Geek
- ^ The Extraordinary Adventures Of The Mouse and His Child (DVD) (Japan Version)|YesAsia
- ^ Screen: 'Mouse And Child' - The New York Times
- ^ "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide", Wikipedia, 2020年04月17日, retrieved 2020年10月13日
External links
[edit ]- 1977 films
- 1977 drama films
- American children's animated adventure films
- 1977 animated films
- Animated films about mice
- Films about sentient toys
- 1970s American animated films
- Animated films based on American novels
- American animated drama films
- American children's animated fantasy films
- American fantasy adventure films
- Japanese animated fantasy films
- Japanese fantasy adventure films
- 1970s fantasy adventure films
- 1970s children's animated films
- 1970s English-language films
- Japanese animated drama films
- English-language fantasy adventure films