The Mouse and His Child (film)

The Mouse and His Child is a 1977 Japanese-American animated film[6][7][8] based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Russell Hoban.[9][10]

The Mouse and His Child
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Swenson
Fred Wolf [1]
Produced byWalt deFaria
Written byRussell Hoban (novel)
Carol Monpere
StarringPeter Ustinov
Cloris Leachman
Sally Kellerman
John Carradine
Andy Devine
Music byRoger Kellaway
Production
company
Distributed bySanrio [2]
Release date
  • November 18, 1977 (1977-11-18) (U.S.)
  • December 18, 1980 (1980-12-18) (Australia)
Running time
83 minutes [3]
CountryUnited States
Japan [4]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,600,000 [5]

Plot

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 out of a window and land 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 animal characters on a quest of becoming 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
Character English 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 Unknown
The Tramp John Carradine
Euterpe Cloris Leachman Yukiji Asaoka
Iggy Neville Brand Unknown
Muskrat Bob Holt Kazuo Kumakura
Jack in the Box Robert Ridgely Unknown
Starlings Iris Rainer
Maitzi Morgan
Paper People Iris Rainer
Charles Woolf		 Fuyumi Shiraishi
Makio Inoue
The Mouse Alan Barzman[13] Hiroshi Sakamoto
The Mouse Child Marcy Swenson Atsuko Sakamoto
Ralphie Mel Leven Shunji Fujimura
Teller Maitzi Morgan Unknown
Serpentina Cliff Osmond
Bluejay Charles Woolf

[14]

Home media

The film was first released on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on VHS in 1985 [15] and re-released in 1991 [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

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]

References
  1. TCM.com
  2. Sanrio Films Studio Directory-Japanese Studio Title: Kabushikigaisha Sanrio, 株式会社サンリオ|BCDB
  3. Rotten Tomatoes
  4. MUBI
  5. "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."
  6. Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  7. The Mouse and His Child (1977) TV Spot 2 posted by Night of the Trailers on YouTube
  8. The Mouse and His Child (1977) TV Spot 1 posted by Night of the Trailers on YouTube
  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. Alan Barzman - 3 Characters|Behind The Voice Actors
  14. Behind The Voice Actors
  15. The Mouse and his child (VHS tape, 1985)-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

See also
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