The Mouse and His Child is a 1977 Japanese-American animated film[6] based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Russell Hoban.[7][8]
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.[9][10]
Cast[]
Original[11][]
- Peter Ustinov - Manny the Rat
- Cloris Leachman - Euterpe
- Sally Kellerman - The Seal
- Andy Devine - The Frog
- Alan Barzman[12] - The Mouse
- Marcy Swenson - The Mouse Child
- Neville Brand - Iggy
- Regis Cordic - The Clock
- Joan Gerber - The Elephant
- Bob Holt - Muskrat
- Mel Leven - Ralphie
- Maitzi Morgan - Teller and Starling
- Frank Nelson - Crow
- Cliff Norton - Crow
- Cliff Osmond - C. Serpentina
- Iris Rainer - Paper People / Starling
- Bob Ridgely - Jack in the Box
- Charles Woolf - Bluejay / Paper People
- and John Carradine as The Tramp
Japanese[]
- Ichirō Zaitsu - Manny the Rat
- Masumi Harukawa - The Elephant
- Shinobu Ôtake - The Seal
- Kinba Sanyûtei - The Frog
- Gorō Naya - The Crows
- Yukiji Asaoka - Euterpe
- Kazuo Kumakura - Muskrat
- Fuyumi Shiraishi - Paper People
- Makio Inoue - Paper People
- Hiroshi Sakamoto - The Mouse
- Atsuko Sakamoto - The Mouse Child
- Shunji Fujimura - Ralphie
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".[13]
References[]
- ↑ TCM.com
- ↑ Sanrio Films Studio Directory-Japanese Studio Title: Kabushikigaisha Sanrio, 株式会社サンリオ|BCDB
- ↑ 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 and was retitled The Extraordinary Adventures of the Mouse and His Child."
- ↑ (2009) The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, 3rd, New York: Checkmark Books. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Screen: 'Mouse And Child' - The New York Times
See also[]
- Children's literature
- 1977 in film
External links[]
The Mouse and His Child at IMDb- The Mouse and His Child at All Movie Guide
- The Head of Orpheus Fan Page For Russell Hoban
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