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The Mouse and His Child (film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Mouse and His Child' is a 1977 American animated film based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Russell Hoban.[https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-04-10/mouse-and-his-child-1977 UCLA Film & Television Archive][https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/31/mouse-and-his-child-russell-hoban The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban: moving metaphysics for kids|Books|The Guardian]
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.[https://archive.org/details/TheMouseAndHisChildCharles Internet Archive][https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-mouse-and-his-child Time Out London]
Cast
*Manny the Rat - Peter Ustinov
*The Elephant - Joan Gerber
*The Seal - Sally Kellerman
*The Frog - Andy Devine
*Crow #2 - Frank Nelson
*Crow #1 - Cliff Norton
*The Clock - Regis Cordic
*The Tramp - John Carradine
*Euterpe - Cloris Leachman
*Iggy - Neville Brand
*Muskrat - Bob Holt
*Jack in the Box - Robert Ridgely
*Starling, Paper People - Iris Rainer
*Starling, Teller - Maitzi Morgan
*Paper People, Bluejay - Charles Woolf
*The Mouse - Alan Barzman[https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Alan-Barzman/ Alan Barzman - 3 Characters|Behind The Voice Actors]
*The Mouse Child - Marcy Swenson
*Ralphie - Mel Leven
*Serpentina - Cliff Osmond
[https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/movies/Mouse-and-His-Child/ Behind The Voice Actors]
Home media
The film was first released on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video on VHS in 1985 [https://www.worldcat.org/title/mouse-and-his-child/oclc/15513339 The Mouse and his child (VHS tape, 1985)-WorldCat.org] and re-released in 1991 [https://www.amazon.com/Mouse-His-Child-VHS/dp/6300137171 Amazon.com The Mouse and His Child VHS] in the United States. A DVD version has yet to be released in the United States,[https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/16701/top-10-movies-starring-toys-that-come-alive Top 10 movies starring toys that come alive|Den of Geek] but it was released on DVD in Japan.[https://www.yesasia.com/us/the-extraordinary-adventures-of-the-mouse-and-his-child-dvd-japan/1022308757-0-0-0-en/info.html The Extraordinary Adventures Of The Mouse and His Child (DVD) (Japan Version)|YesAsia]
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".[https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/07/archives/screen-mouse-and-child.html Screen: 'Mouse And Child' - The New York Times]
'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."
See also
*Children's literature
*1977 in film
References
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