Certainly was our favorite video tape back in the day, one we watched over and over and over and over and over!
In Japan (where the film came out a year after it's US release), they double-billed this with "Ringing Bell". Call that the BEST childhood experience ever!
Someone once called me a "racist" for simply discounting such things by saying "it's Japan", but when it comes down to it, how else could you explain the things they do?
Of course I'm sure to them, a story like "Ringing Bell" works since it tries to show the effect of one's direction in life if they thought perhaps those children out there might learn a lesson from one's mistake or something. Of course the best stories told or read there often involve people losing anyway (I'm sure such forgotten western literature like "A Dog of Flanders" gave them great inspiration).
Maybe it's because of Williams' Raggedy Ann & Andy? Together with The Brave Little Toaster these are all about the secret lives of things. Proto Toy Story, in a way.
For some reason I always thought The Mouse and His Child was a Richard Williams movie.
Hell that part where the mice try to find "infinity" from a dog food can is a very Williams-ish sort of thing he'd pull in his films!
Maybe it's because of Williams' Raggedy Ann & Andy? Together with The Brave Little Toaster these are all about the secret lives of things. Proto Toy Story, in a way.
Pretty much, though the toys-come-to-life thing has been around for ages as I can recall. 1977 was a pretty interesting year for animated films to come out. You had Raggedy Ann & Andy, Mouse & His Child, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Dot and the Kangaroo, The Rescuers and perhaps Pete's Dragon (live-action/animation combo type deal).
You're right. The toys-come-to-life trope goes back before Babes in Toyland.
But I was struck how much The Mouse and His Child reminded me of Brave Little Toaster while rewatching it over the weekend. Which is strange because it's the same thing that happened when I watched Toy Story 3. This odd theme about things that are thrown away and forgotten, broken.
It still feels very Richard Williams to me. And I hate to say it, I kinda like this movie more then William's Raggedy Ann & Andy. And I'm not sure I can put my finger on why.
You're right. The toys-come-to-life trope goes back before Babes in Toyland.
Yeah, Johnny Gruelle, the creator of RA&A pretty much was writing those type of stories for years.
But I was struck how much The Mouse and His Child reminded me of Brave Little Toaster while rewatching it over the weekend. Which is strange because it's the same thing that happened when I watched Toy Story 3. This odd theme about things that are thrown away and forgotten, broken.
I see what you mean. And I remember thinking that way about The Brave Little Toaster as well.
It still feels very Richard Williams to me. And I hate to say it, I kinda like this movie more then William's Raggedy Ann & Andy. And I'm not sure I can put my finger on why.
I suppose we'll never know for sure why. Mouse and His Child was a far more favorite of mine anyway, but perhaps that was due to having watched it over and over, getting those lines in my head and relating to all the characters in this. It certainly wasn't quite a mess story-wise as RA&A's production was, although the original author apparently hated how M&HC was adapted as the last quarter of the book was rushed through according to this... http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1632 http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1333
I suppose for what budget Murakami-Wolf had to work with, they did their job well on this film.
I think the best moment of the film I liked was when Manny destroys the mice in a display of pure insanity, only to finally come to when he sees what he done and quietly shrugs away from the scene of the crime. That was such a great scene!
13 comments:
Certainly was our favorite video tape back in the day, one we watched over and over and over and over and over!
In Japan (where the film came out a year after it's US release), they double-billed this with "Ringing Bell". Call that the BEST childhood experience ever!
I kinda said someplace Nostalgia Critic outta do this movie, though I'm sure it'll come to him sooner or later.
But "Ringing Bell" is so depressing! He becomes what he swore to destroy....
Well, it's like the paring of My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies. It may seem like the worst thing to do, but it just worked over there!
But yeah, it is pretty strange indeed.
Someone once called me a "racist" for simply discounting such things by saying "it's Japan", but when it comes down to it, how else could you explain the things they do?
Of course I'm sure to them, a story like "Ringing Bell" works since it tries to show the effect of one's direction in life if they thought perhaps those children out there might learn a lesson from one's mistake or something. Of course the best stories told or read there often involve people losing anyway (I'm sure such forgotten western literature like "A Dog of Flanders" gave them great inspiration).
For some reason I always thought The Mouse and His Child was a Richard Williams movie.
Maybe it's because of Williams' Raggedy Ann & Andy? Together with The Brave Little Toaster these are all about the secret lives of things. Proto Toy Story, in a way.
For some reason I always thought The Mouse and His Child was a Richard Williams movie.
Hell that part where the mice try to find "infinity" from a dog food can is a very Williams-ish sort of thing he'd pull in his films!
Maybe it's because of Williams' Raggedy Ann & Andy? Together with The Brave Little Toaster these are all about the secret lives of things. Proto Toy Story, in a way.
Pretty much, though the toys-come-to-life thing has been around for ages as I can recall. 1977 was a pretty interesting year for animated films to come out. You had Raggedy Ann & Andy, Mouse & His Child, Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, Dot and the Kangaroo, The Rescuers and perhaps Pete's Dragon (live-action/animation combo type deal).
You're right. The toys-come-to-life trope goes back before Babes in Toyland.
But I was struck how much The Mouse and His Child reminded me of Brave Little Toaster while rewatching it over the weekend. Which is strange because it's the same thing that happened when I watched Toy Story 3. This odd theme about things that are thrown away and forgotten, broken.
It still feels very Richard Williams to me. And I hate to say it, I kinda like this movie more then William's Raggedy Ann & Andy. And I'm not sure I can put my finger on why.
You're right. The toys-come-to-life trope goes back before Babes in Toyland.
Yeah, Johnny Gruelle, the creator of RA&A pretty much was writing those type of stories for years.
But I was struck how much The Mouse and His Child reminded me of Brave Little Toaster while rewatching it over the weekend. Which is strange because it's the same thing that happened when I watched Toy Story 3. This odd theme about things that are thrown away and forgotten, broken.
I see what you mean. And I remember thinking that way about The Brave Little Toaster as well.
It still feels very Richard Williams to me. And I hate to say it, I kinda like this movie more then William's Raggedy Ann & Andy. And I'm not sure I can put my finger on why.
I suppose we'll never know for sure why. Mouse and His Child was a far more favorite of mine anyway, but perhaps that was due to having watched it over and over, getting those lines in my head and relating to all the characters in this. It certainly wasn't quite a mess story-wise as RA&A's production was, although the original author apparently hated how M&HC was adapted as the last quarter of the book was rushed through according to this...
http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1632
http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1333
I suppose for what budget Murakami-Wolf had to work with, they did their job well on this film.
I think the best moment of the film I liked was when Manny destroys the mice in a display of pure insanity, only to finally come to when he sees what he done and quietly shrugs away from the scene of the crime. That was such a great scene!
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