The Lyin' Mouse
The Lyin' Mouse is a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.[1] The short was released on October 16, 1937.[2]
| The Lyin' Mouse | |
|---|---|
 Blue Ribbon reissue card | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger (uncredited in reissue) |
| Story by | Tedd Pierce |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Billy Bletcher (both uncredited) |
| Music by | Carl Stalling |
| Animation by | Ken Harris |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
Release date | October 16, 1937 |
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
Plot
A mouse is trying to free himself from a trap when a cat arrives. The mouse, desperate to avoid being eaten, asks if the cat has heard the story of "The Lion And The Mouse." He tells a story about a ferocious lion in the jungle who scares all the animals; the mouse has a horn that imitates the lion's roar, and has some fun with it until the lion catches him. The mouse pleads for his life, and the lion, distracted by a bigger catch, agrees. The bigger catch is a trap set by the Frank Cluck expedition; the lion avoids the first trap, but falls for the second, and find himself in a circus lion-taming act (where he put his head inside the tamer's mouth). The mouse happens by, and chews a lion-shaped hole in the lion's wooden cart/cage, setting him free. Back to the cat: moved by this story, he releases the mouse. Just before entering his hole, the mouse yells one last word at the cat: "Sucker!" The cat shrugs and says, "Well, can you imagine that?"
Availability
- DVD - Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection (USA 1995 dubbed print added as a bonus)
- LaserDisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 5, Side 3 (USA 1995 dubbed print)
Notes
- This short is the first Warner Bros. cartoon to give story credit; in this case, to Tedd Pierce.
- This cartoon was re-released into the Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies program on December 22, 1945.
- The ostrich from "Plenty of Money and You" makes a cameo appearance, when the animals run away from the mouse's lion noise. Coincidentally, both shorts with the ostrich were directed by Freleng.
References
- Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 63. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.