The Lion and the Mouse (1943) User Reviews

Early Mighty Mouse short which adapts the Aesop's fable of the lion and the mouse

[llltdesq · 7/10 · 8 May 2015]

This is a Mighty Mouse short produced by Terrytoons. There will be spoilers ahead:

This is an early Mighty Mouse cartoon, with the character not quite developed into the character most people would recognize. It follows the fable more or less, with some humorous material tossed in as well.

The lion is basically king of the jungle and everything is scared of him, including the mouse, who looks around in a panic, trying to find a hiding place. He climbs into a jug labeled "Hard Cider" and by and by becomes a whole lot braver after he swallows some of the contents.

He climbs out of the jug and goes looking for the lion and there are some nice sight gags. Ultimately, the mouse sobers up and things return to the fable, with the mouse pleading with the lion to spare him, that he'll return the favor one day. Naturally, the lion decides to humor the mouse and lets him go.

Of course, the lion winds up in trouble, chased by dogs into a trap. The mouse, with another dose of that wonderful cider, magically becomes Mighty Mouse and comes to the rescue. The ending of the short is rather cute and I won't spoil it here.

This short is worth tracking down.

Super Mouse meets Aesop

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 29 May 2019]

Terrytoons Studios was always inconsistent when it came to quality, with a mix of at its best pretty good/decent (rarely was there a great cartoon), above average, average, mediocre and weak (the odd one being terrible). Never had a problem with the music, the animation improved significantly with each year, when the studio first started and in the 30s it was a weak point but now it's one of the good points. The story never was a strong suit and the characters and content varied wildly.

1943's batch of Terrytoons cartoons, of which there were a good number of Super Mouse (later became the studio's most prolific character Mighty Mouse) cartoons, was never great. Neither was it terrible. The general standard ranged from mediocre to decent. Of which 'The Lion and the Mouse', inspired by the Aesop fable and a retelling of it with Super Mouse featuring more than starring, is within the better half while falling short of being great. Itis pleasant and amusing enough stuff, and although the formula was starting to wear thin 'The Lion and the Mouse' is a little less formulaic than most Super Mouse cartoons.

It may be thinly plotted somewhat and becomes formulaic Super Mouse territory towards the end.

Super Mouse is a slightly limited character and doesn't have enough to do. His role at the end was nice though.

However, 'The Lion and the Mouse' is well animated. Hardly surprising as the animation quality had come on enormously by this point with Terrytoons, as said this is the component that improved the most over the years. It is nicely detailed, lively and colourful without being garish. Again, the music, the thing that was the most, and actually only, consistently good thing from the very beginning with Terrytoons, is a big strength. It is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action.

While never what one calls hilarious, there are plenty of very humorous and clever touches, especially the drunkenness. As well as a lot of energy, lively action and an unforced charm throughout. The lion was a character that made me amused while also left me feeling for him, with fun interaction with the mouse of the title. The ending is a nice and not too overly cute way of ending the cartoon.

Summing up, worth a look. 7/10

another retelling of an Aesop fable

[Mahatma · 5/10 · 17 January 2002]

This is yet another retelling of the Aesop fable about Timaeus and Androclese: the Lion with the Thorn, and the mouse who saves him. Paul Terry gives a typically adept adaptation of it, involving some humerous drunkeness, and a Mighty Mouse cameo. It's not fall down hilarious, but it is funny, and, frankly, all of Paul Terry's hundreds (really!) of Cartoons are well worth seeing, though, unfortunately, they're very hard to come by these days. Seldom shown on TV, and few compilation videos exist.