12 oz. Mouse

12 oz. Mouse isn't really a comedy. While the first 2 episodes may make it seem as such. The show definitely goes down a road that makes it super enjoyable and strange. The show starts as a plot about an alcoholic mouse who does odd jobs for more beer. But almost immediately the show goes off the rails. It would make you think it's a generic adult swim comedy but it becomes a David Lynch Meets Home Movies like format with a story that is confusing. But don't take that as a fault. Mouse is a show built on using qualities that would make a cartoon bad but using them to improve the show in a unique way. If the show was drawn well, it wouldn't be 12 oz. Mouse. If the show was a super simple comedy it wouldn't be 12 oz. Mouse. It's an interesting watch I'd recommended to open minded viewers and people who enjoy absurdist humor. And with a new season coming out soon on July 20th. It's a good time to start watching

adult swim is a very strange stable at times. All the cartoons seem to be aimed at the same audience and as such are mostly all based on a surreal style of humour. Some of the work brilliantly (and in my opinion ATHF is the best) and others don't. Some feel like they are deliberately forcing the surrealistic aspect at the expense of everything else and at first glance it appears that 12 oz. Mouse is doing nothing but trying to alienate the audience and seeking out those who will embrace anything that is weird or difficult because, somehow, they think it makes them smarter than others.

I am not getting at everyone who loves this show but I do suspect that there are a few out there who like this simply because it is very difficult to get into. Personally I find it intriguing and I quite enjoy watching it because I am not totally sure what it is doing or trying to do. The plot basically revolves around an alcoholic mouse and the many unusual and suspicious characters that are around him and it is sort of told in the quick-talking, shady character populated style of 1950's crime noir. And for my money it is this effective atmosphere that made me keep watching even though I didn't really understand what was going on. The problem with it is that this only took me so far and eventually the novelty of the cool, guarded style and characters started to wear off, making it a bit more hard work that it really needs to be.

And it is this point where I started to struggle because at one point I didn't notice that it was hard work and impenetrable stuff but then gradually I started to enjoy it less and less as it became harder work for less reward as I already knew what it was doing. The animation is cheap and crude but to me that does make for its appeal while the manner of delivery isn't so much "messy" as some have said but for me suitably referential. Overall though it is too hard to get into and, while I don't know if this is deliberate or not, it certainly doesn't welcome its audience with open arms. Impenetrable, scatological and cheaply animated – it has its charms but beyond that it will appeal to a limited audience.

Does anyone else get the impression that this show is more than it lets on to be? Yes, its from the creator(s?) of ATHF but it kinda seems like something David Lynch would create on his website, aside from the comedy (which i think is actually quite funny since it sounds like each episode was recorded almost spontaneously in someones basement after, and during i suppose :D, a huge weed session).

Whats with these "signals" everyones getting, and the green smoke coming from the clock, and the arrows, etc.

Yes i know a lot of the adult swim line up makes not much sense, but these "randomalities" are actually continually showing up. Any like-minded thoughts?

For any fans of David Lynch's work, you may be interested in this series. At first glance, it seems to be a random collection of absurd dialogue and bizarre characters. Anyone who can't get past this, you'll probably find it pretty dumb. There's something else here though, a very surreal air. When the episodes are watched in order, there's a very dream-like quality to it all, a loosely tied collection of characters and events that seem to be getting at something deeper, perhaps a dreamland or some alternate reality. I won't go into detail, but those who have seen it might know what i'm talking about.

Whatever the case, if surreal humor is you're thing, whether there's anything more to this or not, you'll enjoy it. I find it hilarious. And it's even better when under the influence. Definitely an exquisite show.

Glance at this show on the surface and what do you see? Dialogue that sounds like it was recorded during a weed session and animation that looks like it was drawn by a 4-year-old on drugs.

But dig a little further, keep your eyes and your mind open, and you'll find something deeper. The show is not 100% spontaneous nonsense. The entire series is connected in an ongoing and ever-growing story arc, with each episode picking up where the previous one left off. Such a sense of continuity and development in writing is especially uncommon for a 15-minute comedy series on Adult Swim. But it's the style of the comedy itself that really takes it over. It's expressed in a post-modern existentialist manner, a sort of Seinfeld meets David Lynch meets Home Movies hybrid.

The low-tech style of the animation, the surprising depth of the writing, and the very achievement of the execution make the show nothing short of brilliant.