Un ratoncito duro de cazar

Smuntz brothers are Laurel and Hardy type buddies inheriting an old house from the father. They discover that the house is a real classic and worth millions. However the current houseowner, one little mouse will give them a hard time.

Smuntz brothers'war with the mouse is really great fun. Christopher Walken as the Exterminator Caesar with his weird mouse hunt equipment is wonderful.

Don't hesitate to see this film. Though it is rather for kids, it has still much to entertain all. Enjoy it.

When their father dies, brothers Ernie and Lars inherit a rundown string factory and a run down house. When they find the house may be worth millions they set about renovating it to auction it. However they don't reckon on the house's one inhabitant – a small mouse – who has no intention of going anywhere.

In the wrong hands this could easily have turned into a cruel slapstick and nothing else. It's easy to see this sort of thing turning into a Home Alone type thing with the mouse dishing out cruel punishment after cruel punishment. However it's more than that, although it has elements of those films. The film is witty – mixing the slapstick with a more adult humour and, although the slapstick is cartoony, it is also clever and imaginative in most cases.

The strength of the film is in three performances. First and second is Lane and Evans, both have an air of Laurel and Hardy (especially Lane) and they make for a good double act. Lane gets to do his usual stuff while the more goofy antics of Lars suit Evans' stand-up routine background to the ground. However the main success is the mouse. In other hands he would have been a mere excuse for destruction, however here he has `humanity' – a character if you will. This is perfectly demonstrated by the unintentional chase with a nail gun – how dramatic! How tense! But also how touching – the mouse is given intelligence and has a motivation for what happens.

Of course at heart this is a kids film and it is a very good one at that. However these other points give it the feel that it was made for adults too. Certainly the inclusion of Walken as a pest controller is one no child will get.

Overall this is well made and is more that just a crude slapstick affair. It can be enjoyed on that level but it just feels that little more mature. To illustrate what I mean – can you imagine the difference if Chris Columbus had directed it? Now you've got me!

Luna Macwilliams, age 6, Chicago, il.- 10 stars. "I love this movie because there are real people and a real mouse and it's real-ly funny! I also like the mouse's secret tricks that the viewer will wonder-how did he do that? Check out the mouse swinging across a chasm on a light bulb chain! It's amazing!" Kris- I give this movie 8 stars. Luna, age 6, gave it 10 stars and I thought since this is a family film, one I might not have seen without her, she deserved a voice. She gives a lot of kids flicks 10 stars, but not all. I thought the film captured the perfect feel of a cartoon, but done in live action. There are a few films that come to mind from the past that pulled off the cartoon feel, the Coen's Hudsucker Proxy, or more so even, Raising Arizona, Tim Burton's early films and a few others. None may be shot as perfectly in cartoon style as Mousehunt however, and none are as perfectly suited for kids age 3 to 10. Some of its visual delights could be called cinematic bliss, as great as anything procured by Welles or Lean. There is a fade from a white plastic home on a white cake that dissolves into a white home on a snowy white hill that should be shown in every film school. There is use of shadows and water that would make Ingmar Bergman proud. And of course, there is the mouse. The effects and photography are done so well that he convinced the kids he was real, and really smart and acrobatic. Lee Evans and Nathan Lane are perfectly cast as black and white characters. They don't look like they're related, Evan's too nice and Lane is too mean, but hey, it's a kids movie. Their characters work perfectly in the cartoon world they inhibit. They make you laugh, no matter how old you are. Christopher Walken plays an exterminator and it was right before he became overexposed in every other hip movie made. His best dialogue comes off-screen from a tape recorder. Walken could be just as funny on radio I guess, it's all in his verbiage. So rent or buy this for the family. It's one of those few gems that will have you all laughing at the same joke.

Based on the logline premise, poster, MPAA rating, and marketing, this is a "children's" film. However, there is really NOTHING here for children; it's very violent, overly adult, darkly charactered, and mean. Luckily, I'm not a child, so I found it delightfully silly in all its hot-headed hedonism. Just when it's mean-spiritedness begins to overwhelm the fun, it quickly turns the corner, making a point about the uselessness of selfishness. Most surprisingly, Silvestri's score is great.

'Mousehunt' was one of my favorites movies as a kid, thanks to its funny script, that held my attention, much more than I would've thought of. But even today, 'Mousehunt' remains as a fun fare, that hasn't lost its touch.

'Mousehunt' Synopsis: Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.

Don't ask questions & I can assure you 'Mousehunt' will prove to be nothing else but fun. Its twisty plot, coupled with the series of unfortunate events that happen to its protagonists, bring the house down on numerous occasions. Made with heart & joy, this 1997 box-office hit doesn't run out of gas, despite a few hiccups in its Screenplay.

Adam Rifkin's Screenplay, despite a few bumps, is a riot overall. Gore Verbinski's Direction is typically solid. Cinematography is grand. Editing is well-balanced. Art Design is comment-worthy.

Performance-Wise: Nathan Lane is stupendous, pitching in a genuine comedic performance from start to end. Lee Evans supports Lane, admirably. Christopher Walken is deliciously weird in a bit role. Vicki Lewis is first-rate.

On the whole, Wanna laugh & relax on a lazy weekend? Watch 'Mousehunt'. You won't be disappointed!