Stooge for a Mouse

A little mouse is desperate to get at a block of cheese. Standing in his way are friends Sylvester the cat and Mike the bulldog. So he sets about turning the two against one another. The ways in which he does this are pretty funny. Enjoyable Sylvester short where he spends most of the time getting knocked around. Poor Sylvester. He and Mike are fun but the mouse steals the show with his manipulations. The incomparable Mel Blanc does terrific work as the voice of all three characters. Directed by Friz Freleng with nice, colorful animation. The music is lively and upbeat. Amusing gags and likable characters make this a good one.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

'Stooge for a Mouse' is a cartoon from Friz Freleng's, have a lot of high appreciation for him and he did his fair share of classics, prime period. While it may not be one of Freleng's classics, it is a good representation of what was particularly appealing of his work. The story is a fairly familiar one structurally, as is some of the conflict, and the ending can be seen from quite early on.

The three characters are very interesting and hugely entertaining, their conflict and chemistry being the driving force of the cartoon and also being a large part of its fun and charm. Sylvester has great comic timing and is both cunning and easy to root for. Mike likewise if not as interesting in personality. Indeed the enjoyably manipulative mouse makes the most impression.

As one would expect, 'Stooge for a Mouse' is beautifully animated. It's fluid in movement, crisp in shading, vibrant and atmospheric in colour and very meticulous in detail. Jones does direct very solidly.

Ever the master, Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it. The use of pre-existing music is inspired.

Gags are never less than very amusing, the best of them hilarious, and are timed inventively. The dialogue is suitably witty. Another master in his field, Mel Blanc's voice work is typically bravura and immensely versatile, this is a good if not the best representation of why Blanc was one of the greatest voice actors who ever lived.

On the whole, well made and entertaining cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The "Plot Summary" is exactly as in 1957's "Bugsy and Mugsy" short. All of the Plot, in both shorts are alike except "Characters" & ending. A: In 1950's "Stooge For A Mouse": There are three characters, they are "Sylvester", A Friendly Bull-dog + (a Mouse that schemes to make the bull-dog to dis-like "Sylvester). The Mouse is successful, until the concluding scene, in which it goes to the block of cheese, as it nears the table with cheese, a magnet, used by the mouse (above the ceiling)falls through hitting it, injuring it, after "Sylvester" and the Bull-dog are already injured. After the magnet hit the Mouse, the cartoon ends, showing "Sylvester", the "Bull-dog" & the "Mouse", all three are in the final scene & all three appear "lifeless". As this concludes, a "Home Sweet Home" sign falls from a wall and lands in front of the mouse, cat and dog. B: In 1957's "Bugsy and Mugsy", the plot is generally the same, as in 1950's "Stooge For A Mouse", except the "Characters" are: "Bugs Bunny", Rocky and Mugsy. In this short, "Bugs Bunny" does the same scheme: causing friends to become enemies, and achieves his goal, Rocky and Mugsy are captured and "Bugs Bunny" was not hurt, at all.