12 oz. Mouse

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.

Some of adult swim's charm comes from the fact that they may not have a large budget for their shows; the comedy is so funny that you forget the "cheapness" such as "Aqua teen Hunger Force" or "Tom goes to the Mayor" or "Robot Chicken". But where 12 oz. Mouse and even "Squidbillies" goes wrong is when the cheapness is the joke. When I watched the pilot I have to admit I laughed at some aspects of the way the characters were drawn and how it looked like it was made by some perverted 3rd grader. But as the show went on I noticed that that was it. No actual attempt to make jokes or comedic timing happened throughout the entire 15 minutes. Even the static on the microphone used to record the voice of The Shark could be heard. Shows like this make the "goofs" feature on "IMDB" useless because the entire show is a "goof". This is why I respect the shows like "Venture Brothers" because they actually draw and at some time and effort into their show. They develop plots and have actual jokes. All in all I hope that 12 oz Mouse will get canceled before it even starts. User rating 3/10

Some people do not understand the finer points of 12 Oz. Mouse. A lot of the humor is in the delivery and is quite intangible. Some people, like Mr. Fun over there, do not see the humor in the show. Those people are not the "life of the party" and are not "enjoyable". The show is ridiculous, knows that it is ridiculous and has fun with it.

This 10 line minimum makes me furious.

The show is still good.

I'm getting bored.

Finally, minimum amount of lines achieved.

I'm going to now go have 12 beers.

At first glance, you may think this show is stupid, cheap, and overall a waste of air time. That's what I thought. Then I gave it a chance, started listening closely to the dialogue and it started to become my favorite show on Adult Swim. It was only a bonus that the plot sent us through loopholes, and us 12 Oz Mouse fans looked in the dictionary to encrypt a message we thought was there.

The dialogue and characters are all just perfected, even though there are a fairly large amount of re-accruing characters you feel like you know them all well, which isn't that common on 15 minute AS cartoon shows.

A hidden gem, if you are able to give it a chance despite it's early animation (and as you go on you realize it wouldn't fit with anything BUT that animation) you might find a new favorite show.