12 oz. Mouse

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.

12 oz. Mouse (oz. Mo) has the greatest opening sequence in cartoon history. along with its heavy metal thrash ballad opening theme, we are sent reeling through an incredible model city (of cardboard) and from there the buildings begin to explode and everything goes wild. the end titles see the building burning to the ground.

This opening sequence has NOTHING to do with the show itself, but it does however capture the insane mood of the show. for an 11 minute show, the pacing is slow. of all the williams st. productions on adult swim, this one is the most poorly animated, seems like the actors got high and made up lines, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but i tell ya, it ain't half bad. it makes that piece of garbage tom goes to the mayor look, well even more like garbage. aqua teens it ain't, space ghost it is not, and birdman it'll never be, but this new 11 adult swim cartoon could find just the right audience to last, and i for one hope it does. "you boys, uh, hear anything, bank robbery...uh-bout it?"

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.

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

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?