Good Will to Men

This Hanna-Barbera cartoon certainly is different from the norm. Seeing mice in the opening, I wondered if this was another Tom and Jerry-type cartoon.....but it is anything but that! This is a serious cartoon with a serious message. It's also a message no one could argue with, and a good one to watch at Christmas, since that's pictured during the cartoon.

It's an anti-war cartoon, and a pro-Bible one, too, as it turns out, rhetorically making us question whether we have learned valuable advice that has been told to us for centuries. We say we do, but do we "practice what we preach," as this film asks?

This is depicting some time in the future when there are no more humans left in the world. The mice in this choir are singing the Christmas tune, "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" when the head mouse explains to the little ones the story of man, and why their are none around anymore. It ends with a nice tribute to the Bible and to men ignoring what it says in there, hence, not treating neighbors as they should led to their downfall.

It's a shocking cartoon in spots, showing the devastating effects of war and, in particular, weapons of mass destruction. No one has mentioned here, but the visuals are stunning; just beautifully drawn and looking great in CinemaScope.

This was a bonus feature, a "restored" cartoon I assume, that was on the "It's Always Fair Weather" disc. It is certainly worth checking out. Don't miss it.