Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . is that cats are a waste of space. This oft-repeated message is borne out once again in the animated short, MOUSE WRECKERS. Claude Cat is presented at the onset here as a highly decorated "mouser," with a whole trophy case documenting his exploits against presumably mechanical mice of the sort featured in feline rodeos. But as soon as Claude's exposed to a couple Real Life Rodents, he's driven batty in about five minutes. Most of us can picture the Pope sitting around in His ornate bathrobe, stroking a fluffy white pussycat. (Or am I confusing the Pontiff with SPECTRE's Number One?) At any rate, the Papal Representatives who have censored virtually every American flick released since July, 1934 (see *THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, a 2006 documentary) forced Warner to delete its original MOUSE WRECKERS climax, in which Claude gets toasted in the fireplace after the cheese. The Church was no problem with roasting Saints such as Joan D'Arc, but apparently Fraidy Cats must NOT be fried. I suppose the big fear is that Cat Nips might taste too much like chicken.

Michael_Elliott Mouse Wreckers (1948) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Mice Bertie and Hubie come to their new home when they notice Claude the Cat, the best mouse catcher out there, is staying there. Together the two try to make Claude think he's crazy so that he'll move out. This here is a minor cartoon that makes for one great ending but everything before it is rather dull and bland. All of the "tricks" being done to the cat are rather blandly done and for the life of me I could never believe that the cat would be dumb enough to think everything that was happening was only a dream. A dumb cat would have fallen for this but apparently this one was a great one so I don't buy it. The ending is terrific as the cat thinks he's in an upside-down room. The payoff to this sequence is enough of a reason to watch the film.

phantom_tollbooth Chuck Jones's Hubie and Bertie shorts generally worked with darker material and 'Mouse Wreckers' was no exception. A relentlessly cruel cartoon, it involves the attempts of two mice to convince an unwitting cat that he is mentally ill. Hiding up a chimney, Hubie and Bertie subject the cat to various ordeals that rudely awaken him from his slumber. Starting small, these pranks build up to an inspired sequence involving an upside down room which just gets more and more confusing. The cartoon ends with the mice taking over the house as the cat cowers in a tree, driven completely insane. Jones's was a master at drawing out the comedy from these morbid scenarios and he manages to make an hilarious film which has a constant sense of unease without leaving a bad taste. The concept of actually having the mice as the bad guys and the cat as a manipulated innocent was a bold and brilliant move. It's worth noting that Jones remade 'Mouse Wreckers' as a Tom and Jerry cartoon named 'Year of the Mouse'. Although I'm not hugely fond of the majority of Chuck Jones's Tom and Jerry shorts, 'Year of the Mouse' is actually fantastic and, in many ways, improves on 'Mouse Wreckers' by making the scenarios more horrifically violent and the ending more satisfyingly just.

crackerzand_cheez This is a tour-de-force in animation, as well as story line and character study. Hubie and Bertie make Claude cats' life miserable throughout this toon, eventually driving him crazy with the ceiling-floor switch. If you like to see the little guys prevail, this is a treat you wont soon forget. Never a dull moment in the entire film, and filled with belly-laughs from beginning to end. A million stars!