Naughty But Mice (1939)

Memorable, crazy movie

Fantastic!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Chuck Jones is widely considered one of animation's finest directors/animators and for very good reason. When he was at his best, his cartoons were masterpieces of animation, comic timing, characterisation and wit.The Sniffles cartoon series were very early efforts for Jones, and, while they are interesting from a historical perspective, it is safe to say that from personal opinion they really don't see him at his best. There is somewhat of a still finding his feet feel here, with the humour once he became a regular director for the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons becoming much funnier, more constant and wittier and the characterisation far more interesting.'Naughty But Mice' is the first Sniffles cartoon and is not a bad one. It's just that it's not a great one either. The funniest parts are only mildly amusing, mainly with the electric razor, and for my tastes the cartoon does try a little too hard to be cute to the point it gets too sickly sweet. 'Naughty But Mice' doesn't do anywhere near enough with the cat character, who is bland and almost useless.Story-wise, 'Naughty But Mice' is thin, a little lacking in energy and somewhat bland.However, cannot bring myself to be too hard on the cartoon. The animation is very good. It is lush and vibrant in colour and meticulous and beautifully drawn in detail. The character designs are fluid, well drawn and distinctive Jones, if not the creative ones of his very best cartoons. Carl Stalling's music is lush and characterful, with clever orchestration and a mastery of not just adding to the action but enhancing it as well (Stalling was a near-unequalled master at this, though Scott Bradley gave him a run for his money).A few amusing moments and there is somewhat of a subtly surreal element to the premise. Sniffles is not the funniest or compelling of lead characters, and falls dangerously close to being too cutesy, but there is an oddly likable sweetness. The most lively characterisation is the electric razor. The vocal characterisations are strong.Overall, not a bad cartoon but it would for me be an untruth to call it a great one when it does strain to reach average. 5/10 Bethany Cox

. . . are so hard to find at your local CVS or Walgreen store? In NAUGHTY BUT NICE, not only are there boxes and boxes of Irium tweezers, but the "Savoy Drug Store" shelves are teaming with scads of always hard-to-find Electric Hot Water Bottles, Radium Hair Pins, Repercolating Percolators, Magnetic Flasks, 2-Watt Clocks, and Electric Needles. When is the last time you have seen any of these Savoy staples in YOUR local chain store? Though President Teddy Roosevelt had broken up the Big Trusts such as Standard Oil long before Warner Bros. had even invented the "Talkies," the Warner Brass could read the handwriting already defacing Wall Street by the late 1930s. It spoke of Merger Mania, Franchise Proliferation, and Monopoly Money becoming Real. White Castle and Steak & Shake already were marching across America, and Warner knew that Kresge, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, CVS, and Walgreen would be nipping at our heels unless something was done immediately to nip the deflowering of the American Small Business Rose in the bud. NAUGHTY BUT MICE is just one of Warner's warnings about this, which included both features and shorts.

Chuck Jones's "Naughty But Mice" is mostly worth seeing as a historical reference: it was the first cartoon starring the cute-by-any-measure mouse Sniffles. In this case, he sneaks into a drug store looking for a cold remedy. It burns his mouth, and so he drinks whiskey to cool off...and only succeeds in getting drunk (why do cartoon characters like to booze themselves up so much?), at which point he befriends an electric razor (they had electric razors all the way back in 1939?). The razor then has to rescue him from a cat.Overall, not much happens here that I didn't predict; I guess that it took Jones a year or two to come up with really clever ideas. I can see why cute Sniffles eventually disappeared to make way for a certain acerbic rabbit and the later characters.Like I said: worth seeing to see who was Jones's first star, but not for much else.

A mouse arrives at a chemist's shop with a head cold looking for a remedy. He takes some medicine that burns him and drinks some whiskey to help stop the burning sensation but it only succeeds in making him very drunk. While drunk he befriends an electric razor and bumps into the store cat.Starting with a cute animation that makes it look more like those worthless cartoons that get shown at Christmas time, I was immediately put on the defensive. Usually I like the cartoons that have a sharp, imaginative wit about them and I assumed this wouldn't have that. Sadly I was bang on the money with this one as it turns out to be as lame and unimaginative as the animation style suggested it would be.The comedy was a little bit amusing at times but it never really did anything worth while – the plot itself doesn't really make use of the cat and spends more time with a humming friendly razor (to no good effect). I didn't laugh once and didn't find any of it even halfway amusing. A big reason for this is the lack of characters. The little mouse is just a little ball of fluff and the electric razor is just weird and not really given anything to do of any merit. The cat is a waste of space who is easily gotten rid of in a gag that is seen coming from miles away.Overall this is an unfunny little cartoon that lacks wit or imagination. You would do well to avoid this cartoon and look for some of the much better WB shorts that are out there.