Mousehunt (1997)

Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.

Director:

Gore Verbinski

Writer:

Adam Rifkin

Stars:

Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Vicki Lewis

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathan Lane	...	Ernie Smuntz
Lee Evans	...	Lars Smuntz
Vicki Lewis	...	April Smuntz
Maury Chaykin	...	Alexander Falko
Eric Christmas	...	Ernie and Lars' Lawyer
Michael Jeter	...	Quincy Thorpe
Debra Christofferson	...	Ingrid
Camilla Søeberg	...	Hilde, the Bench Lady (as Camilla Soeberg)
Ian Abercrombie	...	Auctioneer
Annabelle Gurwitch	...	Roxanne Atkins
Eric Poppick	...	The Banker
Ernie Sabella	...	Maury, the Cat Care Society Owner
William Hickey	...	Rudolph Smuntz
Christopher Walken	...	Caeser, the Exterminator
Cliff Emmich	...	Mayor McKrinle

Storyline

A family film about a mouse that lives in an old house where the geriatric owner dies, and 'Nathan Lane' and Lee Evans have plans for, but they have trouble getting rid of the mouse. It's like Home Alone with a mouse.

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Plot Keywords:

mouse | factory | auction | string factory | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

The funniest movie of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, comic sensuality and mayhem

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mouse Trap

Filming Locations:

Bass Lake, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£975,360 (UK) (3 April 1998)

Gross:

£7,902,226 (UK) (10 July 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A rare commercial spot for the film not included in the either the VHS or DVD features a dramatic voice-over introduction "A story about a mouse..." which slowly pans to the shadow outline of the famous Disney character. Then the camera quickly cuts to show that it's actually the little guy from Mousehunt holding a pair of toothpick speared olives which he had been holding close to his head.

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Goofs

When Ernie is shot through the chimney into the nearby lake, ear plugs are visible once he sinks down on the bath tub.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lars: [at their father's funeral, they carry his coffin down the steps of a cathedral] Hold your end up higher, you're not holding it.
Ernie: I am too.
Lars: You are not.
Ernie: Don't worry about me. Hey, isn't that suit charcoal?
Lars: No.
Ernie: Looks charcoal gray to me, some gray polyester blend. Couldn't even find a black suit for your own father's funeral.
Lars: It's black.
Ernie: No, I'm sure it's gray.
Lars: It's black.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Parenthood: Forced Family Fun (2011)

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Soundtracks

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
Written by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, and Buck Ram
Arranged by Bruce L. Fowler
Performed by the Los Angeles Children's Chorus Ensemble
Daryl Getman, Gavin Hale, Julia Long, Adrienne Pardee, Mark Perry, Amy Sargious, Jonathan Saul, Chai-Fu Wang, and Julia Wells
Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director

User Reviews

Genius

When I first saw this movie in the theater, I did not really know what to expect. In the end, I never laughed so hard in my life. Granted, its not everyone's kind of humor (which certainly can be seen by the IMDB people that trashed it) but it is an extremely intelligent, yet slapstick dark comedy that may have you rolling on the floor.

I do not think that this movie is good for kids. From the very beginning, the movie isn't afraid to "cross the line" by causing upheaval at a funeral. But it handles things without the gratuitous use of sex, unlike most comedies these days.

Some of the funniest things about Mousehunt are in the details. (Keep an eye on the painting...) But the thing that I enjoyed the most was how the mouse was interweaved into the rest of the story. Although the movie isn't really about a mouse (it was about two brothers coming together in the wake of their father's death), I think we all could use a little chaos in our lives once in a while.