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A Rat's Tale (1997)
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showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsA Rat's Tale (1997) More at IMDbPro »Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz (original title)
Overview
User Rating:
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
20 March 1998 (USA)
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Plot:
Monty is a young cute rat in a rat world living beneath the streeets of Manhattan. When exterminator...
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Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win
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User Reviews:
A fable from the sewers
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Cast
(in credits order) | Josef Ostendorf | ... | Mr. Lou Dollart |
 | Beverly D'Angelo | ... | Mrs. Dollart |
 | Lauren Hutton | ... | Evelyn Jellybelly |
 | Jerry Stiller | ... | Prof. Plumpingham |
 | Steffen Wink | ... | Nick McRafferty |
| Andreas Herder | ... | Tom O'Dooley |
| Jonathan Kinsler | ... | Architekt Stressback |
| Yoshinori Yamamoto | ... | Mr. Futon San |
| Jack Recknitz | ... | Texaner |
 | Dee Bradley Baker | ... | Monty Mad-Rat Jr. (voice) |
 | Lynsey Bartilson | ... | Isabella Noble-Rat (voice) |
| Raymond Guth | ... | Old Monty (voice) |
 | Scott MacDonald | ... | Rudi Rake-Rat (voice) |
 | Donald Arthur | ... | Jean-Paul Canalligator (voice) |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Klaus Havenstein | ... | (voice) |
| Gudo Hoegel | ... | (voice) |
| Merrick McMahon | ... | (voice) |
| Philipp Moog | ... | (voice) |
| Carmen Plate | ... | (voice) |
Directed by | |||
| Michael F. Huse | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Steve Cuden | dialogue | |
| Werner Morgenrath | ||
| Peter Scheerbaum | ||
| Tor Seidler | novel "A Rat's Tale" | |
Produced by | |||
| Hans Peter Clahsen | .... | producer | |
| Rolf M. Degener | .... | line producer: New York City | |
| Renée Gundelach | .... | consulting producer | |
| Christa-Maria Klein | .... | executive producer | |
| Jeff Stolow | .... | line producer | |
| Nils Vise | .... | assistant producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Frédéric Talgorn | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Piotr Lenar | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Timothy McLeish | |||
Casting by | |||
| Outcast | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Austen Spriggs | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Michael White | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Chantal Giuliani | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Eun-Young Kim | |||
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Richard Greenberg | .... | assistant director | |
| Ulrike Hamacher | .... | assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Michael Fechner | .... | property master | |
| Stefan Isfort | .... | prop buyer | |
| Matthias Wahl | .... | plasterer | |
Sound Department | |||
| Max Bauer | .... | foley artist | |
| Olaf Gross | .... | sound | |
| Charles Hamilton | .... | sound recordist | |
| Michael Keinath | .... | foley editor | |
| Michael Keinath | .... | foley recordist | |
| Catt LeBaigue | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Josef Pörzchen Jr. | .... | sound | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Nastuh Abootalebi | .... | digital artist | |
| Manfred Büttner | .... | visual effects production manager | |
| Martin Gessner | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Steve Calalang | .... | first assistant camera: New York | |
| Edwin M. Figueroa | .... | key grip | |
| Rossi Handsley | .... | key grip | |
| Keith Manning | .... | grip | |
Other crew | |||
| Oliver 'Heid' Haroun | .... | script supervisor | |
| Jürgen Jansen | .... | third production accountant | |
| Jürgen Marschall | .... | marionette designer | |
| Hannelore Marschall-Oehmichen | .... | marionette designer | |
| Exile Ramirez | .... | production coordinator | |
| Susanne Striedl | .... | puppeteer | |
Production CompaniesDistributors
- Warner Bros. (1997) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Legacy Releasing Corporation (1998) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
- SBS6 (2003) (Netherlands) (TV)
- Warner Home Video (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
- Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
- Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
- Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
- Augsburger Puppenkiste puppets
Additional Details
Also Known As:
"Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz" - Germany (original title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
90 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Company:
Did You Know?
Soundtrack:
Mr.BoodySee more »
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Die Story von Monty Spinnerratz, or A Rat's Tale as it is named in English, is a strangely naive, unpretentious German puppet movie featuring some known American actors in minor parts. The production is in many ways extremely simple, on par with TV programs for very young children. No attempt at all has been made to camouflage the strings that move the puppets; while they could easily have been made of fine transparent nylon, they are in fact plain, black thread that stands out against the background. The puppets themselves, while individually designed, have a single, fixed facial expression and look exactly like the scruffy plush toys they are, and the "Canalligator" looks as if it is made of painted cardboard, which it probably is. One gets the impression that this reflects a conscious decision by the film makers to dispense with any attempt at illusion, rather than ineptitude. Especially as there are a few competently done and rather pretty optical effects in the humanly acted scenes, showing that the film wasn't made entirely on a shoestring. The plot matches the production, being a rather simplistic story about love, courage, kindness and freedom from prejudice - among rats, and to some extent also alligators and men. A story fit for small children, with a moral that it takes no subtlety to comprehend. Yet there is something likable about the film, something that can appeal to adults as well. Perhaps I admire the stubbornness and courage it must have taken to produce and market a film like this, or maybe I like to occasionally see simple storytelling without a multi-million dollar budget squandered on special effects and exotic locations. Perhaps I just sympathise with the idea that there is a place for films that aren't cool and hip and controversial and spectacular, but just nice in a very modest and subdued way. In any case I'm glad, and somewhat surprised, that utterly unlikely films like this can be made in our time and day.