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 Ernie and Lars Smuntz 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 | restaurant | auction | hospital | 

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Taglines:

The funniest movie of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, comic sensuality and mayhem

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mouse doesn't appear until 20 minutes into the film.

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Goofs

When Lars tie is stuck he tries to pull it out but in the next scene his hands are now on the machine that is pulling his tie.

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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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Alternate Versions

DVD version contains six deleted scenes:

• Lars Smuntz explores his late fathers office in his very own style;
• Caesar presents his 'weapons' and tools;
• Caesar goes Mouse hunting with a heat seeker;
• Caesar is doing his new job in the Quality Control department of Smuntz String Cheese factory;
• A collection of various small scenes from the auction, showing Falco getting back his cheque from Ernie after the flood and ripping it in pieces;
• The ensemble of Smuntz String Cheese factory gathers for a photo shooting.

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Connections

References Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

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Soundtracks

Artist's Life
Composed by Johann Strauss

User Reviews

A true family classic.

A children's film with a moral. Unlike a certain purveyor of saccharine entertainment, however, this moral is political, even metaphysical - if you exploit your workers, if you pursue greed until it makes you mad, if you break the ties that bind; if, in short, you snap the string, a Pandora's Box of chaos will be your lot, until you become a latterday Roderick Usher, your crumbling mansion a metaphor for your disintegrating mind.

With its Gilliam-like recreation of a dank, Orwellian universe; with its Tim Burton pervading of Gothic atmosphere; with its twisted Coens' live-action cartoon sensibility (imagine Christopher Walken in a children's film? Even better than that), and you have fun for all the family.

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 USA:

$6,062,922, 21 December 1997

Gross USA:

$61,917,389

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$122,417,389

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1