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 | string factory | auction | 

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Taglines:

You don't need to be big to be a hero.

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Genres:

Comedy

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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 USA:

$6,062,922, 21 December 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$61,917,389

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$122,417,389

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film features both Nathan Lane and William Hickey. Hickey had previously appeared in The Producers (1968). Lane would subsequently appear in both the Broadway musical based on that film and in The Producers (2005), a film adaptation of said musical.

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Goofs

The length of Ernie's hair changes between shots.

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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 Sullivan's Travels (1941)

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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

Funny and touching

When their father dies, brothers Ernie and Lars inherit a rundown string factory and a run down house. When they find the house may be worth millions they set about renovating it to auction it. However they don't reckon on the house's one inhabitant – a small mouse – who has no intention of going anywhere.

In the wrong hands this could easily have turned into a cruel slapstick and nothing else. It's easy to see this sort of thing turning into a Home Alone type thing with the mouse dishing out cruel punishment after cruel punishment. However it's more than that, although it has elements of those films. The film is witty – mixing the slapstick with a more adult humour and, although the slapstick is cartoony, it is also clever and imaginative in most cases.

The strength of the film is in three performances. First and second is Lane and Evans, both have an air of Laurel and Hardy (especially Lane) and they make for a good double act. Lane gets to do his usual stuff while the more goofy antics of Lars suit Evans' stand-up routine background to the ground. However the main success is the mouse. In other hands he would have been a mere excuse for destruction, however here he has `humanity' – a character if you will. This is perfectly demonstrated by the unintentional chase with a nail gun – how dramatic! How tense! But also how touching – the mouse is given intelligence and has a motivation for what happens.

Of course at heart this is a kids film and it is a very good one at that. However these other points give it the feel that it was made for adults too. Certainly the inclusion of Walken as a pest controller is one no child will get.

Overall this is well made and is more that just a crude slapstick affair. It can be enjoyed on that level but it just feels that little more mature. To illustrate what I mean – can you imagine the difference if Chris Columbus had directed it? Now you've got me!