Naughty But Mice (1947) User Reviews

Familiar Story, But Herman Adds New Twists

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 13 September 2007]

All the mice in this barn and starving and hurt. You know that from the arm slings, casts and the bandages on them. It looks like a hospital ward during a war. "We've got to get rid of that cat," one says. Does this story sound familiar?

Cousin Herman comes to visit. He's the wise guy with the straw hat, bow tie, cane and the New York City accent. He's brown while the other mice are all gray, whatever than signifies.

Herman wonders what's going on. "It's that new cat; he's a killer," says one beat-up old mouse. "Oh, yeah," replies Herman, "just leave it to your cousin Herman."

This is very familiar territory, except in different ways the mouse torments the cat and drives him away....well, sort of. Herman's a cocky guy and things don't always go as easy as he thinks they are going.

I've seen a few "Herman" cartoons and they're pretty good. With a little "restoration," they would look excellent and they weren't done on the cheap. There is some very good artwork and colors in here.

The scenes with the cat drugged on "instant catnip" are of the laugh-out-loud variety....surprisingly good material for a character that wasn't well-known. However, Herman had to have some success for 36 of these to be made.

How many cartoons have used the clever-mouse-clobbers-hapless-cat routine?

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 16 June 2007]

I think that I saw a Herman Mouse cartoon back when I was in kindergarten or something; I found it funny, but the series never really drew me in. Now that I've seen "Naughty But Mice" (on YouTube, no less), I have to say that it follows a plot line used in a number of cartoons: a group of mice want some cheese guarded by a lascivious cat, and then an ingenious mouse enters the fray and makes mincemeat out of the feline.

It's an OK cartoon, but the nearly formulaic plot line weakens it. And why does it always seem like cats are the antagonists in cartoons? I've always liked the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons the best (in fact, they made their own cartoon called "Naughty But Mice", starring the cute-by-any-measure mouse Sniffles). Acceptable in a pinch.

Catsup, mustard, pepper and hot sauce might compose a good garnish . . .

[cricket30 · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

. . . for chicken bits, but when is the last time that you've seen your pet python slather them upon live mice? Probably never, if your reptiles are anything like mine. Yet NAUGHTY BUT MICE posits that predators of the feline persuasion will try to mitigate "The Heartbreak of Rodent Breath" with a range of condiments best reserved for burgers or bread sticks. Apparently the animators of this brief cartoon have never been exposed to the lower rungs of our Animal Kingdom in Real Life. Anyone who's ever been within cow-tipping distance of an actual barn well knows that honey is the mouse topping most preferred by cats. (This is where we get the expression, "Tabby catches more mice with honey than with vinegar.") The unseen humans implied by NAUGHTY BUT MICE are just as wrong-headed as their kitty. These absent homeowners appear to be totally clueless, having stored three totally unwrapped and defenseless cheese wheels on a open shelf within easy reach of a massive mouse colony. It certainly serves them right to have their inept "mouser" cat killed, their water well destroyed and their kitchen thoroughly ransacked!

One of the best Herman cartoons

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 28 February 2015]

While not a huge fan of the Herman cartoons(though none of them are unwatchable), there are some good ones out there and Naughty and Mice is one of them, also one of Herman's overall best as well.

Admittedly Naughty But Mice is formulaic in terms of story for the cartoon, but its gags and visuals are some of the most original and inventive for a Herman cartoon. The animation didn't really appeal to me in Henpecked Rooster and Scrappily Married and it wasn't the best in Cheese Burglar(which otherwise was one of his better cartoons too) but it is very good here. It's colourful and fluid with lively colours, smooth drawings, the best character designs seen yet in the Herman cartoons at this point and some inventive effects in the gags. Naughty But Mice is also winning in the humour department as well, the best of the material like in the gag with the catnip is just hilarious, again the funniest Herman cartoon at this point and one of his funniest overall.

The music score was the best thing about both Henpecked Rooster and Scrappily Married, which don't really bowl me over as cartoons, and doesn't disappoint here either, always have had a soft spot for the music in the opening credits. It has non-stop energy and adds a lot to the action, it's filled with lively rhythms and the way it's orchestrated is clever and lush. Even after haven't seen the Herman cartoons for some time I still remembered the Ding Dong Bell song. Herman and the cat are a well-matched pair, the cat is dastardly but also a character you mildly feel sorry for in a couple of the gags and this was at a point where Herman was actually funny and likable, being quick-witted and cunning while willing to help those in need. The other mice bring a poignancy without sentimentalising the cartoon too much. Overall, a great and hilarious cartoon and a contender for one of Herman's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Naughty But Mice was a very funny Herman cartoon

[tavm · 10/10 · 31 August 2010]

Just watched this Herman cartoon on YouTube as linked from a site devoted to Paramount cartoons. In this one, he's a city mouse visiting his country cousins but he finds out that not only are they in bandages but two of them are dead. So it's up to him to find this cat and give him the works. It's not easy but Herman manages to find some catnip which seems to do the trick...This was a very hilarious cartoon from when Herman does his thing to the ending. I mean, seeing that cat's eyes whenever he falls under the catnip's spell? Pure creative visuals that fill the funny-bone. And it's always a pleasure to hear the late Arnold Stang's voice in these vintage cartoons. So on that note, I highly recommend Naughty But Mice.

Herman is unappreciated

[WarrenWolff · 10/10 · 25 July 2010]

What a shame that this little guy is so poorly known/ remembered. Sure beats the heck out of Casper, and the like. Your spell checker does not recognize Latin prefixes which are common. Is there no real way to get these things re-released? It took a long, long time to get some of the old Tony Curtis flicks released. Still, not all are out there. Why, oh why does this site require 10 line of run on rabble? Just give us an obvious link so we can watch some of these oldies. There are lots of folks to whom I would be happy to share these. Thanks for listening. Now I see that I have not rambled on for enough lines. So let's just repeat the lines: "Who put her in? Little Herman Grin" Is this enough babble?