12 oz. Mouse

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12 oz. Mouse
12 oz. Mouse opening title
Genre	Animated Comedy Thriller
Creator(s)	Matt Maiellaro
Starring	Matt Maiellaro Adam Reed Kurt Soccolich Nick Weidenfeld Matt Harrigan Vishal Roney Scott Luallen
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	20 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	11-12 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Cartoon Network
Original run	June 19, 2005 – December 18, 2006

12 oz. Mouse was an American animated television series on the American channel Cartoon Network as part of the Adult Swim late night programming block. The show centers on the antisocial actions of an alcoholic mouse known as "Mouse Fitzgerald", "Fitz," "Butch," or simply "Mouse". The show was created by Matt Maiellaro, co-creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and produced by Williams Street for Adult Swim.^[1]

The series is animated in the style of crude drawings with limited motion. The usage of firearms, alcohol consumption, and indifferent homicidal acts are common activities of the sociopathic lead character Mouse Fitzgerald.^[2] During the premiere, an Adult Swim bump hinted that Matt Maiellaro had been intoxicated when he came up with the idea for the show, which is how the crude art reminiscent of "a 4-year-old on drugs" made its way into the show.

The plot revolves around a bizarre conspiracy which is constantly building on itself and taking seemingly nonsensical twists and turns. At times the narrative becomes obfuscated or nonlinear, but it simultaneously reveals connections that hint at an objective story. Clues and secret messages are hidden throughout each episode, including the credits. Creator Matt Maillero has indicated that the development of 12 oz. Mouse was influenced in part by surrealistic films and the Theatre of the Absurd, such as those by director David Lynch.

The series concluded its initial run on Adult Swim on December 18, 2006 with its twentieth episode. However, the plot was left unresolved. It was later revealed that, in February 2007, production would begin on additional episodes for internet distribution on the Adult Swim Fix.^[3]

1 Characters
2 Plot
3 TV Parental Guidelines rating
4 Episodes
5 DVD Release
6 Production notes
7 Reaction and influence
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Characters

Main article: Characters of 12 oz. Mouse

Listed below are some of the characters found in the dangerous world of 12 oz. Mouse:

Mouse Fitzgerald, an anarchic green mouse who does "all things" and obeys no rules.
Skillet, Mouse Fitzgerald's best friend, a chinchilla who speaks only in high-pitched squeals and plays drums. He is referred to as a "squirrel" by the other characters.
Shark, a ruthless power-broker who manipulates others through fear and mind control.
Rectangular Businessman / No Eyed Square Guy, an arrogant pink square who is preoccupied with his enormous wealth. Wears glasses despite not having any eyes.
Roostre, a corn dog farmer with a mysterious past.
Eye, a giant eyeball with legs who overemphasizes words and syllables that sound like the word "eye".
Man / Woman, who can change gender at will as long as no dead turkeys are around.
Peanut Cop, a law enforcement officer whose judgment is strongly altered by marijuana and alcohol. (Roostre referred to him as "Fuzz" in the episode "Adventure Mouse.")
Liquor, a liquor store owner who secretly knows a lot about everything and performs stand up comedy.
Golden Joe, a teleporting hip-hop artist.
The New Guy, who is obsessed with Skillet and has a taste for lounge music.
Spider, a giant piano-playing spider who may know something about arachnid xenomorphentation.

[edit] Plot

Mouse Fitzgerald, the titular character from 12 oz. Mouse.

According to the network, the show is about a mouse named Mouse Fitzgerald (Fitz) who is fond of beer and caught in a world of espionage, love, and the delights of odd jobs.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The show employs a serial format, and its ongoing storyline developed from absurdist comedy to include mystery and thriller elements. Fitz begins to recover suppressed memories that he once had a wife and a child who have now vanished. This leads him to seek answers about his past and the shadowy forces that seem to be manipulating his world. Fitz suspects there is a sinister conspiracy which appears to revolve around fields of "asprind" pills beneath the city, and Shark, Clock, and Square Businessman's attempts to control the nature of time and reality. Fitz and Skillet receive help from Liquor, Roostre, Stoned Peanut Cop and others as they engage in gun battles, explode things, and try to understand cryptic hints. The show also sometimes contains surreal "subliminal" images that flash across the screen during key plot moments, including skulls, mustached snake beasts and people screaming.

The conclusion to episode 20 is ambiguous as to whether or not it is actually the end of the series, as some aspects of the plot remain unresolved, and Golden Joe says "I thought this was done." Fitz replies, "I thought so too. I guess we're not." Given the show's history of playing off the audience, this could have a number of implications, either meaning that the show was intentionally left open-ended, or that the series may not yet be over. Earlier in the series, Shark states "It's never the end", and the credits of one episode contains the backwards message "Mouse will never end", foreshadowing the series conclusion.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] TV Parental Guidelines rating

Some 12 oz. Mouse episodes are TV-MA and some are TV-14.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of 12 oz. Mouse episodes

The pilot episode for 12 oz. Mouse, "Hired", premiered on June 19, 2005 and became a regular series in the Adult Swim lineup in October 2005. An Adult Swim bump shown with the sixth installment claimed that twenty additional episodes were being produced and taunted viewers who had complained they couldn't understand the absurdist series. On December 31, 2005 the "12 oz. New Year Marathon" aired, replaying all six episodes followed by the premiere of the then unfinished seventh episode "Adventure Mouse." The second season aired on Adult Swim on Monday mornings at 12:45 AM EST from September 25, 2006 to December 17, 2006.

[edit] DVD Release

A DVD release of the complete series is in production according to an interview with creator Matt Maiellaro. The release date is not currently known. The series will be presented as a single, continuous movie with newly-produced footage bridging the gaps between episodes. It will also feature production footage, new music, and fan art.^[4]

[edit] Production notes

In early airings, the show was also known as "oz.Mo." In the title sequence, the "camera" was so close to the "12 oz. Mouse" title card that only the characters "oz. Mo" were visible. However, it was later discovered that "Ozmo" is the name of an educational cartoon produced by the BBC. To avoid a potential lawsuit, the producers changed the show's opening to display the entire "12 oz. Mouse" title card.^{[citation needed]}

The animation for the character Shark originates from the Sealab 2020 cartoon, from which clips were used to create the majority of the animation in the Sealab 2021 show on Adult Swim. The shark animation first appeared on Adult Swim on the show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which referred to him as "Old Kentucky Shark." The shark later appeared towards the end of an Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode entitled "Escape From Leprauchpolis."

Matt Maiellaro commissioned Lexington, Kentucky semi-professional cowpunk band Nine Pound Hammer to write and perform the opening theme song. Scott Luallen, the voice of Roostre, is also the lead singer of Nine Pound Hammer. The song played by the New Guy / Ghost is called "Princess Cruiser", performed by Tongo Hiti.

[edit] Reaction and influence

The hip hop duo DANGERDOOM (who specialize in making rap songs inspired by Adult Swim shows and is occasionally heavily marketed during Adult Swim bumps) has a song inspired by 12 oz. Mouse entitled "Korn Dogz" from their downloadable EP "Occult Hymn".^[5] The song uses audio clips from the episode "Rooster", with the line "Corn dogs for the pickin'" being recited by Danger Doom's MC MF DOOM and Mouse Fitzgerald.