Mighty Mouse
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Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.
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[edit] History
He was created by storyman I. Klein as a super-powered housefly named "Superfly," but studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a toon mouse instead. He was originally created as a parody of Superman , he first appeared in 1942 in a theatrical animated short entitled The Mouse of Tomorrow. The original name of the character was Super Mouse, but it was soon changed to Mighty Mouse when Paul Terry learned that another character with the same name was being published in comic books.
Mighty Mouse originally had a blue costume with a red cape, like Superman; but over time this changed to a yellow costume with a red cape. As with other imitations of Superman, Mighty Mouse's super powers allow him to fly, and make him incredibly strong and invulnerable. He has demonstrated the use of "X-ray vision" in at least one cartoon, while during several cartoons he used a form of super-hypnosis that even allowed him to command inanimate objects and turn back time (as in the cartoons The Johnstown Flood and Krakatoa). Other cartoons have him leaving a red contrail as he flies which he can manipulate like a band of solid flexible matter when he so desires.
The initial formula consisted of an extended setup of a crisis which needs extraordinary help to resolve and Mighty Mouse appears to save the day.
Mighty Mouse was originally voiced by Roy Halee, although Tom Morrison provided the character's voice in some later cartoons.
The early, operatic Mighty Mouse cartoons often portrayed Mighty Mouse as a ruthless fighter. He would dole out a considerable amount of punishment, subduing the cats to the point of giving up their evil plan and running away. Mighty Mouse would then chase down the escaping cats, and continue beating them mercilessly, usually hurling or punching them miles away to finish the fight. A favorite move is to sudden fly up to just under a much larger opponent's chin and thrown a blinding flurry of punches that leaves the enemy reeling.
Mighty Mouse had two mouse girlfriends named Pearl Pureheart (in the cartoons) and Mitzi (in the comics during the 50s and 60s), and his arch-enemy is an evil villain cat named Oil Can Harry (who originated as a human in earlier Terrytoons as the enemy of Fanny Zilch). These characters were created for a series of Mighty Mouse cartoons that spoofed the old cliffhanger serials of the days of silent film; the cartoons usually began with Mighty Mouse and Pearl Pureheart already in a desperate situation, as if they were the next chapter of the serial. The characters often sang mock opera songs during these cartoons. Mighty Mouse was also known for singing "Here I come to save the day!" when flying into action. Mighty Mouse's hometown is Mouseville, populated mostly by anthropomorphic toon mice.
In one cartoon, titled "The Green Line," the cats live on one side of the main street of a town and the mice on the other; a green line down the middle of the street serves as the dividing line. They agree to keep the peace as long as no one crosses it. An evil entity, a Satan cat, comes and starts the cats and mice fighting. Mighty Mouse appears and the evil spirit materializes tridents to attack him. This maneuver fails, and the devil cat disappears in a puff of smoke, like an airplane crashing to the ground. At the end, Mighty Mouse is cheered by mice and cats alike.
Mighty Mouse was not extraordinarily popular in theatrical cartoons, but was still Terrytoons' most popular character. What made him a cultural icon was television. Paul Terry sold the Terrytoon company to CBS television in 1955. The network began running "The Mighty Mouse Playhouse" in late 1955; it remained on the air for nearly twelve years (and featured "The Mighty Heroes" during the final season). Mighty Mouse cartoons became a staple of children's TV programming for a period of over thirty years, from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Despite the character's popularity on TV, Terrytoons produced only a handful of "Mighty Mouse" cartoons in the 1959-61 timeframe; the company evidentially believed that the existing library of "Mighty Mouse" episodes were enough to keep youngsters tuning-in to CBS every Saturday morning.
[edit] Comics
Several publishers put out Mighty Mouse comic books. There was two main titles "Mighty Mouse" and the "Adventures of Mighty Mouse".
"Mighty Mouse"
- Timely #1-4 (1946)
- St. John Publications #5-67 (1947-55)
- Pines Comics #68-83 (1956-59)
"The Adventures of Mighty Mouse" (renaming of Terry's Comics, where Mighty Mouse appeared)
- St. John, #126-128 (1955).
- Pines Comics, #129-44 (1956-59)
- Dell Comics, #145-55 (1959-61)
- Gold Key Comics, #156-160 (1962-63)
- Dell Comics, #161-?? (1963-?)
"Mighty Mouse", Marvel Comics, #1-10, 1990, based on Ralph Bakshi version.
[edit] Revivals
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Filmation made TV cartoons starring Mighty Mouse and fellow Terrytoon characters Heckle and Jeckle in a show called The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle. The show premiered in 1979 and lasted for about 2 seasons. It even spawned a limited-theatrical-release matinee movie, Mighty Mouse in the Great Space Chase, released December 10, 1982. In the Filmation series and movies, Mighty Mouse was voiced by veteran voice artist Alan Oppenheimer.
During the 1980s, animator Ralph Bakshi (who got his start at Terrytoons) created a new series of Mighty Mouse cartoons, entitled Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. In this series, Mighty Mouse had a real identity, Mike Mouse (Patrick Pinney voiced both identities of the character in this series), and a sidekick: Scrappy Mouse, the little orphan. This series was aimed more at grown-ups than children, and its heavy satirical tone and humor makes it a collector's item even today; many collectors of older TV series seek out episodes of the Bakshi Mighty Mouse. The series was cancelled after two seasons, due to the controversy surrounding an episode in which Mighty Mouse sniffed a red flower he had crushed into a powder. Media watchdog Reverend Donald Wildmon asserted that he was actually snorting cocaine.
Mighty Mouse has not been seen since Marvel Comics's 10-issue comic book series (set in the New Adventures continuity) in 1990 and 1991 except for a 2001 "the power of cheese" TV commercial and an arcade game by Atari. However, Nickelodeon is currently working on a CGI Mighty Mouse feature film (scheduled to release some time in 2007), Barry E. Jackson providing conceptual art, and screenwriting by Maurice Chauvet and Christopher Vail. A CGI TV series will follow the film. A Mighty Mouse history book is in the works and will be released to tie-in with the movie. [1]
The rights to Mighty Mouse are now divided as a result of the 2006 corporate split of Viacom (the former owner of the Terrytoons franchise) into two separate companies. CBS Properties (a unit of the current CBS Corporation) owns the ancilliary rights and trademarks to the character, while Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS DVD holds home video rights (although any sort of home video reissue has yet to be announced), and what is now CBS Paramount Television has television syndication rights (the shorts are currently out of circulation).
[edit] Other uses
- In the 1950s the name Mighty Mouse was unofficially applied by the United States Air Force to the 2.75 in (70 mm) FFAR (Fin-Folding Aerial Rocket) weapons used by various USAF interceptor aircraft against bombers. The "Mighty Mouse" rockets were carried by the F-86D Sabre, F-89 Scorpion, F-94 Starfire, and F-102 Delta Dagger.
- In one of his first television appearances (on the premiere of NBC's Saturday Night Live, October 11, 1975), Andy Kaufman lip-synched to the Mighty Mouse theme song. He remained nervously silent throughout most of the song, carefully following along with the rhythm of the music, then mouthing just the line "Here I come to save the day!" as he made exaggerated physical gestures and affected a "heroic" grin, only to return to his nervous silence after the line passed.
- In 2005, the name "Mighty Mouse" was applied to a computer pointing device manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc.
- Mighty Mouse is also the corporate mascot of the theater chain Famous Players.
[edit] Trivia
- Tommy Lee said in his band Mötley Crüe's joint-autobiography that his first tattoo was one of Mighty Mouse.
- Mighty Mouse is also mentioned in the movie Dreamcatcher based on book by Stephen King as well as in his film Stand by Me where two characters discuss who would win in a fight, Superman or Mighty Mouse.
- In one episode of Biker Mice From Mars, the biker mice burst out of hiding on their motorcyles, singing "Here the Biker Mice come to save the day!", a nod to Mighty Mouse's battle cry.
- MIghty Mouse is listed as #91 in 100 Greatest Cartoons
[edit] Bibliography
- The Animated Movie Guide by Jerry Beck, 2005
- Marvel's Mighty Mouse Comic Book, Issue #2, 1990
