Mouse And Garden

An infinite amount of comic expertise and animation experience have gone into this cartoon......more than is acutally readily apparent. There is the deceptive simplicity of the ocean-pier set-up: it really lends itself to a neat variety of gag situations. Director Freleng's sure-footed pacing & timing ensure it's a winner. All three animators demonstrate their virtuosity here: there's Art Davis' rendering of most of the chase scenes. There's Virgil Ross' interpretation of the main dialogue scenes, particularly the scene where Sylvester foils Sam's first attempt to steal the mouse (students of animation should stop-frame the action where Sylvester interrupts Sam's alibi with, "GET IN THERE!!!!!"). And there's Gerry Chiniquy's flawless handling of the "arms-as-legs" sequence & the final scene where the mouse rows away on top of a jug, singing "Moonlight Bay."

There's an infinite amount of comedy know-how and animation mastery that went into this film--much more than many viewers might think at first. But the way the situation's set up--Sylvester and Sam hogging the mouse to themselves (the mouse becoming an intangigle character before long)--and the way they take turns winning or losing the battle. This is one of those Freleng classics where the director's latched onto the theory that two frustrated fall-guys are twice as much fun as one. The waterfront house is an ingenious set-up. Exemplary work from all three animators: Art Davis' rendering of most of the chase scenes; Virgil Ross' execution of the scene where Sam first gets caught (students of animation should stop-frame the part where Sylvester interrupts Sam's alibi with "GET IN THERE!!!!!"); and Gerry Chiniquy's flawless handling of the "legs-as-arms" scene, as well as his rendering of the escaped mouse singing "Moonlight Bay" while rowing off aboard the jug he was previously trapped in.