Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.
History
He was created by storyman Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named "Superfly," but studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a toon mouse instead. 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. Super Mouse appeared briefly in the Marvel comic book interpretation of the character, and was nicknamed "Terry the First", as he was the first version of the character.
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 home town is Mouseville, populated mostly by anthropomorphic toon mice.
Mighty Mouse fought other villains, though most only appeared in one or two cartoons. In at least two cartoons, he faced a huge, dim-witted but super-strong cat named Julius Pinhead "Schlabotka" (this cat's name was only spoken and never spelled out). In another 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 air plane crashing to the ground. At the end, Mighty Mouse is cheered by mice and cats alike.
In the episode "Krakatoa", Mighty Mouse lassos the super-volcano Krakatoa, saving the island's inhabitants from the pyroclastic flow. Most memorably, a love-interest for Mighty Mouse makes her appearance, Krakatoa Katy. One line of her theme song is "Krakatoa Katy, she ain't no lady".
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 time frame; the company evidently believed that the existing library of "Mighty Mouse" episodes were enough to keep youngsters tuning-in to CBS every Saturday morning.
At least some early vinyl credits the original theme song to The Terrytooners, Mitch Miller and Orchestra, but recent publishing has generally credited The Sandpipers.[1]
Comics
Several publishers put out Mighty Mouse comic books. There were 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.
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
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 (voiced by actress Dana Hill), 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 2010, according to IMDB), 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 ancillary 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). They are also being used under license by Apple Inc's Apple Mighty Mouse.
DVD Releases
While there has been no official release of the Mighty Mouse shorts or tv series on DVD, the short Wolf Wolf, which is believed to be in the Public Domain, has been released on DVD numerous times.
Other uses
- Small boxes with seats intended for children in retail stores would play 5 minute episodes of Mighty Mouse for $.25. They disappeared from sale in around 1985.
- 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 (under license from Viacom) to a computer pointing device manufactured by Apple Inc.
- Mighty Mouse is also the corporate mascot of the theater chain Famous Players
- NBA point guard Damon Stoudamire is nicknamed Mighty Mouse, based on his relatively short stature (5'10") and tattoo of the character on his right arm.
- 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 a 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 motorcycles, 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
Powers
(To be verified) Powers, Abilities, and Equipment:
FLIGHT - Mighty Mouse can fly, usually trailing a mysterious orange energy, which is capable of solidifying for use as a moving platform to carry other characters. He’s swift and agile during flight, able to stop suddenly, to change directions quickly, and to perform complex aerobatic maneuvers with ease.
SUPER STRENGTH AND INVULNERABILITY - Approximately the size of a normal rodent, Mighty Mouse’s formidable super strength and invulnerability belie his tiny figure. The limits of these powers are unknown, but he’s sufficiently strong to effortlessly throw human-sized enemies about 50 meters and tough enough to withstand being engulfed in the blast of a building full of military-grade bombs and ammunition when it explodes.
MAGNOKINESIS - Mighty Mouse can hurl bolts of white lightning from his hands that allow him to mentally control ferrous metal objects.
ATTACK DEFLECTION/REFLECTION - At will, Mighty Mouse can create an invisible deflection field that surrounds his hands, allowing him to deflect attacks or reflect them back at his opponents. To use this power, Mighty Mouse must deliberately hold up both outstretched hands and touch the attack he wishes to influence in this manner. For example, he could alter the path of a stream of water shooting from a fire hose by holding up both hands to block the water. He could then direct the stream of water in an alternate direction or cause it to “home in” on the face of the person holding the fire hose.
X-RAY VISION - As stated above, Mighty Mouse has been seen to use a type of x-ray vision to see through oblique objects
HYPNOSIS - Mighty Mouse has the ability to stare his opponents and even inanimate objects into his command
TIME MANIPULATION - Mighty Mouse has been known to travel through time.
(From http://www.themysterywalk.com/Mighty-Mouse-profile.html and others)
Notes
World famous upholsterer, Eric Buckley, has the nick name of Mighty Mouse.
Bibliography
- The Animated Movie Guide by Jerry Beck, 2005
- Marvel's Mighty Mouse Comic Book, Issue #2, 1990
External links
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