Have been a lifelong fan of animation, that's no secret here. Chuck Jones is also an animation director legend and one of the best and most influential. The mice versus cat conflict kind of story is a very common one in animation and any cartoon with that kind of story tends to be predictable and can be too bland and cutesy, especially when part of a series that revolve around that formula. Often find too that the cats are much more interesting than the mice characters.
Something that is the case with 'Mouse Warming'. It is a worthwhile cartoon and was better than expected, it is funnier than expected and not as over-cute, but it is a fairly typical mice versus cat conflict sort of cartoon and not much different from others with a similar formula. 'Mouse Warming' succeeds in a number of areas, but also could have been better and Jones is not on his best form. We are talking about overall cartoon here, not in terms of animation or direction.
'Mouse Warming' as said succeeds in a number of areas. The animation is vibrant and beautifully detailed in unmistakable Jones fashion. The music is lush and characterful, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.
Enough of the writing is surprisingly sharp and amusing, and a lot less sugary than what was feared. Considering how old the story is, the energy was also more than expected and it was sharper. The gags are well timed and don't feel too recycled, they are also amusing. The cat is a fun and formidable character that takes the laughs well while also being suitably antagonistic.
Do agree that the mice really lack personality and it does mean that because of such a wide divide in the extent to how interesting the characters are that the conflict lacks tension.
While there is more energy than expected, the story is very predictable and more of the same and something that had been done to death many times already. It is a little too slow and cute to begin with.
Overall, nothing mind blowing but could have been a lot worse. 6/10.
