The Devil and Daniel Mouse

I remember watching this cartoon as a kid growing up in Fairmont, West Virginia (the home of Mary Lou Retton). It is an excellent modern day adaptation of Benet's classic story told in animation. They do a wonderful job of bringing it into the 70's, in fact you could almost say that it is a cartoon for adults in some ways. The message is meaningful in so many ways that a song from your heart sets you free and beats the devil every time. I am so sorry but I still have that song stuck in my head from over twenty years ago......look where the music will take you when your getting low....a song from your heart sets you free and beats the devil every single time.

This 22 minute short, short of a precursor to the later much better "Rock and Rule", features two folk singer mice who are going nowhere. The female mouse, Jan, signs a deal with the devil to become a hit rock star. So it's up to Daniel Mouse to save her soul. Made in the late '70's this has all the trappings of said decade (crap music, crap clothing and hair style, awful folk tunes) This cartoon is featured on the Second disc of the 2-Disk Collector's Edition of "Rock and Rule", it also comes with a Making of that runs almost as long as the show itself.

My Grade: D+

The song Look Where the Music Can Take You is the best song that John Sebastian & Valerie Carter sung! Nelvana's iconic polar bear logo made its first appearance at the end of the film. The polar bear was eventually used as a in-credit logo later in their specials from 1979 to 1980 and from after 1980 to 1988. It is generally considered as the precursor to Rock & Rule. And is the best Nelvana movie ever! And there was a storybook First published by Avon/Camelot in 1979, the storybook was written by screenwriter Ken Sobol and features music and lyrics for three John Sebastian penned songs (I've Got a Song, Can You Help Me Find My Song? And Look Where the Music Can Take You). Simplified for younger readers, many of the visual gags and a few scenes were omitted from the book.

Why is this getting so many good reviews?

I'm going to start out blunt. It's not a good short film.

The characters are boring and they have no personality or dept at all. Seriously. What can I say about Jan's character other than "she sells her soul to the devil"? The answer is nothing. She's dull. They are all dull.

The animation is just awful. It moves too fast and soppy, the way the characters are designed is ugly. The Devil looks like a fat alligator. In fact worst devil I've ever seen.

The songs are just bad seventies music. Though, it's not as horrible as everything else.

The movie's plot is interesting. An unfortunate person sells their soul to the devil for a better life, eventually they realize "I'm going to hell", and they stand trial against Satan. This was a bad adaptation of that story.

I'm giving this movie 1 out 10

In exchange for fame as a rock star, Jan Mouse unknowingly signs a contract for her soul with Bealzabub.

Yes, the story's been done to death (another commenter mentioned the very similar "Phantom of the Paradise"), but this has to be one of the most charming versions. Rooted in the '70s, the animation is truly dazzling at times, the music (by The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian) is diverse and infectious and the film itself is entertaining enough for both children and adults. Not too many '70s made-for-TV specials can boast all of that.

While Mrs. Daniel Mouse is the star, it's the Devil who steals the show, constantly morphing and contorting with ease as he subtly growls his dialog. One of the greatest villains to grace any screen, it's almost a shame that Beal didn't appear in a theatrical film where he had exposure to a wider audience.

It seems that "Daniel Mouse" is under-appreciated by fans of the much darker "Rock & Rule," the film that it inspired, but it appears on the 2-disc DVD set of "R&R" (where I first discovered it). Just a warning: the DVD version has been slightly trimmed, but it can be found in it's entirety for viewing online. While this is certainly more sugary and family-oriented than the later film, it's WAY above average fare for TV from that era... I'd certainly liken it to a good Disney production.