House of Mouse

This show is in general terrific, I like it very much. What I loved most about the show was its concept, resurrecting all those Disney gems and expanding on those that never made it to film it was very original. House of Mouse comes very VERY close to capturing the spirit of the original cartoons and almost succeeds. But as another reviewer says, it doesn't quite, as the cartoons done under Disney's supervision are truly brilliant and cannot possibly be surpassed. That aside, the animation is absolutely great, the theme tune is catchy, the humour is funny and memorable and the story lines are fresh. Mickey(marvellously voiced by Wayne Allwine) is the most ideal character for the role of the host, and is joined by his friends Donald, Goofy and Minnie. Of course they could have expanded more on its show's concept, I would have loved to have seen more on the guests. I loved the guest appearances from the likes of Pete, Snow White, Ariel, Jafar, Jiminy Cricket, Lumiere, Captain Hook, Timon, Cinderella, Piglet and Cruella DeVil. But what made the show was the cartoons themselves, they showed my old favourites and ones I'd never seen prior to watching this show. All in all, great show. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This will sound unrelated when I first mention this, but there's a reason why I briefly provide this fact: before I ever saw this cartoon, I had slipped in a bathtub and banged my forehead against its rim.

I was alright, but I would spend the next couple of days or so lying groggily on a couch with the TV on with an ice pack on my head. During the first day of doing so, Toon Disney just happened to be showing a 9-hour marathon of a cartoon I have never seen before called "House of Mouse". Since nothing else was on and I couldn't move, I watched it.

For the first couple of hours or so, I couldn't help thinking, "Is this a hallucination brought on by my accident or am I *really* watching this?" Hence the reason I mention my injury.

I got that thought wandering through my mind simply because the show seemed so... strange. Not bad, mind you, it was certainly fun to watch. Just... strange.

It basically strikes me as being a sort of combination of Mouse Works and "Cartoon Planet" from the Cartoon Network during the mid-'90s. Its cartoons, more often than not, are brand new ones with surprisingly fresh gag ideas and genuinely funny moments. But for some odd reason, the whole thing still left me hollow.

Part of that reason, I think, is because the show is advertised as "so many Disney cartoon stars in one place!", yet that concept only turns out to be fancy window-dressing for what is otherwise an essentially yet-another-run-of-the-mill cartoon anthology, although the cartoons it features are done very well. The idea is not explored anywhere near as much as it could have been, which is a genuine shame.

Also, this cartoon has one speed: fast-forward. It whizzes by to such a degree that a lot of the images simply do not "read" (for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, we in the animation industry use the word to refer to how easily the human eye can register what's being shown on the screen) too terribly well. It's not as bad a problem as it was in the atrocious "Cool World" (a film still guaranteed to give first-time viewers a massive headache and nausea from mental overload--and no, I don't mean that jokingly, I'm being serious), but it's still a bit much.

Even so, the show is better than many of the cartoons currently being offered elsewhere. It's a disappointment that its main idea isn't explored more thoroughly, though--I personally think that they should dive into the other characters' interacting and all much more thoroughly and effectively and not focus so much on the actual cartoon shorts, otherwise everything else comes across as gimmicky filler. Also, some new cartoon shorts starring the actual characters *in* the audience as opposed to merely Mickey, Donald, Goofy, etc. would be a refreshing change of pace and much more entertaining.

As it currently is, "House of Mouse" is sort of like eating a large cheap sweet roll when you aren't able at that moment to enjoy a full breakfast--it isn't particularly tasty, isn't particularly healthy or satisfying, but it just sort of temporarily fills you up a bit for the time being until you get to eat the real thing.

The previous reviewer appears not to have seen the show, and based their opinion on descriptions of the show. There are many new shorts, and the House of Mouse scenes are very funny and smart. When I first heard about this new incarnation of "Mouseworks" I was concerned it would just be a commercial for Disney movies on videos, but the writers and animators have really made the premise work!

This comes VERY close to capturing the spirit of the classic Disney cartoons. But the fact is, these cartoons could never be as or more brilliant than the original cartoons that were under Walt Disney's supervision.

The House of Mouse is actually a retooled version of Mickey Mouse Works, but I think House of Mouse is better. This is partially because this show attempts to make a collage of every Disney animated character ever made. Incidentally, many cartoon characters from Disney movies (old and new), Silly Symphonies, etc. make cameo appearances in each episode. It's kinda cool seeing this in a way that one would say, "The gang's all here!"

All that is basically what makes this show so wonderful, because House of Mouse resurrects numerous concepts that had been abandoned as far back as the 1930's and 1940's. Aside from bringing back some old-time stars (like Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow), they've even gone thru the trouble of showing some of the classic cartoons on some occasions (whether they're fully shown or just clips), depending on the theme of each episode. This also proves that unlike those stupid movie sequels we've been seeing lately (curious as to why a bunch are being produced each year), Disney still shows SOME respect and recognition for its vintage animation.

Another thing I like about House of Mouse are the actual cartoons. This would be the first time in decades the regular Disney characters (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, etc.) would be featured in the format of their former glory. This compensates for some of those lame contemporary versions of some of the classic characters we've seen during the 1990's (like Goof Troop and Quack Pack). Appropriately, the regular cast are the hosts of House of Mouse, while those that have appeared in movies, Silly Symphonies, etc. are the guests.

As for the debate on Disney versus WB: I love the original Looney Tunes (even though they've had their own problems with contemporary meddling of their identity in such concepts as Baby Looney Tunes (blech!)). But it's WRONG, WRONG, WRONG to choose between Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. Each are in their own class of greatness.

Disney (and the animation medium for that matter) would NOT exist as it does today had it not been for Walt Disney's innovative improvements on synchronized sound and technicolor, or the introduction of Mickey Mouse. Warner Bros. wouldn't have gotten as far as it did today without its innovative approaches on cartoon comedy, or the introduction of Bugs Bunny.

Overall, House of Mouse is a great show, although the cartoons can never match the brilliance of the classics. If anything, most of the timing in each cartoon is off. But they mean well, since they brought back a lot of old age concepts that had been long forgotten by the Disney animation dept.

I think it's a very funny show bringing back all the classic characters, making them the crew of a lively nightclub, and making all the memorable new Disney stars the audience.

Mickey hosts the show, Minnie keeps everything backstage running smoothly, Pluto... I forget his job... Donald is the greeter, Daisy seats people, Goofy is headwaiter, Gus is the chef, Max (one of the newer characters, but still...) parks cars, Clarabell works with "word on the street", and Horace runs the cartoons.

Before the "House of Mouse", I never heard of characters like Clarabell and Horace. And when I heard that they were around before (though the other comments posted here) I was quite surprised. And I agree that it was great of Disney Studios to bring them back.

And, of course, let's not forget the new member of the Disney family, the spunky, enthusiastic talking microphone, Mike! Something I really wish is that they'd give this guy his own big break.

I love hearing lines like "Hit it, Horace!" and find it hilarious when Horace pulls out a sludge hammer or a boxing glove extender thing to, literally, well, HIT IT!

The things I don't like about the show aren't the crew's fault. Those characters I don't like are just who they are to make the show interesting. I don't like Mortimer Mouse at all. He's a jerk and a snobbish pig! And, Pete, lay off trying to shut down the House of Mouse! Though, I do wish PJ would make an appearance some time.

Well, over all, I give this show 2 ears up! (Pardon the quote from the episode "The Mouse who came to Dinner")