Ben and Me

I have always loved films (animated and live action) and theatrical shorts based on books. This short story holds a special place in my childhood memories, owing to my frequent viewings of it during that time. I've even read the book too.

This short has a wonderful cast, featuring Sterling Holloway as Amos Mouse/Narrator, Charles Ruggles as Benjamin Franklin, and Hans Conried as Thomas Jefferson. I love the talents of Hans. I also love why they joined old paintings and the animated characters in the backgrounds-excellent work! I recommend this short to those who like literary shorts and films like me.

A Walt Disney Cartoon.

Amos the Philadelphia church mouse greatly influences Ben Franklin and the founding of the American Republic.

Robert Lawson's classic 1939 story BEN AND ME comes to life in this delightful short film. Celebrated children's author Bill Peet penned the script and left in the original's sense of whimsy and good fun, featuring a slightly bumbling Ben and a remarkably astute Amos - whose ideas become some of Franklin's most famous inventions. The voice cast is perfect, with Sterling Holloway as Amos, Charles Ruggles as Ben & Hans Conried as Tom Jefferson.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a storm of naysayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

This marvelous film, while occasionally being run in the wee hours on the Disney Channel, has been otherwise shoved to the back of the vault and for being woefully neglected, has suffered a much better fate than much of Disney's output in the 1940's and 1950's. Disney regularly put out one and two-reel shorts and documentaries back then and the majority probably haven't been seen in decades. Ben and Me is a case in point-not in print and rarely shown, while we get the umpteenth replay of Cosmic Capers-a good short, but with so much material available, why not air some less-seen stuff? This film, for example, a funny take on Ben Franklin and why he accomplished so much. One wonders what Edison must have consulted with. Most recommended.

Guess what? It turns out that the much lauded Benjamin Franklin wasn't actually one of the architects of American independence after all. Nope. It was his mousey friend "Amos" who came up with all that "we the people" malarkey. After Benjamin had visited King George III and left with short shrift, he returned home to colonies full to brimming with folks like Thomas Jefferson determined that it is time to sever the links with the mother country. Treason? They'll all be hanged? Well first things first, they have to come up with a declaration that will set their daring vision onto paper and into motion. Thing is, they just can't find the words. Well, not for the first time, that's where the eloquent ball of fur comes to the fore and the rest is history... Well if Scottish history sees no problem awarding credit for it's rebellions to a spider, then why not the US of A according the same accolades to a wily and journalistic critter that is colourfully and mischievously depicted here. It's good fun with some entertaining dialogue from both the kite-flying mouse and his printer mentor. History, schmistory - maybe there really was a mouse on the moon, too?

This is by far one of the cutest animated "history" lessons anyone can watch or show to children. Of course it is fictional with a mouse as the hero and main character but does present the founding of our nation and the writing of the constitution in a very entertaining matter. Amos is really portrayed as the hero in place of Benjamin Franklin, with Franklin portrayed as somewhat of a bumbling, "absent-minded" professor type. We are also shown some of Benjamin Franklin's inventions as well as some of his famous sayings scattered throughout the short movie. We do have a video version of this and I believe it is still available. I highly recommend this very entertaining and educational 25 minute feature by Disney at his best.