Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life (1965) User Reviews

There's an expression in Italy cautioning people . . .

[pixrox1 · 8/10 · 1 November 2022]

. . . not to pound their nails in with a Stradivarius. Chuck Jones, director of such master works as FLOP GOES THE WEASEL, LONG-HAIRED HARE and 8 BALL BUNNY, was put into that position when Warner released him to become an undercover agent or termite chewing away the foundation of the Groaning Fat Cat's Tom & Jerry colossus. AH, SWEET MOUSE-STORY OF LIFE is a perfect example of saboteur Jones at his best. The anti-thesis of a Bugs Bunny outing, this humorless sour note has no rhyme or reason to exist other than to demonstrate the two-dimensional nature characterizing the Tom & Jerry mirage all along. Even the maggots starting gagging when the drain pipe tabby got stretched longer than a football field in this T & J lampooning spoof flick.

Not a patch on the classic Tom and Jerry cartoons, but among the better of Chuck Jones' output

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 19 February 2013]

Tom and Jerry was part of my, and I imagine a lot of other people's, childhood, and to this day I still find a lot of fun and charm in them. Admittedly the Gene Deitch output(with two exceptions that are still only mediocre) are terrible and Chuck Jones is hit and miss, but when Tom and Jerry were good like in the 40s to mid-50s the best of their cartoons are among the classics of all animation. Ah Sweet Mouse-Story of Life is not one of those classics, but of Jones' output it is one of the better ones. The story is on the routine side and the cartoon is too short, I would have given it two minutes more. That said, the animation is mostly clean and lush(much better than the more scratchy style of the later Chuck Jones output) and one of the better-looking Tom and Jerry cartoons of his. The music has more energy, appealing orchestration and memorable moments compared to the likes of The Unshrinkable Jerry Mouse and Much Ado About Mousing. The gags are more amusing than they are hilarious, but they are a good batch and amusing is at least better than unfunny or non-existent. I also liked that the chase scenes were very reminiscent of the Roadrunner/Wile E.Coyote cartoons, which gave a chance for Jones to bring his own humorous style in the way that he couldn't do before in his previous Tom and Jerrys. Tom and Jerry are as likable as ever, and there is nothing to fault Mel Blanc and June Foray either. All in all, fun enough if not among the classics. Of a hit-and-miss batch though it is one of Jones' better ones. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Tom and Jerry, Roadrunner style.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 28 May 2017]

Tom chases Jerry around a high-rise apartment, and out onto the perilous ledge that surrounds it.

'Ah, Sweet Mouse-Story of Life' sees director Chuck Jones taking Tom and Jerry into Roadrunner territory, with an extremely simple chase scenario and surreal humour (both the title scene, with Tom revving up like a car to chase the mouse, and the first 'falling wall' gag, are classic Wile.E.Coyote-style gags).

While the sight of Jerry grabbing onto a question mark to save his life, or pulling daggers from his thought bubbles to throw at Tom, are undeniably inventive, these ideas really aren't in keeping with the series' established approach, which makes this one only partially successful as far as I am concerned.