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| The Fifth-Column Mouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | I. Freleng |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Produced by | Leon Schlesinger |
| Starring | Mel Blanc |
| Music by | Carl W. Stalling |
| Animation by | Ken Champin |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 7:30 |
| Language | English |
The Fifth-Column Mouse[a] is a 1943Warner Bros.Merrie Melodiesanimated cartoon directed byFriz Freleng.[1] The short was released on March 6, 1943.[2]
The cartoon features a band ofmice who engage in war against a cat. This is a wartimepropaganda film, with the cat symbolizing theAxis powers. A single mouse represents thefifth column, working for the cat and suggesting anappeasement policy.
The short film begins with a pleasant group of brown mice who are - to the tune of "Ain't We Got Fun" - enjoying various water sports and other fun activities in and around a kitchen sink. Lurking just outside the house is a sinister cat; after he gets inside he gains the confidence of adim-witted grey mouse who has already underestimated the predator. The cat persuades the easily manipulated rodent - via a promise of cheese, "all you want" - to impress upon the brown mice that he, the cat, is there to save them when, in actuality, he will enslave them.
The grey mouse follows the cat's orders and convinces his compatriots to appease. The brown mice indeed become slaves to the cat, fulfilling his every desire. Finally, he openly states that he wants to eat "a nice, fat, tender mouse". The brown mice flee; the grey mouse runs to join them when the cat turns his appetite toward him. The newly formed brown mouse united alliance prepares for war, constructing a 'secret weapon' to even the upcoming battle: a mechanicalbulldog. The ensuing chase forces the cat from the house after being shaved nearly bald. As the brown mice celebrate the victory, the grey mouse tries to claim partial credit (quotingRed Skelton's line "I Dood it"); in response, he is immediatelypied.
The cat is treated as the enemy and symbolizes theAxis powers. After the cat whispers his plan inside the dim-witted mouse's ear, the cat's face briefly mimics that of a stereotypically caricatured Japanese, while Japanese-sounding music is briefly heard. When the mouse agrees to fulfill the plan, he gives the cat a Nazi salute. The grey mouse represents the policy of appeasement, and the overall theme of the short is that the policy does not work against the Axis and will lead to ruin. When the cat's fur is shaved off, the first four notes ofLudwig van Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony" are played; these notes were used by the Allied Forces as a symbol for "V" (for "victory") in Morse code; also, when shaved four tufts of hair are left on the cat's back - three short and one long tuft - equivalent to the Morse Code dit-dit-dit-dah - which is the letter "V".
Near the end of the cartoon, the brown mice sing, "We did it before and We can do it again", a patriotic chant that was often used in American films during World War II. The song was co-written in 1941 byTin Pan Alley songwriterCharles Tobias (who also co-wrote theMerrie Melodies theme some years earlier) as a response to the sneak attack onPearl Harbor. During the song, a mouse version of the "Buy War Bonds and Stamps" poster can be seen.
The Fifth-Column Mouse was released onBugs & Daffy: The Wartime Cartoons (1989), and later on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 DVD set.[3] The cartoon is now in the public domain.