The Mouse on the Moon

Starring:Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins, David Kossoff, Terry-Thomas, June Ritchie, John Le Mesurier, John Phillips (VI), Eric Barker, Roddy McMillan, Tom Aldredge, Michael Trubshawe, Peter Sallis, Clive Dunn, Hugh Lloyd, Graham Stark, Mario Fabrizi, Jan Conrad, John Bluthal, Archie Duncan
Director: Richard Lester
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Grand Fenwick Takes Center-stage in the World Again!
Not as Good as the Original
A delightful satire of the Cold War
Even funnier than "The Mouse That Roared"
"It's not that kind of privvy council, your majesty."

The Mouse on the Moon
Starring: Margaret Rutherford , Ron Moody , Bernard Cribbins , David Kossoff , and Terry-Thomas
Director: Richard Lester
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Mouse That Roared
The Naked Truth
The Mouse that Roared: A Novel
Smallest Show on Earth
After the Fox

ASIN: B00004ZBVN
Release Date: 2000-12-19

Description

The natives are growing restless in the tiny country of Grand Fenwick! There's no indoor plumbing, no money to pay for it and no one's had a hot bath in ages! Facing a winter without warm water, the conniving Prime Minister (Ron Moody, Oliver!) convinces the U.S. government to give him a million-dollar grant by promising to use it for Grand Fenwick's space program. There's just one pesky problem: Grand Fenwick doesn't have a space program! But when a local crackpot professor discovers that the region's wine makes radical rocket fuel, the little nation determines to blast its wayinto the space race and land on the moon before the U.S., Russia or anyone else! Get readyfor a spoof on space travel and political plotting that's so funny, it'll have you howling at the moon! Full of "hilarious slapstick moments" (Boxoffice), this lunar laugh-riot is a "delightful farce" (The Film Daily) that's out of this world!

Customer Reviews:

Grand Fenwick Takes Center-stage in the World Again!.......2005-10-18

In 1959, a hilarious Cold War-inspired film entitled "The Mouse that Roared" was produced about a fictional tiny country named "The Duchy of Grand Fenwick", which is no ordinary country. First, it's the smallest country in the world (about 15 square miles). Second, it's the only English-speaking country in continental Europe (located in the French Alps). Third, its primary source of revenue is its wine. When a California winery made a cheap knock-off of Grand Fenwick's wine and reduced the nation's only source of revenue, Grand Fenwick declared war on the U.S. and won! The result: the California winery stopped producing the cheap knock-off and Grand Fenwick kept a brilliant scientist, Professor Alfred Kokintz (David Kossoff, 1919-2005), that they captured in the U.S.

With the success of "The Mouse that Roared", a sequel was produced 4 years later in 1963 and entitled "The Mouse on the Moon". Unlike the first film that had Peter Sellers (1925-1980) playing three of the main characters as in the original 1959 film, each of these characters were played by separate actors: Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (Margaret Rutherford, 1892-1972), Prime Minister Rupert Mountjoy (Ron Moody) and his nephew Vincent Mountjoy (Bernard Cribbins). Only David Kossoff reprised his role as Professor Kokintz.

Focusing again the Cold War between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, the story for "The Mouse on the Moon" begins with Prime Minister Mountjoy coming up with what he believes will be a brilliant way to get a loan from the U.S.: trick the U.S. into thinking that Grand Fenwick wants to start a space program, when in reality, he just wants the money to have indoor plumbing installed in Grand Fenwick's castle. The U.S., not trusting Mountjoy, goes ahead and gives a grant to Grand Fenwick thinking that it will improve how other nations view the U.S. in its race with the former Soviet Union to send astronauts to the moon. To counter the U.S., the Soviet Union sends an old space rocket to Grand Fenwick. Delighted with the gifts, Mountjoy proceeds with turning the rocket and money into indoor plumbing, but not before Professor Kokintz discovers why bottles of Grand Fenwick wine have been inexplicably exploding: they contain a new radioactive element, which Kokintz discovers can generate lift. With Vincent's eager help to become an astronaut, Professor Kokintz proceeds to prepare the rocket for space travel, which he believes will take about 3 weeks to reach the moon. To counter suspicions in the U.S. and the Soviet Union that Grand Fenwick is indeed using their gifts for space exploration, Mountjoy invites representatives from each to visit the launching of the rocket. Mountjoy asks Professor Kokintz to make it appear that the rocket explodes, but unknown to him, Kokintz and Vincent are ready to take their radioactive-wine-powered rocket for a roundtrip to the moon. Would the smallest country in the world beat the U.S. and the former Soviet Union to the moon? Just watch this charming film and find out.

Though considered not as good as the original 1959 film, "The Mouse on the Moon" is still very entertaining. Granted there are some slight mistakes with how air inside the Grand Fenwick rocket is maintained since it has no airlock, but for 1963, few people would have realized this. Other interesting characters include Maurice Spender (Terry-Thomas, 1911-1990), Cynthia (June Ritchie) and one of the American astronauts who was played by Ed Bishop (1932-2005). Some sci-fi TV series buffs may remember Ed Bishop as Commander Ed Straker in the 1970 sci-fi TV series "UFO". Overall, "The Mouse on the Moon" is a fun film and deservers a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Not as Good as the Original.......2004-09-08

Fitfully funny satire about the space race but it is not as amusing as "The Mouse That Roared." Sorely lacking here is the presence of Peter Sellers. It's interesting to watch political satire of it's time but the space race does not have the resonance today that the arms race did.

A delightful satire of the Cold War.......2003-12-29

One of my favorite comedies from back when I was a kid (and they used to show old films like this on broadcast TV...) One of those rare instances in which a sequel to a cult film is still fun enough to make it on its own merits, despite losing the original lead actor. This is the followup to the kooky Peter Sellers classic, "The Mouse That Roared," returning us to Duchy of Grand Fenwick, an eccentric European backwater that makes Lichtenstein seem like the Ottoman Empire. Sellers is gone, but the farce remains, as the Grand Fenwickians inadvertently enter the Cold War space race, with the US, USSR and UK all falling over themselves to try and either control or subvert the tiny country's absurdly rickety space program. There are fine character bits, with Ron Moody and Margaret Rutherford starring, respectively, as Grand Fenwick's prime minister and queen, but what makes this film an enduring classic is how deftly it satirizes the already-farcical propaganda wars between America and the Soviet Union (that Great Britain really factored in as a "player" in the Kennedy-era Cold War is a quaint, Bond-ian affectation...) A genuinely funny film that stands on its own dramatically, but which is also a priceless snapshot of the times it was made in. Recommended!

Even funnier than "The Mouse That Roared".......2003-10-04

I bought this movie based on reviews I read here on Amazon.com and wasn't disappointed. I watched "The Mouse That Roared" first and thought it was funny, but in my opinion this movie is even better.

Magaret Rutherford is great as the clueless Grand Duchess, I wish there was more of her in the movie.

Ron Moody does a great job as the prime minister who is hung up on getting running hot water for his bathtub at any cost.

There was a small take off on Dr. Strangelove that I liked. Two ex-German scientists one for the US and one for the USSR give their boss a Nazi salute before catching themselves.

I had some good laughs throughout the movie. If you liked "The Mouse That Roared" I'm sure you'll like this movie.

"It's not that kind of privvy council, your majesty.".......2001-03-15

A superior sequel to "The Mouse That Roared" where Prime Minister Bobo (a manic and hilarious Ron Moody)cons both Russia and the USA into sending Grand Fenwick space research funds and equipment that he can recycle into a plumbing system for the castle. Then the scientist from the first movie actually heads for the moon in a Jules Vern-ish Victorian space ship using the Grand Fenwick wine crop as rocket fuel. Lester and Shenson made this film right before they teamed for HARD DAYS NIGHT and the dry British wit is very apparent. Margaret Rutherford even says a line that John Lennon would say in HDN.

The Wheels on the Bus - Mango Helps the Moon Mouse

Average customer rating:

Awesome Music!
Not as good as the first!!
The Wheels on the Bus - Mango Helps the Moon Mouse
Mango Helps the Moon Mouse
Excellent Educational Video

The Wheels on the Bus - Mango Helps the Moon Mouse
Starring: Dr. Dorothy Singer
Manufacturer: Starlight
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Wheels on the Bus Video - Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventure
The Wheels on the Bus: Humpty Dumpty and Other Nursery Rhymes
The Wheels on the Bus
The Wheels on the Bus
The Wheels on the Bus... and More Sing-Along Favorites (Scholastic Video Collection)

ASIN: B000AYNG0W
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Description

"The Wheels on the Bus - Mango Helps the Moon Mouse" is the second episode in the award-winning Wheels on the Bus Series.

The DVD once again stars Roger Daltrey as the voice of Argon the Dragon, the driver of the bus. Mango Helps the Moon Mouse also features Saturday Night Live Alumnus, Victoria Jackson, as the Moon Mouse.

For children ages two to four, Mango Helps the Moon Mouse teaches the early socialization skills of Helping, Sharing, Good Manners and Cooperation. The lessons were developed under the guidance of esteemed Yale University Child Psychologist, Dr. Dorothy G. Singer, who ensured that the educational content was correct and that the videos were overall appropriate for the intended age group.

The story follows Mango the monkey and his friends as they help the Moon Mouse, who has crash-landed on the earth while searching for cheese. They all embark on an adventurous bus ride that includes stops at a reptile show, a birthday party, a bird show, and finally the moon itself. Along the way there are fun musical versions of "The Wheels on the Bus" as well as six new songs composed by Laura Hall and sung by Roger Daltrey and Victoria Jackson.

Bonuses include a Behind the Scenes Video that shows the making of the DVD through the eyes of the eleven-year-old star, Janie Laurel Escalle.

A bonus 30-minute-long reptile show expands on the three-minute show in the video, featuring the amazing Reptile Family.

A Lyric Sheet and a Parent's Guide are also included with the DVD. The parent's guide was written by Dr. Dorothy G. Singer, Yale University and helps parents and care-givers extend the teachings and lessons of the video.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Music!.......2006-04-18

We love the music on this DVD! My four-year-old daughter knows every lyric and we sing it everywhere we go. (My year-old daughter hums "The Wheels on the Bus" constantly because of the video and that is pretty cute!) Roger Daltrey has done a wonderful job as the voice of Argon and Victoria Jackson is sooo cute as Moon Mouse. We have the first "Wheels on the Bus" with Mango and Papaya but I think we like this second one better, mostly because the music is so wonderful.

Not as good as the first!!.......2006-03-23

My son loved the first Mango and Papaya Wheels on the Bus. It is still his favorite. He did not even want to watch the Moon Mouse one at first. It has since grown on him and even my husband and I. We still sing the songs from the first one though... ALL of the time!

The Wheels on the Bus - Mango Helps the Moon Mouse.......2006-03-09

If your child loved the first "Wheels on the Bus", they'll have the same enthusiasm for this one. Our two-year old loves the song, does all of the motions, and even calmly got his first boy haircut with Mom and Grandpa singing the "Yellow School Bus" song with him.

Mango Helps the Moon Mouse.......2006-02-27

This is an amazing video. My two year old loves it. A must have for all!!

Excellent Educational Video.......2005-12-19

My children and their friends enjoyed this Video tremendously.
Our PTA purchased both "The Wheels on the Bus featuring Mango,"
as an additional learning tool to their Core Curriculum.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Timeline - 1940

Walt Disney Classics: Cinderella 2, The Lady And The Tramp

With Or Without You [1999]

DVD: The Cauldron:Baptism of Blood

Living Britain - Vol. 1