The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures
The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures is an animated television series co-produced by CINAR Films and France Animation, produced in association with Ravensburger Film & TV, WIC Entertainment, Reader's Digest (Series 1), TVOntario (Series 1), Videal (Series 1) and Motion Pictures, S.A. (Series 1), in co-production with Canal J and France 3. The series first aired in the United States on HBO (who also provided development funding for the series[3]) in the United States from March 2, 1997[4] to October 28, 1998. The series then premiered in France on France 3 on March 27, 1998.
| The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | The Mouse Adventures (UK) |
| Genre | Animation Adventure Neo-noir Mystery |
| Created by | Cinar France Animation |
| Based on | The Country Mouse and the City Mouse by Aesop the same characters from children book by Random House[1] |
| Written by | Joseph Mallozzi (Season 1 only) Patrick Granleese Caroline R. Maria Bruce Robb Paul Schibli (adaptation) |
| Voices of | Terrence Scammell Julie Burroughs Rick Jones Holly Gauthier-Frankel |
| Composer | James Gelfand |
| Country of origin | France Canada |
| Original languages | French English |
| No. of seasons | 2[2] |
| No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Chris Jenkins Jason David Ross Kate Bosworth |
| Producer | Lisa Taylor |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies | CINAR Films France Animation Ravensburger Film & TV WIC Entertainment Reader's Digest (Season 1) Videal (Season 1) Motion Pictures, S.A. (Season 1) |
| Distributor | CINAR |
| Release | |
| Original network | France: Canal J France 3 Canada: TVOntario (Season 1) YTV United States: HBO |
| Audio format | Dolby Surround |
| First shown in | United States |
| Original release | March 2, 1997 – October 28, 1998 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale |
The show follows the adventures of two cousin mice, Alexander from the city and Emily from the country, who go on adventures around the world in the late 19th and early 20th century, usually to help their cousins, solve a mystery, or stop the evil rat, No-Tail No-Goodnik.[5]
The two main characters originally appeared in the 1993 TV special The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale, which was produced by Michael Sporn Animation for HBO and Random House. Loosely based on the classic Aesop fable, the TV special was also adapted into a book in 1994, titled The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: Christmas Is Where the Heart Is. But the characters were modified for the Cinar series.
Main characters
- Emily (voiced by Julie Burroughs) is an American female country mouse who is Alexander's cousin. She wears a red dress with a white apron on it and a straw hat with a red ribbon tied in a bow around it.
- Alexander (voiced by Terrence Scammell) is a British-American male city mouse. He wears a blue suit and a matching hat with a red bowtie and is Emily's cousin.
- No-Tail No-Goodnik (voiced by Rick Jones) is a rat thief. He goes to some countries and often uses fake tails when doing his duty like doing disguises.
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 26 | March 2, 1997 | May 30, 1997 | ||
| 2 | 26 | March 21, 1998 | October 28, 1998 | ||
Production
The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures was initially produced as a 26-episode series[4][6] costing US$9 million.[6] Production partners Germany's Ravensburger; Reader's Digest in the United States; and CINAR (later Cookie Jar Group), which contributed US$6 million towards the original project's funding.[6]
The show's main characters first appeared in the 1993 HBO special, The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale.[4] It was loosely based on the classic fable by Aesop.
Broadcast
It also aired on YTV in 1999.
Reruns of the show aired on the Cookie Jar Toons block on This TV until September 23, 2011, and mornings in Ireland on RTÉ Two's The Den, usually at 7:15 a.m. However, all CINAR references in these broadcasts have been replaced by Cookie Jar references, but when Netflix began to stream season 1-2 on its "watch instantly" streaming service on February 29, 2012, all CINAR references have been restored. It re-aired on Light TV from December 22, 2016 to October 2, 2020.
Home release
Reader's Digest released only season 1 on VHS and DVD in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Finland and Australia.
Direct Source released every four episodes in two DVD volumes from the second season of the show on February 27, 2007. Season 1 is also available on iTunes.
Mill Creek Entertainment released The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures - 26 Mice Tales Around The World on August 4, 2015 on DVD for Region 1.[7] This 2-disc collection features all 26 episodes from the second season on DVD for the very first time.
References
- About Tish Rabe - the "Singing Author"
- "Watch Country Mouse City Mouse, Season 2 | Prime Video".
- Review of Operations
- Press release (February 14, 1996). "HBO Sets Out on The Country Mouse and The City Mouse Adventures, All-New Animated Family Series Launching in March". Newsroom. Time Warner. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 137. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- Raugust, Karen (2004). "Financing and Deal Making". The Animation Business Handbook. St. Martin's Press. p. 173. ISBN 0-312-28428-4. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- DVDs for '26 Mice Tales Around The World' Archived 2015-08-01 at the Wayback Machine