12 oz. Mouse
12 oz. Mouse | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Matt Maiellaro |
Written by | Matt Maiellaro |
Directed by | Matt Maiellaro |
Voices of |
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Opening theme | "Main Theme" by Nine Pound Hammer (Season 1–2) |
Ending theme | "12 oz. Mouse" by Amaranthe ("Invictus" – Season 3) |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 31 (and 2 specials and 1 webisode) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | |
Producers |
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Running time | 11–12 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network |
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Release | June 19, 2005 December 17, 2006 | –
Release | July 20 July 31, 2020 | –
12 oz. Mouse is an American adult animated television series created by Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim.[1][2] The series revolves around Mouse Fitzgerald, nicknamed "Fitz" (voiced by Maiellaro), an alcoholic mouse who performs odd jobs so he can buy more beer. Together with his chinchilla companion Skillet, Fitz begins to recover suppressed memories that he once had a wife and a child who have now vanished. This leads him to seek answers about his past and the shadowy forces that seem to be manipulating his world.
In producing the series, Maiellaro crudely designed the characters as a cost-cutting measure; the series was originally animated by Radical Axis. He intended for the series to lack continuity starting from the pilot but established a serial format after starting the second episode. He had constructed an ending for the series as well as a detailed map of characters; however, the series finale concluded differently from planned. Maiellaro cast people around his office for the characters, starring himself as the protagonist and Nine Pound Hammer vocalist Scott Luallen as the voice of Roostre; the band also performs the opening theme.
The
In 2018, a double-length special, entitled "Invictus", aired on October 14 and it was announced that 12 oz. Mouse was also revived as a series. The third season, consisting of 11 episodes, premiered on July 20, 2020, and ended on July 31.[3] The ending credits of both "Invictus" and the season 3 episodes feature a song by Amaranthe and animation by Awesome Inc.
In February 2021, it was revealed that the show would not be picked up for a fourth season.[4]
Premise
The show revolves around a mouse named Mouse Fitzgerald (voiced by Matt Maiellaro), nicknamed "Fitz", who is fond of beer and caught in a world of espionage, love, and the delights of odd jobs. The show employs a serial format, and its ongoing storyline developed from absurdist comedy to include mystery and thriller elements.[5] Fitz begins to recover suppressed memories that he once had a wife and a child who have now vanished. This leads him to seek answers about his past and the shadowy forces that seem to be manipulating his world.
Fitz suspects there is a sinister conspiracy involving fields of "
The series concludes with the revelation that Fitz has been kidnapped and placed into a simulation by the Shadowy Figure. He is about to be killed by Shark and the Rectangular Businessman, in their true forms outside the simulation, when he is rescued by the true form of Peanut Cop and a nurse who works in the simulation chamber. They kill Shark and Rectangle Businessman, but it is unknown if they are truly dead because the simulation in which most of the show takes place is probably taking place in another simulation. One of the purposes of the simulation seen in most of the show was to extract information from Fitz. The conclusion to episode 20 is ambiguous as to whether or not it is actually the end of the series, as some aspects of the plot remain unresolved – Golden Joe says "I thought this was done," to which Fitz replies, "I thought so too. I guess we're not."[6]
One webisode was made in 2007, showing Fitz and his friends escaping the city to live in a desert. Golden Joe is carried away by birds, while later one night, Peanut Cop mysteriously disappears. Fitz and Skillet later meet a woman, Lee, who turns out to be a werewolf. Their fate at the end of the episode was unknown.
In 2018, a half-hour special episode aired, which continued the story. Fitz, now with a mustache and suffering from amnesia, is shown to be living in a new city during an unspecified amount of time after the original finale. Shark and Square Guy have returned somehow, and are trying to kidnap Fitz so they can return to the "real" world with the help of exterminator bee, Buzby (Dana Snyder). Skillet, Roostre, Peanut Cop, Golden Joe, and The New Guy (Mike Lazzo) must find and escape the simulation with Fitz before Shark and Square Guy do.
Characters
Main
- Mouse Fitzgerald (voiced by Matt Maiellaro) is a alcoholic mouse who suffers from amnesia.
- Shark (voiced by Adam Reed) is the president of Cardboard City and the former boss of Fitz.
- Skillet was Fitz's best friend and sidekick.
- Rectangular Businessman (voiced by Kurt Sccolish) was a businessman who owns a bank.
Development
Production
According to Maiellaro, the series was pitched as a
Radical Axis provided animation for the series using Final Cut Pro.[5][9] Described as "lo-fi animation",[7] Maiellaro crudely designed the characters as a cost-cutting measure, with the exception of Amalockh, a many-armed monster summoned in the season two episode "Corndog Chronicles", which was drawn and animated by Todd Redner at the studio, and Shark, which was borrowed from the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode "Kentucky Nightmare".[5] In a behind-the-scenes clip of the show, Maiellaro explained that to animate the series, he would first grab a nearby sheet of copy paper, draw something, and then scan it, followed by him sending the file to an animator.[10] Rhoda, a character from the series, was drawn on the back of a script page for Perfect Hair Forever. A scan of the paper revealed the textual contents behind it, which Maiellaro decided to leave in.[5]
Cast
Maiellaro cast people around his office to voice the characters. He provides the voice of Mouse Fitzgerald. He originally only gave the scratch dialogue for the character during the production of the pilot episode but chose himself to voice Mouse regularly after hearing his lines assembled in the final cut. Kurt Soccolich was chosen by Maiellaro to voice Rectangular Businessman, who "already had that sort of smooth arrogance in his voice", making him a "perfect" fit for him.[5] Matt Harrigan was selected to voice Liquor, who is "always looking to make light of a situation", according to Maiellaro.[5]
Nick Weidenfeld provides the voice of Peanut Cop; Melissa Warrenburg portrays an annoying woman in a green sweater, who Maiellaro dubs "Robogirl". Bonnie Rosmarin voices Man/Woman, picked for what Maiellaro stated is a "pouty, stand-offish quality" in her delivery.
Title sequence and music
Maiellaro spent three weeks working with Ingkatanuwat on putting together the set for the opening title sequence. The set was filmed with a motion control camera and was inserted with miniature explosives and smoke bombs for special effect. Nine Pound Hammer composed the opening theme song; Maiellaro sought a song representing the "carefree" lifestyle of Mouse who "does things like drive drunk, film porno and shoot guns."[5] Maiellaro, who plays the electric guitar in his free time, also composed the song "F-Off", featured in both the first episode and in "Auraphull", which he wrote while working on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.[5] Swedish heavy metal band Amaranthe performed the credits theme song for the 2018 special, "Invictus".
Revival
The June 14, 2018, episode of the Adult Swim streaming series Development Meeting featured a new clip from 12 oz. Mouse, which featured Seth Green as Fitz, hinting at a return to the series. It was later announced on September 18 of that year that the series would return for a half-hour special entitled "Invictus", which aired a month later on October 14. On the day of the special's airing, another announcement was made that the series would return for an 11-episode[3] third season which aired in late July 2020.[11] On March 31, 2020, the third season premiere aired unannounced at 2:45 am EST with many other new episodes from Adult Swim shows as part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools Prank. The whole third season premiered on July 20, 2020, and ended on July 31.[12][13] In February 2021, Maiellaro confirmed that the series was not picked up for a fourth season, citing management changes at Adult Swim.[4]
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 7 | June 19, 2005 | January 1, 2006 | |
"Spider-Man Special" | November 6, 2005 | |||
2 | 13 | September 25, 2006 | December 18, 2006 | |
Webisode | May 16, 2007 | |||
"Invictus" | October 12, 2018 | |||
3 | 11 | July 20, 2020 | July 31, 2020 |
The
International broadcast
In
Reception
Ratings
The season two episodes "Auraphull" and "Meat Warrior" were respectively seen by 460,000 and 431,000 viewers upon broadcast. In addition, the episodes ranked as the thirteenth and twelfth most-watched episodes aired by the network for the week of October 23, 2006, also respectively.[18]
Critical reception
The series has received generally positive critical reception;
Justin Heckert of Atlanta magazine opined that "the animation and art look like they were done by daycare students".[22]
Other appearances
The
Home media
A DVD release of the first 2 seasons was released February 29, 2008 (leap year), exclusively on the Williams Street shop.[
References
- ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Evershed, John (2020). Adult Animation Finally Breaking Free of its Comedy Shackles (PDF) (Report). High Concentrate, LLC in Squarespace. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
- ^ a b 12 oz. Mouse season 3 episode list from TV Guide.
- ^ a b Schwarz, John (February 23, 2021). "12 oz Mouse A No Go For Season Four". Bubbleblabber.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Norman, Justin (January 2007). "12 oz. Mouse: An Interview with Matt Maiellaro". Des Moines, Iowa: Shrieking Tree. Archived from the original on January 16, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ Maiellaro, Matt (December 17, 2006). "Prolegomenon". 12 oz. Mouse. Season 2. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. Adult Swim.
- ^ a b c "12 oz. Mouse". Turner Content Solutions. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. October 22, 2009. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ "12 oz. Mouse: An Interview with Matt Maiellaro (creator/writer/voice actor)". Archived from the original on January 16, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
- Internet Movie Database. Archived from the originalon February 27, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon September 19, 2005. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ^ a b Zimmerman, Brad Lee (October 14, 2018). "13 years ago I worked on a show for... – Brad Lee Zimmerman | Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- ^ a b adultswim (April 1, 2020). "We promise this is not a joke.pic.twitter.com/qUyxR8nYOr". @adultswim. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ "Adult Swim Reveals Summer 2020 Schedule: "Tender Touches"; "Robot Chicken"; "12 Oz Mouse"; "Yolo: Crystal Fantasy"". Bubbleblabber.com. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon April 27, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
- ^ Maiellaro, Matt (May 16, 2007). "Enter the Sandmouse". 12 oz. Mouse. Season 3. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. Adult Swim. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
- ^ "Cartoon Network originals swim onto Teletoon". Media of Canada.
- ^ "ADULT SWIM DELIVERS A FULLY-LOADED SCHEDULE THIS FALL WITH TONS OF NEW CONTENT TO KEEP EYES GLUED TO THE TUBE". Corus. September 10, 2020.
- ^ Adult Swim Power Rankings [10/23/06 – 10/29/06]. Adult Swim (Bumper). Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. November 6, 2006.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon April 13, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
- ^ AOL Inc. Archived from the originalon May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ISSN 0004-6701.
- ^ "Danger Doom – Occult Hymn". Adult Swim. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. 2006. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
- ^ Danger Doom (May 30, 2006). Korn Dogz. Occult Hymn (Audio). Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006.
- New University. Irvine, California. Archived from the originalon March 3, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
- Warner Home Video. February 29, 2008. ASIN B001298HKS.
- CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
External links
- Official website
- 12 oz. Mouse at IMDb