The Devil and Daniel Mouse

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The Devil and Daniel Mouse
Album cover
Genre
  • Animation
  • Family
  • Fantasy
  • Music
Based on
Warner Home Video
(VHS)
ReleaseOctober 5, 1978 (1978-10-05)

The Devil and Daniel Mouse is a 1978 Canadian

Nelvana Ltd.[1][2]

Nelvana's iconic polar bear logo made its first appearance at the end of the special. The polar bear was eventually used as a in-credit logo later in their specials from 1979 to 1980 and from after 1980 to 1988.[3]

Plot

The story is about two struggling mouse folk musicians, Daniel and Jan, who are fired from their latest gig because their music is deemed too old-fashioned and not with the times. They worry about their future; Daniel encourages Jan not to give up and goes to pawn his guitar in order to buy groceries. Jan wanders off on her own and in despair says she would give anything to be a big star. At once she encounters a shifty reptilian character in a white suit who introduces himself as "B.L. Zebub", a record producer.

He and his

praying mantis
(Pray Mantis).

As the lead singer of "Funky Jan and the Animal Kingdom", Jan is soon the most popular rock star on the planet, while Daniel is left out in the cold. But when B.L. comes for her soul and she realizes what she has done, a distraught Jan goes to Daniel for help. A trial is held in the woods over Jan's soul, with Weez as the judge, a jury of ghosts of shady music industry creatures, and Daniel acting as Jan's attorney. As an additional stipulation, the Devil states that should Daniel lose the trial, his soul, as well as Jan's, will be taken as payment.

At first, the trial seems hopeless, considering Daniel has no education as a lawyer and cannot present even the beginnings of a reasonable argument to release Jan. Having nothing else to offer, Daniel begins to sing a heartfelt song. Jan joins in, as do her three heretofore unhelpful band members. The other animals watching the trial begin to sing and clap along to the tune along with Weez and the jury of three lost souls (whom were multiplied three times into 12 by B.L. himself). Enraged, the Devil attempts to summon forth demons to stop the heroes, but the spirits he conjures also fall prey to the sway of Daniel's music. Weez declares that Dan and Jan have won their case and the ghostly jury agrees.

A frustrated Devil finally leaves, returning to Hell and taking Weez and all of his other minions with him. The two mice embrace one another as the film ends. The final frame repeats the story's moral: "A song from the heart beats the Devil every time."

Cast

Actor Role
Jim Henshaw Daniel Mouse/beaver drummer
Annabel Kershaw Jan Mouse
John Sebastian Daniel Mouse (singing voice)/rock show emcee
Valerie Carter
credited as
Laurel Runn
Jan Mouse (singing voice)
Chris Wiggins B. L. Zebub/Satan/the devil
Martin Lavut Weez Weezel/pawnbroker/radio DJ
Dianne Lawrence journalist/Vicky Viper

Songs

Merchandising

Nelvana story album

A tie-in story LP record was released by Nelvana Records in 1978.'[4] Narrated by John Sebastian, the album features dialog lifted straight from the film's soundtrack as well as songs performed by Sebastian, Valerie Carter (credited as Laurel Runn) [5][6] and the Reggie Knighton Band. As in the film, the dialogue is interspersed with several of the songs.

Full-colour storybook

First published by

Avon/Camelot in 1979, the storybook was written by screenwriter Ken Sobol and features music and lyrics for three John Sebastian
penned songs (I've Got a Song, Can You Help Me Find My Song? and Look Where the Music Can Take You). Simplified for younger readers, many of the visual gags and a few scenes were omitted from the book.

Home video

The Devil and Daniel Mouse was simultaneously issued as a stand-alone title on Betamax and VHS as well as featured on several compilations of Nelvana's TV specials.[7]

Nelvanamation (Volume 1)

The first and more widely available compilation to feature the film was Nelvanamation (Volume 1). Also featured on this video are Romie-0 and Julie-8, Intergalactic Thanksgiving and A Cosmic Christmas.[8]

The Devil and Daniel Mouse and Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Headlining a collection similar to Nelvanamation, this CED Videodisc also includes Romie-0 and Julie-8, Easter Fever, Intergalactic Thanksgiving and A Cosmic Christmas.[9]

Rock & Rule

The Devil and Daniel Mouse became the inspiration for Nelvana's first feature film,

DVD[10] and Blu-ray[11] versions of that film in a slightly edited form of 22 minutes from its original 25-minute running time.[12]

In popular culture

Dialogue from this film was used by the rock band Bauhaus in the song "Party of the First Part", found on some versions of The Sky's Gone Out and 1989's Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions.[13] A dialogue sample from the film was also used by Black Dresses at the end of their song "Maybe This World Is Another Planet's Hell?", from the album Peaceful as Hell.

See also

References

External links