ActuallyGlimmer
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Roy Hart
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Darin
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"The Devil and Daniel Mouse" is a 25-minute animated short film from 1978, so this one will soon have its 40th anniversary. It is a Canadian Nelvana English-language production and the director is Clive A. Smith. The music comes from John Sebastian. The main characters in here are two mice who make music, but don't have a lot of success. So one of them (the female) makes a deal with the devil and becomes very successful. But then the day of revenge comes for her. This is a decent story on morals and friendship and also has a couple fun moments I guess. All in all, it's a solid watch for young and not so young audiences I would say. The message is decent, the music is not bad (not good either though) and the characters are nicely animated and interesting to watch overall. The 1970s have certainly not been among the greatest animated short films had to offer and the Golden Age of Animation was over at that point already, but here we have a television special from 1978 that proves that with all the dark in terms of the genre, there is also some light. I recommend the watch.
sillylittlemonkey-206-792158
Why is this getting so many good reviews? I'm going to start out blunt. It's not a good short film. The characters are boring and they have no personality or dept at all. Seriously. What can I say about Jan's character other than "she sells her soul to the devil"? The answer is nothing. She's dull. They are all dull.The animation is just awful. It moves too fast and soppy, the way the characters are designed is ugly. The Devil looks like a fat alligator. In fact worst devil I've ever seen.The songs are just bad seventies music. Though, it's not as horrible as everything else.The movie's plot is interesting. An unfortunate person sells their soul to the devil for a better life, eventually they realize "I'm going to hell", and they stand trial against Satan. This was a bad adaptation of that story. I'm giving this movie 1 out 10
dtucker86
I remember watching this cartoon as a kid growing up in Fairmont, West Virginia (the home of Mary Lou Retton). It is an excellent modern day adaptation of Benet's classic story told in animation. They do a wonderful job of bringing it into the 70's, in fact you could almost say that it is a cartoon for adults in some ways. The message is meaningful in so many ways that a song from your heart sets you free and beats the devil every time. I am so sorry but I still have that song stuck in my head from over twenty years ago......look where the music will take you when your getting low....a song from your heart sets you free and beats the devil every single time.
vanoldee
Cute songs, and an interesting story line. I remember this one from when I was little, and I loved watching the wolf, who is the Devil's helper but not heartless himself. Just be sure if you ever make a bargain with the Devil you read the fine print, because he certainly will!
