I have a copy of this on VHS though I have watched it several times I find it a bit boring the music is terrible I know this didnt have the budget of Disney but nor did animal farm and I loved that one.

As for the animation for an early japanese production its ok but look what also came out of japan a few years later the last unicorn.

The story is fine but it is a bit slow and the voice acting fails to hold my interest. I say this movie is only best as background noise.

I did remember watching this film in the past at some time in my childhood. And because of my searching for copies of old and/or discontinued animated films either buried in the recesses of my memory, or completely unseen by my eyes, led me to buy the book and a VHS copy of this tale at more or less the same time (the later seems to be quite a scarcity these days, well the real deal anyway). I been through both and while I say that the film is certainly worth a watch, I doubt it will hold much interest for long and it won’t last as long as the superb book whichever way you look at it.

Mouse and Child, a clockwork, circle-dancing pair fall off the toy shelve, get thrown away and are repaired by a tramp; Whose repairs cause the pair to stop their circular lifestyle in favor of a straight ahead one. Unfortunately they’re in the dump and soon come to the attention of a certain Manny the Rat: head of the dump.

The film seems intent on rushing through it source story in as fast a way as possible, removing much of the depth and therefore weakening the narrative until it has become this pale imitation of the original. It does stick to the course of events, but the metaphors have been weakened and the film never stays in one place long enough to build any kind of tension.

Another thing lost in translation is much of the personality, or rather personalities; the characters of Manny the Rat, Friend Frog, Muskrat and even the Mouse & Child’s personas have been diluted. The deeper thoughts of the book, the ordeals that the toy tin mice suffer through diminished. Manny, the pondering, conflicted but dangerous head rat of the dump, has been reduced to one-dimensional melodrama.

The film is much a product of it time of which it was made. Unfortunately it was made in the Seventies, a decade regarded as having little in the way of truly notable animation. As Inkwolf points out in her review below, the music and everything else is basic at best grating at worst.

Taken on it own terms though, Mouse and His Child is a film that suffers through it faults and is at least watchable (if only once). Most of this has got to do with the main protagonists who are, as the frog states “Innocents abroad.” At the mercy of those they meet and the key which Mouse (the father) wants rid of, they are the only part of the film that stays true to the book, with the use of the key as a type of slavery and the independence that will come from self winding.

With the problems that it has, I cannot really say I recommend it. The premise would've work better as a TV series, which would have allowed more time for the scenes and therefore maybe have done them better service. Yet it works well enough that one could watch it without feeling that they are totally wasting their time; although Personally, I think you’ll have more to get from the book.

As a fan of the book, I jumped at the chance to get a copy of this film. It looks like they wasted an opportunity, or in any case didn't have enough budget to do it justice. The people I have talked to who consider it a classic....obviously saw it when they were children. It might be okay for kids.

There's cheesy, intrusive 70's cartoon background music...cheesy 70's character design...cheesy 70's voice acting. You know what I mean. Though there are occasional moments of interest, for the most part, the dumbing-down and toning-down of the story robbed it of meaning, and the two-dimensionalizing and trivializing of the characters robbed it of interest. Manny Rat went from being a complex and compelling character to being a cheap melodramatic villain.

Don't wast your time watching this turkey! Read the brilliant book!!!

Someone could make a really brilliant (and violent) anime series based on this story. I suppose there's little hope of it, though.

I don't remember too much about this movie. though it should be noted that Peter Ustinov and Andy Devine star as Manny the Rat and The Frog in this pic. Disney fans will remember them as Prince John and Friar Tuck.only part I particularly remember was Manny Beat the Mouse and Child to pieces with a rather small rock. and they were built again by the Muskrat. who beforehand used them for to chop down trees quicker than a beaver can. wasn't terribly impressed by it .. but I didn't hate it either.