Dave from Ottawa
The DVD box claims that this mild comedy is 'hilarious' are somewhat inflated. Okay, the box copy on any comedy tends to exaggerate its hilarity, so we won't hold such hyperbole too strongly against it. That said, this modest sequel to The Mouse That Roared manages to entertain as what it is: a low key family comedy of moderate charms. The idiot locals of the tiny and pastoral Grand Duchy of Fenwick return, this time with a scam to get Uncle Sugar to pay to restore the place's ancient plumbing by way of a 'technology loan'. Wink, wink. When U.S. inspectors arrive to view the results of Fenwick's space program, the locals scramble to keep them off-balance while enlisting the aid of an eccentric old professor to build them a REAL moon rocket. And it just so happens he has been working on that very thing. There are the usual farcical runnings around and the presence of the quirky Terry-Thomas is always welcome in this sort of exercise, but the whole thing is less clever and less fun than the original or the many Ealing Studios caper movies from which it clearly draws inspiration. The look is good, the characters all have their modest individual charms and everything turns out nifty in the end, aww, but don't expect anything overly inspired. There isn't a lot of real cinematic cleverness here, just good, competent old-fashioned movie entertainment. As that it works just fine. Enjoy.
brad_and_ethan
I disagree with the other critics who say this doesn't live up to the original. I think that even without Peter Sellers, that this sequel stands on its own two feet. The script was incredibly funny, from start to finish. There are so many nice touches by the screenwriter; it's hard to list them all. However, the touch of having the astronauts and cosmonauts being forced to return in the Fenwick rocketship - is just brilliant! The major drawback with this script is the lead's love interest, the blonde girl. She really feels like a fifth wheel throughout much of the film, and her subplot isn't dynamic enough. However, overall there are plenty of jokes strewn throughout the story, and the direction and editing is also spot-on.
Karl Hughes
The story line of how the underdog can beat the big boys is well executed, and although this comedy is not hilariously funny the story moves at a sufficient pace to keep the interest levels up. A wonderful array of stalwart British comedy actors march through this film, including a cameo for Frankie Howerd in need of the new public convenience.Where this film falls down, for me, is in Ron Moody's performance. His overacting singlehandedly turns this from potentially being a good film into one that can't be recommended. As if he were playing to a school of 5 year olds awaiting an episode of Crackerjack, Moody shouts and splashes and blusters his way aimlessly through this movie. Unfortunately he has a lead role. I'm no fan of Peter Sellers, but this film could have been so much more if perhaps the lead role had been given to John le Mesurier or Eric Barker rather than relegating them to small support roles.
MartinHafer
The Mouse That Roared was an amazingly original and funny movie. This follow-up picture tries to capture the magic of the first but just can't. The ideas that made the original movie so different now just seem silly in this sequel.The biggest problem, for me, is that Peter Sellars who was SO IMPORTANT to the original (playing a multitude of roles) isn't in this movie and so there are NO familiar faces. Margaret Rutherford is now the queen (and Peter Sellars made a much prettier queen), and Ron Moody and so many others take on most of the other roles from the original.My attitude is that if you CAN'T get the original cast, don't bother. This is a fair movie but can't hold a candle to the original.
AD
