12 oz. Mouse is an animated television series that aired on the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
channel
Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
as part of the
Adult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
late night programming block. The show centers on the
antisocialAnti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
actions of an alcoholic
mouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
known as "Mouse Fitzgerald", "Fitz," "Butch," or simply "Mouse". The show was created by
Matt MaiellaroMatthew Gerard Maiellaro is the co-creator and writer of the cult television animated Adult Swim shows, Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 and Perfect Hair Forever, and creator of 12 Oz. Mouse...
, co-creator of
Aqua Teen Hunger ForceAqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
, and produced by
Williams StreetWilliams Street Productions, LLC, operating under the name Williams Street, is a division of Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting, an operational unit of Time Warner...
for Adult Swim. The series concluded its initial run on Adult Swim on December 18, 2006 with its twentieth episode, leaving the plot unresolved. In February 2007, production began on additional episodes for internet distribution on Adult Swim Video. The first and so far only online episode premiered May 16, 2007.
Production
The series is animated in the style of crude drawings with limited
motionIn physics, motion is a change in position of an object with respect to time. Change in action is the result of an unbalanced force. Motion is typically described in terms of velocity, acceleration, displacement and time . An object's velocity cannot change unless it is acted upon by a force, as...
. The usage of firearms,
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
consumption, and indifferent
homicidalHomicidal is a 1961 thriller film produced and directed by the self-proclaimed "King of Showmanship", William Castle. Written by Robb White, the film stars Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, Eugenie Leontovich, Alan Bunce, Richard Rust, and Joan Marshall...
acts are common activities of the
psychopathicPsychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
lead character Mouse Fitzgerald. The plot revolves around a bizarre
conspiracyA conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
which is constantly building on itself and taking seemingly nonsensical twists and turns. At times the narrative becomes
obfuscatedObfuscation is the hiding of intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, wilfully ambiguous, and harder to interpret.- Background :Obfuscation may be used for many purposes...
or
nonlinearNonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, hypertext websites and other narratives, wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order...
, but it simultaneously reveals connections that hint at an objective story. The dialogue is cryptic; clues and secret messages are hidden throughout each episode, including the credits. Creator Matt Maiellaro has indicated that the development of
12 oz. Mouse was influenced in part by the
Theatre of the AbsurdThe Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
, and
surrealisticSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
films such as those by director
David LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. Written in serial format, each episode picks up where the previous one left off.
In early airings, the show is also known as "oz. Mo." In the title sequence, the "camera" was so close to the "12 oz. Mouse" title card that only the characters "oz. Mo" were visible. However, it was later discovered that "Ozmo" is the name of an educational cartoon produced by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
The animation for the character Shark originates from the
Sealab 2020Sealab 2020 is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series is about the crew of an underwater research base and has an environmental theme. The series premiered on the television network NBC on September 9, 1972...
cartoon, from which clips were used to create the majority of the animation in the
Sealab 2021Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
show on Adult Swim. The shark animation first appeared on Adult Swim on the show
Space Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
, which
Space GhostSpace Ghost is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space...
referred to him as "Old Kentucky Shark." The shark later appeared towards the end of an
Aqua Teen Hunger ForceAqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
episode entitled "Escape From Leprauchpolis."
Animation for the series was done by
Radical AxisRadical Axis is an animation studio headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States known for its diverse work in both episodic television and commercials...
, who also animates Maiellaro's
Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Maiellaro commissioned
Lexington, KentuckyLexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
cowpunkCowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in the UK and California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New Wave with country music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject matter, attitude, and style...
band
Nine Pound HammerNine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky...
to write and perform the opening theme song. Scott Luallen, the voice of Roostre, is also the lead singer of
Nine Pound HammerNine Pound Hammer is an American cowpunk band formed in 1985 by vocalist Scott Luallen and guitarist Blaine Cartwright in their hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky...
.
Characters
The series main characters are Mouse Fitzgerald, his companion Skillet and the (at times) antagonistic Shark and Rectangular Businessman.
Plot
According to the network, the show is about a mouse named Mouse Fitzgerald (Fitz) who is fond of
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and caught in a world of
espionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, love, and the delights of odd jobs. The show employs a serial format, and its ongoing storyline developed from
absurdistIn philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
comedy to include mystery and thriller elements. Fitz begins to recover
suppressed memoriesIn psychology, memory inhibition is the ability not to remember irrelevant information. Memory inhibition is a critical component of an effective memory system. For example, imagine if, when a person tried to remember where he had parked his car, every place he had ever parked his car came to mind;...
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 which appears to revolve around fields of "" pills beneath the city, and Shark, Clock, and Rectangular Businessman's attempts to control the nature of time and reality. Fitz and Skillet receive help from Liquor, Roostre, Stoned Peanut Cop and others as they engage in gun battles, blow things up, and try to understand cryptic hints. The show also sometimes contains surreal "subliminal" images that flash across the screen during key plot moments, including
skullThe skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
s, mustached snake beasts and people screaming. The series concludes the revelation that Fitz has been kidnapped and placed into a simulation—not unlike
The MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
—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, and Golden Joe says "I thought this was done." Fitz replies, "I thought so too. I guess we're not."
Episodes
The pilot episode for 12 oz. Mouse, "Hired", premiered on June 19, 2005 and became a regular series in the Adult Swim lineup in October 2005. An
Adult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
bump shown with the sixth installment claimed that twenty additional episodes were being produced and taunted viewers who had complained they couldn't understand the absurdist series. On December 31, 2005 the "12 oz. New Year Marathon" aired, replaying all six episodes followed by the premiere of the then unfinished seventh episode "Adventure Mouse". The second season aired on Adult Swim on Monday mornings at 12:45 AM EST from September 25, 2006 to December 17, 2006. On May 16, 2007, the 21st episode premiered on the adult swim fix as a web-only episode.
DVD release
A DVD release of the complete series was released February 29, 2008 exclusively on the Williams Street shop. The DVD cover depicts
Leonardo'sLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
"
The Last SupperThe Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este...
" with the 12 Oz. Mouse cast replacing Christ and the 12 Disciples. However, under a black light, the cover depicts the skeletons of the characters, as well as letters and symbols which made an email address, that, if emailed, as of July 2008, yields nothing. It was first announced to be in production in an interview with creator Matt Maiellaro. The series is presented as a single, continuous movie, with newly-produced footage bridging the gaps between episodes. It also features production footage, new music, episode 13, "Auraphull", in its entirety, and collected fan art.
In addition to being available on DVD, all episodes are available on the "Build a Custom DVD" feature on the Adult Swim website.
Influence
The
hip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
duo
Danger DoomDanger Doom is a musical collaboration between DJ and producer Danger Mouse and rapper MF Doom. Their first album, The Mouse and the Mask, was released in 2005, and followed by the Occult Hymn EP in 2006.-Background:...
(who specialize in making rap songs inspired by Adult Swim shows and is occasionally heavily marketed during Adult Swim bumps) has a song inspired by 12 oz. Mouse entitled "Korn Dogz" from their EP "Occult Hymn". The song uses audio clips from the episode "Rooster", with the line "Corn dogs for the pickin'" being recited by Danger Doom's
MCA Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....
MF DoomDaniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
and Mouse Fitzgerald.
Footage from the show makes a brief appearance in
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters (on the guest monitor on
Space Ghost Coast to CoastSpace Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
).
See also
- List of 12 oz. Mouse episodes
- List of 12 oz. Mouse characters
- Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
- Cult television
- Perfect Hair Forever
Perfect Hair Forever is an American comedy animated television series which is largely a parody of anime. It was created and produced by Williams Street, and aired on Adult Swim and The Detour in the US and Canada respectively...
External links