The Devil and Daniel Mouse
| The Devil and Daniel Mouse | |
|---|---|
Album cover
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| Genre | Animation Family Fantasy Music |
| Screenplay by | Ken Sobol |
| Story by |
Stephen Vincent Benet Patrick Loubert |
| Directed by | Clive A. Smith |
| Starring |
Jim Henshaw Annabel Kershaw Chris Wiggins John Sebastian |
| Music by | John Sebastian Patricia Cullen Laurel Runn Reggie Knighton |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jeffrey Kirsch |
| Producer(s) |
Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert J. Gordon Arnold Ron Hastings |
| Running time | 25 min |
| Production company(s) | Nelvana |
| Distributor | CBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Original release |
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The Devil and Daniel Mouse is a 1978 animated Halloween television special, from Canada's Nelvana animation studio. It is based on the story of The Devil and Daniel Webster.
The Nelvana logo made its first appearance at the end of the film.
The story is about two struggling mouse musicians, Daniel and Jan. When they are fired from their latest gig (their music is deemed too old-fashioned and not with the times), Daniel goes to pawn his guitar in order to buy groceries. Jan wanders off on her own and encounters a shifty reptilian character in a white suit who introduces himself as "B.L. Zebubb", a record producer.
He and his weasel assistant, Weez Weezel, offer her fame and fortune in exchange for signing a contract in blood. Jan does not read the fine print and trusts B.L., signing herself over to his record production company. Little does she suspect that B.L. is none other than the Devil himself, and at the height of her fame he will return to collect her soul. To assist her, Weez conjures three band members from thin air, a rabbit (Rabbit Delight), a beaver (Boom Boom Beaver), and a praying mantis (Pray Mantis).
As "Funky Jan", Jan is soon the most popular rock star on the planet while the oblivious 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 that night over Jan's soul, with Weez as the judge and Daniel acting as Jan's attorney. As an additional stipend, 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 and so do the jury of lost souls. An enraged 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.
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Wikipedia