Mighty Mouse was the mightiest mouse in the whole universe! In fact Mighty Mouse was so popular that in the eighties there were actually two versions of the Mighty Mouse Cartoon on tv. the earlier version is covered in a sub-page to this one, and was called 'The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse' by Filmation. This version, which I must admit is the version I remember best, came out slightly later and was called 'Mighty Mouse: the New Adventures' produced by Bakshi-Hyde Venutres.
This cartoon was an update of previous Mighty Mouse cartoons in that it gave Mighty Mouse a secret idenitity (Mike Mouse) and a child was brought into the mix, a young orphan called Scrappy Mouse that saw Mighty Mouse as his hero and almost always needed rescuing. Also the cast was significantly increased, in older versions of Mighty Mouse basically Oil Can Harry was always the villain and Mighty Mouse's sweetheart 'Pearl Pureheart' always needed rescuing. This newer version of the cartoon introdcued new heroes, new bad-guys and new characters in need of rescue. The cartoon was very ground-breaking at the time (as it didn't feel the need to stick to a particular plot format, and tended to be very off the wall). Many of the people involved in the cartoon went on to become involved in such hit shows as Renn and Stimpy (John Kricfalusi), Simpsons (Jim Reardon), Batman, Powerpuff Girls, Cow & Chicken (Lynne Naylor) in the nineties.
The show ran for 19 episodes, which were split into 2 x 11minute cartoon stories, and is still fantastic to watch today, it's definitely one that's stood the test of time.
Mighty Mouse
The hero of the hour, Mighty Mouse who can fly superman style. He often launches into the air with a cry of 'Here I come to save the day!'. In this version of the cartoon, unlike previous versions Mighty Mouse is given an alter ego of Mike Mouse.
In one contraversial episode 'The Littlest Tramp' MightyMouse sniffs a crushed up flower that was given to him by a little girl mouse. The American Family Assocaition apparently alleged that this depicted cocaine usage, and so the scene (3 seconds) was cut form the cartoon and not shown again after 1988.
Pearl Pureheart
Pearl Pureheart is the heroine of the piece and Mighty MOuse's sweetheart. the biggest change between this cartoon and Mighty Mouse predecessors was the fact that it wasn't always Pearl that needed rescuing, but more often than not it was Scrappy Mouse.
Pearl owns a cat food factory (the idea being that cats will not eatmice if they have a ready supply of cat-food). Interestingly one of Pearl's least reliable workers is Mike Mouse . . . he's never on the production line for some reason.
Scrappy Mouse
Scrappy is Mighty Mouse's side-kick and number one fan. More often thannot Scrappy wanders into a situation from which he needs rescuing. Scrappy was a poor street orphan until he became adopted (or at least be-friended) by Mighty Mouse.
The Cow
The Cow was one of the new villains for this version of the show, replacing Oil Can Harry as the main nemesis of Mighty Mouse. The Cow is sworn to reak vengenance on the Dairy Industry for its poor treatment of his fellow cows.
A Mighty Mouse Script Meeting from the late 1980's:
Mighty Mouse: Lyrics
Mighty Mouse:Here he comes, that Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse: Here he comes, that Mighty Mouse
Coming to vanquish the foe with a mighty blow
So don't be afraid anymore Choir: 'Cause things won't be like they've been before! Mighty Mouse: Here I come to save the day! Choir: Thank goodness Mighty Mouse is on his way
So let the trumpet players play
For Mighty Mouse is here today! Mighty Mouse: Here he comes, that Mighty Mouse
Just like a bolt from the blue with a heart that's true
Fighting evil, fighting crime Choir: And always there in the nick of time Mighty Mouse: Here he comes to save the day Choir: And he will prove that crime will never pay
So let the trumpet players play
For Mighty Mouse is here today!
Mighty Mouse: Episode Guide
There were 19 episodes of Mighty Mousethe New Adventures made in total. Each was made upof two 11 minute cartoons:
1 "Night on Bald Pate" / "Mouse from Another House"
2 "Me-Yowww!" / "Witch Tricks"
3 "Night of the Bat-Bat" / "Scrap-Happy"
4 "Catastrophe Cat" / "Scrappy's Field Day"
5 "The Bagmouse" / "The First Deadly Cheese"
6 "This Island Mouseville" / "Mighty's Musical Classics"
7 "The Littlest Tramp" (Uncut) / "Puffy Goes Berserk"
8 "The League of Super-Rodents" / "Scrappy's Playhouse"
9 "All You Need is Glove" / "It's Scrappy's Birthday"
10 "Aqua-Guppy" / "Animation Concerto"
11 "The Ice Goose Cometh" / "Pirates with Dirty Faces"
12 "Mighty's Benefit Plan" / "See You in the Funny Papers"
13 "Heroes and Zeroes" / "Stress for Success"
14 "Day of the Mice" / "Still Oily After All These Years"
15 "Mighty's Wedlock Whimsy" / "Anatomy of a Milquetoast"
16 "Bat with a Golden Tongue" / "Mundane Voyage"
17 "Snow White & the Motor City Dwarfs" / "Don't Touch that Dial"
18 "Mouse and Supermouse" / "The Bride of Mighty Mouse"
19 "A Star is Milked" / "Mighty's Tone Poem"
