Good Will to Men (1955)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Directors:

Joseph Barbera
William Hanna

Release Date:

23 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | War

Plot:

A group of young mice is in the ruins of a church, practicing singing for an upcoming service. After singing an adulterated version of "Hark...

Plot Keywords:

Mouse | Singing | Church | Anti Aircraft | Song

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Directed by
Joseph Barbera
William Hanna

Produced by
Joseph Barbera	....	producer
William Hanna	....	producer
Fred Quimby	....	producer

Original Music by
Scott Bradley

Animation Department
Ed Barge	....	animator
Richard Bickenbach	....	layout artist (as Dick Bickenbach)
Don Driscoll	....	background artist
Robert Gentle	....	background artist
Lewis Marshall	....	animator
Kenneth Muse	....	animator
Irven Spence	....	animator (as Irvin Spence)
Reuben Timmins	....	animator

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

8 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (PCA #17540)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The first cartoon since The Midnight Snack (1941) by the team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera starring characters other than "Tom and Jerry."

Quotes:

Reverend Mouse: I was just a little shaver at the time and I asked the wise old owl what that book was he was reading. 'Well' he says, 'looks like a book of rules that belonged to them men. Thou shalt not kill. Love thy neighbor as thyself... hmmm, looks like some pretty good rules, but I guess them men didn't pay much attention to it'. Yes it was a good book of rules, and it still is a good book of rules. Love thy neighbor as thyself. On these words depend the future of us all.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Peace on Earth (1939)

Soundtrack:

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

Do We Ever Learn?

This Hanna-Barbera cartoon certainly is different from the norm. Seeing mice in the opening, I wondered if this was another Tom and Jerry-type cartoon.....but it is anything but that! This is a serious cartoon with a serious message. It's also a message no one could argue with, and a good one to watch at Christmas, since that's pictured during the cartoon.

It's an anti-war cartoon, and a pro-Bible one, too, as it turns out, rhetorically making us question whether we have learned valuable advice that has been told to us for centuries. We say we do, but do we "practice what we preach," as this film asks?

This is depicting some time in the future when there are no more humans left in the world. The mice in this choir are singing the Christmas tune, "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" when the head mouse explains to the little ones the story of man, and why their are none around anymore. It ends with a nice tribute to the Bible and to men ignoring what it says in there, hence, not treating neighbors as they should led to their downfall.

It's a shocking cartoon in spots, showing the devastating effects of war and, in particular, weapons of mass destruction. No one has mentioned here, but the visuals are stunning; just beautifully drawn and looking great in CinemaScope.

This was a bonus feature, a "restored" cartoon I assume, that was on the "It's Always Fair Weather" disc. It is certainly worth checking out. Don't miss it.