First appeared in Mouse of Tomorrow 1944, Last appearance Cat Alarm 1961 sandwiching 78 theatrical shorts
Created by Terrytoons (a 20th Century Fox studio)
Originally named Super Mouse (in the first 7 films)
Intentionally dressed similar to Superman
Voiced by Roy Hallee, Sr., Tom Morrison, and Patrick Pinney
Superpowers include flight, X-ray vision, super strength, telekinesis, turn back time
Two recurring female leads: Pearl Pureheart and Mitzi
Oil Can Harry is the common evil villain cat
Characters often sing opera songs
Received an Oscar nomination for Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1945
CBS bought the rights, and then aired Mighty Mouse Playhouse 1955-1967 with supporting characters including Heckle and Jeckle, Dinky Duck, and Gandy Goose
Mighty Mouse and the Mighty Heroes (Diaper Man, Cuckoo Man, Rope Man, Strong Man, and Tornado Man) aired for two years
The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle aired 1969-1981 (41 shows)
A Kentucky family (with too much time on their hands and obvious UK basketball fans) interpreted a scene as Mighty Mouse snorting cocaine, thus reporting this to the American Family Association, which demanded changes
“Thus ends the adventure of Super Mouse…he seen his job and he done it!”
Mighty Mouse and the Mighty Heroes Intro
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Barbershop-Style Introduction 1987-89
I watched Superman, and watched Mighty Mouse. great stuff!!!
Hansi,
Woo hoo! This post was a Hansi winner! Thanks for stopping by.
Love the statement “seen live in color” good old days.
Kellie,
LOL … a great reminder of the transition from B&W TV. Thanks for commenting.
That was really fun brought back memories. Delightful made me smile. Thanks!
Starla,
Providing childhood reminders is one of the purposes of the Saturday posts. Thanks for commenting.
Loved this!!
Loved the clips, brought back great memories of watching with my Dad.
Val,
Glad to rekindle memories. Thanks for visiting.
I had no idea Mighty Mouse got his start as Super Mouse but with powers like flight, X-ray vision, super strength, telekinesis, and turn back time it’s no wonder he was Super! Now if only I could get some of that ‘turn back time’ stuff….
Alex,
I had no idea about an earlier life as Super Mouse until researching. Meanwhile, maybe our super powers haven’t kicked in yet. Thanks for commenting.
Oh, I loved Mighty Mouse, too. But that was before I knew he was into drugs.
Elyse,
LOL … your comment cracks me up. Thanks for delivering a chuckle.
YOU brought up his drug use. I had always thought he was a mild mannered mouse. I didn’t know he had a problem. I am so disillusioned. Sort of like when I learned about Santa. Sniff.
Sure I brought it, especially because the accusation came from my neighboring state to the south. I guess most of us were just enablers.
Of course we were enablers. Remember that drug-addicted pill-popping Underdog? “The secret compartment of my ring I fill/With an Underdog super energy pill.”
Yeah – ENERGY. Right…….
And what WAS in those spinach cans Popeye was poppin’ open? Nobody eats canned spinach. Nobody.
Well … nobody but Popeye!
Frank, it’s time you faced facts. Popeye was a user.
Roids-induced spinach?
That would explain it. And the ravenous hunger, too.
Um … I hate to admit this, but I eat canned spinach. Though it’s never made my biceps become a movie screen for a tank or a battleship. Maybe there were some OTHER herbs in that stuff back then – like Coca-Cola used to have cocaine….
Ewwww. Gross.
For some reason, this makes me want to eat cereal ?
Zannyro,
Thanks for stopping by.
Well … to my knowledge, my posts have never inspired that response. Therefore, I hope you had your cereal of choice.
Ah yes, when having color TV was a big deal! One of our two TV sets, which I watched most of these shows on growing up, was a B&W unit in a HUGE wooden cabinet. My dad gutted it, and with all the old tube electronics out of the way, it carried 4 speakers, a turntable, 8-track player, cassette player/recorder, a large digital clock (with plastic wheels, rather than LEDs), AND all our LP records! (And kids think their iPhones take up too much space these days!
)
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Okay, trivia question for YOU: Do you remember the acetate screen covers for B&W TVs, that were a horizontal blue stripe at the top third, clear in the middle third, and green at the bottom third? (Yep, I’m going into REAL old fart territory!
John,
Yes, I remember the acetate screen sheets, although we didn’t have one. Oh yes – some of the consoles of the day where huge – thus very usable as you dad did. Thanks for sharing the trip back in time.
Everytime I hear the Mighty Mouse theme I can’t help thinking of that bit that Andy Kaufman used to do.
Weebs,
Glad I could trigger memories. Better yet, here’s one for you. Thanks for visiting.
Thanks for posting the clips. I didn’t know that Ralph Bakshi directed Mighty Heroes and produced New Adventures. In the Seventies I thought he was so ahead of his time with Fritz the Cat. I also loved that Andy Kaufman bit with the theme song. Another great cartoon post Frank!
Lame,
. BTW … I hope you saw the Andy Kaufmann video in the comments. Thanks for visiting.
I know you appreciate these posts, so whenever I ponder doing one or not, I hear a lame voice in my head.
I did watch the AK video!
I am not aware of Mighty Mouse. Somehow that cartoon missed my childhood. xx
Spiced,
I can’t say that Mighty Mouse was one of my favorites, but he is a legend from cartoon’s Golden Age. Thanks for visiting.
I’ve just watched Usain Bolt!! OMW he is a legend!!
Lisaman,
Usain Bolt is a rocket …and a legend of this era. Thanks for commenting.
Mighty Mouse is very special to me! My son (now 35) just adored Mighty Mouse when he was little. I still have a stuffed MM, almost two feet tall, kept in plastic wrap in the garage…I can’t get rid of it! If my son will ever grant me permission, I’d love to post a picture of it…it’s really something to see…an almost antique Mighty Mouse! Ha! And that Andy Kauffman “bit” always made me roar! I thought he was simply brilliant! Fun post to read, Frank. Lots of happy memories here! Debra
Debra,
Alright … cheers for me for sparking both memories and a post idea. Love to see the pic! Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks for the memories.
Paradise,
You are very welcome … and thanks for visiting.
I haven’t watched cartoons for a while but my guess is that the intros are not as long now.
Andy Kaufman was bewildering for me. I just don’t have the background.
Cuttlefish,
Great point about the intros of the past. In the early days of TV, some cartoon intros acted as commercials for the product sponsoring the cartoon. Thanks for commenting.
Oh, Mighty Mouse! I loved him so much as a little girl that I wanted to marry him (even though cats were the “enemy” to him). “Here I come to save the daaaaayyyyyy!” Thanks, Frank – the first one is my favorite.
Lynn,
See, I remembered mentioning that, thus became worried when you didn’t visit. Thanks for saving the day!
I cannot hear the Mighty Mouse song without thinking of Andy Kaufman on Saturday Night Live. I see you found the video.
Robin,
The comments show that you are not alone in thinking about Andy Kaufman. Thanks for visiting.