mickey mouse had better watch his back -- there 's a new critter in town , and he 's the nameless animal attraction of " mouse hunt , " dreamworks skg 's clever first foray into family fare .
although it runs out of steam towards its end , this live - action comedy still boasts enough energized slapstick and inventive set pieces to best disney 's entire 1997 non - animated , kiddie - oriented catalog . . .
but consider that list includes dismal tripe like " air bud , " " flubber " and " that darn cat , " and it 's really not such a difficult feat to pull off .
still , throw the two rodents in a boxing arena , and i 'll be hoping that the mouse from " mouse hunt " knocks some sense back into mickey .
nathan lane ( robin williams ' significant other from " the birdcage " ) and lee evans ( last seen as a nervous bellhop in " the fifth element " ) play ernie and lars smuntz , befuddled brothers who have just inherited two unwanted assets from their late father ( william hickey , in his last role ) -- a dilapidated old string factory and a dilapidated old mansion .
although lars made a deathbed promise to upkeep the former , he and ernie decide to sell the latter for big bucks after learning it was designed by a famed architect .
but there 's a lone obstacle in their way -- a single mouse lives within the walls of the house , and he 's not about to give up his place of residence without a fight .
movies aimed at young audiences are rarely this visually exquisite .
the effects blending the talents of 60-some live mice , one animatronic mouse and one computer - generated mouse are pretty seamless .
the splendid production design seems to be straight out of tim burton 's mind ; the smuntz 's architecturally - unsound mansion is like something straight out of " the nightmare before christmas , " and the vortex of bizarre machinery in their factory resembles some of vincent price 's warped contraptions from " edward scissorhands . "
" mouse hunt " is a pretty dark movie -- even some of the humor can be grim -- but it 's hardly ever mean - spirited .
the star of the show is neither the top - billed lane nor the titular mouse .
it 's lanky british comedian evans , whose hysterical bodily antics suggest a cleaned - up jim carrey without the obnoxious overkill ( note a toned - down but nonetheless outrageous impromptu striptease ) ; evans ' banter with the ever - affable lane is funny stuff , too , and holds its own against the movie 's more flashy physical shtick .
vicki lewis ( beth from " newsradio " ) is solid in a supporting role as lars ' money - grubbing wife .
and in a nifty bit of novelty casting , christopher walken is a macabre delight as a spooky exterminator who takes his job a little too seriously , popping a dropping into his mouth and noting to his tape recorder that the mouse has a " calcium deficiency .
" blech .
a basically one - joke idea -- a mouse outsmarts a couple of bumbling humans -- is given a rather engaging execution .
their sparring is imaginatively realized ( i do n't think i 'll ever forget the sight of that tiny little mouse making his getaway on a rolling wheel of gouda ) , and although you really never fully root for either side , that 's okay --
a warm - and - fuzzy union between the two parties is practically promised from the first frame they share .
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mouse hunt " may take a while to get going ( the rather lengthy set - up could test the patience of some of the younger children , although i rather liked it , much in part to lane and evans ) , and the climactic sequence is allowed to play out for a bit too long , but this appears to be one family movie that most members of the family will be able to find agreeable , not unlike the original " home alone .
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Output: P