House Hunting Mice

House Hunting Mice is a 1947 Looney Tunes short directed by Charles M. Jones.
== Plot ==
A futuristic house open for inspection is near Hubie and Bertie's home. The two curious mice heads inside the house, where they discover that the push-button home can automate most common household tasks. Hubie first tries out an automatic phonograph, which launches a record onto a player that is caught by a baseball mitt. The two later finds an automatic sweeper, which is tested by cigar ache that causes a robot sweeper to sweep up the mess.
Bertie gets to push the next button, which starts the laundry where Hubie gets sucked in and is processed to be ironed and binded into a stack of clothes. As Hubie repeatedly slaps Bertie, the two finds a cheese dispenser. On their first attempt, the cheese flies out onto the ground, and the automatic sweeper detects the mess and sweeps it up. Bertie is sent to try to catch the cheese using a plate, but the cheese block is too heavy and it breaks atop of Bertie.
The automatic sweeper activates again and sweeps up the cheese and Bertie. Bertie gets out of the trash bin, but the robot sweeps him in again, and anticipates when Bertie attempts to escape the trash can. Hubie attempts numerous traps to dispose of the robot:
*Using a vase to trick it to jump out a window, Hubie throws the vase outside and the sweeper chases after the vase out the window. The robot is unharmed and manages to get back in to sweep Bertie.
*Hubie pushes a box of firecrackers, for the robot to sweep them up, as Bertie escapes the trash bin. Hubie then drops a lit candle, which is swept up by the robot, but the moment the candle is in the trash bin, It blows up and severely damaged the robot, but the robot's hand manages to press "Repair Service" to send an automatic re-assembler to fix the robot.
*The two mice patches up the automatic phonograph so the player is unable to open. Activating the record launcher at the fastest speed, the robot is forced to clean up an excessive amount of records, tiring it out. The robot eventually quits from exhaustion and leaves.
With the automatic sweeper out of the way, Hubie thinks that they can now claim all the cheese they want, but Bertie presses a button for "Spring Cleaning". Many automated cleaning robots, including the sweeper that recently quit, returns to clean up the place. Now infested with robots, the two try to escape to no avail, as they are caught in a rug and pinned to a clothespin to be repeatedly spanked by a rug beater. Hubie repeatedly punches Bertie for leaving the two in the mess.
==Availability==
Cartoon Moviestars 7.jpg|(1990) VHS Cartoon Moviestars: Daffy Duck and Company
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-3-F.jpg|(1992) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 3, Side 3
L.T.M.C..jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection, Disc 2 (restored)
lt mouse chronicles blu.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection, Disc 2 (restored)
=== Streaming===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - 2024) (restored)
==Notes ==
*"House Hunting Mice", among many other animated shorts, features the song "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott when the automated sweeping robots pursue the two mice.
* The cartoon was originally part of the Looney Tunes series. However, the lobby card erroneously calls it a Merrie Melodie; presumably it was originally planned to be part of that series, but was changed at the last minute (and the lobby card was never withdrawn). Incidentally, the cartoon was later reissued as part of the Merrie Melodies Blue Ribbon program (the closing music remained unchanged from the original issue).
*Between 1947 and 1949, some non-Bugs Bunny cartoons were released in the inferior Cinecolor color process to save money. This is the first cartoon to be released in Cinecolor since "Beauty and the Beast" in 1934.
*Stan Freberg provides his voice for both Hubie and Bertie for this cartoon, while Mel Blanc provided additional vocal work. In there next cartoon "Mouse Wreckers", Freberg voices Hubie while Blanc voices Bertie before there roles were swapped for the last two Hubie and Bertie cartoons
*Since the cartoon was originally released in Cinecolor, the original closing titles were replaced with the re-released season's closing titles.
**In fact, this is the only cartoon re-released as a Blue Ribbon in the 1954–55 season to use those seasons' closing titles and the only cartoon released in Cinecolor to be re-released in that season. All other cartoons re-released in that season, regardless of which series they were in, kept their original closing titles.
* Although a 16mm print with the original titles has been found (as pictured below), the restored version as seen on Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection is the Blue Ribbon version. As Warner Bros. only restores 35mm prints, the Blue Ribbon titles were restored instead.
*This is the debut of the green rings at the ending, these rings would be used for the Cinecolor shorts for the 1947–48 season, they would be later used for the 1948–49 season, the 1953 season, and the 1955–56 season (although they were made smaller).
*The cartoon's plot is essentially a reworking of Chuck Jones' second cartoon "Dog Gone Modern" (1939), starring The Two Curious Puppies. However, in contrast to the slow-paced, Disney-esque original from 1939, this cartoon is faster-paced and more comedic. According to the Toonheads episode "Future Shock", most of the storyline was changed to keep the audience guessing.
**Coincidentally, "Dog Gone Modern" was reissued the same year this cartoon was originally released.
*This is the Hubie and Bertie's only solo cartoon. All their other six cartoons are paired with cats.
==Gallery==
890d5291c32c948a26cb07328df3cdbd.jpg|Lobby card
(1947) House Hunting Mice (16mm) (OG titles) (5).png|Screenshot from original 16mm print
File:House Hunting Mice Original Title Sequences
File:House Hunt.jpg
File:House Hunting mice layout.jpg|Layout drawing
File:House Hunting Mice.jpg
==References ==
es:House Hunting Mice
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:1947
Category:Cartoons that contain excerpts from "Powerhouse"
Category:Shorts
Category:Hubie and Bertie Cartoons
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Robert Gribbroek
Category:Cartoons with layouts by Peter Alvarado
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons animated by Abe Levitow
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:Cartoons originally produced in Cinecolor
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist