The Lyin' Mouse

The Lyin' Mouse is a 1937 Merrie Melodies short directed by I. Freleng.
== Title ==
The title is a play on "lion."
== Plot ==
A mouse is trying to free himself from a trap when a cat arrives. The mouse, desperate to avoid being eaten, asks if the cat has heard the story of "The Lion and the Mouse". He tells a story about a ferocious lion in the jungle who scares all the animals; the mouse has a horn that imitates the lion's roar, and has some fun with it until the lion catches him. The mouse pleads for his life, and the lion, distracted by a bigger catch, agrees. The bigger catch is a trap set by the Frank Cluck expedition; the lion avoids the first trap, but falls for the second, and find himself in a circus lion-taming act, where he put his head inside the tamer's mouth. The mouse happens by, and chews a lion-shaped hole in the lion's wooden cart/cage, setting him free. The cat, moved by this story, releases the mouse. Just before entering his hole, the mouse yells one last word at the cat: "Sucker!" The cat then shrugs and says, "Well, can you imagine that."
== Availability ==
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-5-F.jpg|(1997) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 5, Side 3, Freleng Follies (USA 1995 Turner print)
Taz's Jungle Jams.jpg|(1998) VHS Taz's Jungle Jams (USA 1995 Turner print)
L.T.M.C..jpg|(2012) DVD Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection (USA 1995 Turner print)
lt mouse chronicles blu.jpg|(2012) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Mouse Chronicles: The Chuck Jones Collection (USA 1995 Turner print)
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored with the European Turner print soundtrack)
lt max.jpg|Max (2023 - 2024) (restored with the European Turner print soundtrack)
== Goofs ==
* A quotation mark is missing on the Blue Ribbon reissue title card of this cartoon.
== Notes ==
* This is the first cartoon to give story credit, here to Tedd Pierce.
* While the American Turner "dubbed" version print retains the original ending music, the European Turner print changes it to the 1941–55 rendition of "Merrily We Roll Along". As the 2020 restoration uses the European Turner print's soundtrack, the error persists in that version.
* The ostrich from "Plenty of Money and You" makes a cameo appearance when the animals run away from the mouse's lion noise. 
** Coincidentally, both shorts featuring this character were directed by Friz Freleng, and both got reissued.
* This is the first Merrie Melodies cartoon not to have any songs sung, breaking the tradition of the series of using the shorts to promote a song. While "Uncle Tom's Bungalow" experimented with the idea, it still used "Swanee River" in its intro before the main story.
* The working title was "The Lion and the Mouse".
== Gallery ==
LyinRestored.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 restoration
The Lyin' Mouse (1937) - Cat.jpg
The Lyin' Mouse (1937) - Lion.jpg
261727 10150249424248926 223597233925 7278932 4977737 n.jpg|Lobby card
Lyin-mouse-merrie-melodies-cartoon 1 6d09fce322b9ddb14179e1f86b174966.jpg|Lobby card
TheLyinMouseLD1.png|Layout drawing
The Lyin' Mouse model.jpg|Model sheet
==References==
Category:1937
Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts
Category:Shorts
Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Berneice Hansell
Category:Cartoons written by Tedd Pierce
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown
Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling
Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn
Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Mice
Category:Cats