From Hand to Mouse

From Hand to Mouse is a 1944 Looney Tunes short directed by Charles M. Jones.
== Title ==
The title is a play on the 1919 film From Hand to Mouth.
== Plot ==
A dimwitted lion has caught a fast-talking mouse to eat. The mouse pleads the lion to spare him, hoping that some day the mouse will be able to help the lion, as in the story of "The Lion and the Mouse". The lion releases the mouse, only for the mouse to trick him by shouting "Sucker!" as he runs back into his hole home, causing the infuriated dumb lion to repetitively knock his head onto a tree in frustration.
The mouse talks the not-so-bright lion into releasing him on several more occasions. The mouse first gets stuck in a mousetrap and convinces the lion to "get him out of a jam", causing the mouse to flee back to his hole. The mouse then hides in the lion's fur, and when the lion combs him out, the mouse asks if the lion has a ration stamp. The lion states he doesn't have one, and the mouse states that he'll get him one once he is set down. The lion obliges, and the mouse stamps "SUCKER" onto the lion's rear. In both cases, the lion slams his head against the same tree once he realizes that he has been fooled.
Eventually, the mouse deliberately gets himself trapped on a mouse trap and disguises himself as a lion, including snarling and growling like a lion. The lion, then releases the mouse, thinking that he's the lion and the mouse, disguised as the lion, tricks the lion that he has caught him. Since the lion is incredibly dumb, he immediately assumes the role of the mouse and cowers in fear, begging the mouse to spare him from being eaten. The mouse spares the lion and the lion rushes into his hole, but he fails to realize about his monstrous size in comparison to the mouse hole and outright crashes into the wall. 
As soon as the mouse whispers in his ear "Sucker!", the lion eventually realizes that he's been tricked the whole time. Infuriated, the lion attempts to give the mouse a chase. When a gorilla no brighter than the lion himself interferes with the lion by using his tail as a "toy", it's up to the mouse to save him by replacing the lion with a bomb, which explodes after the gorilla plays with it, hence living up to his promise to the lion.
The lion and the mouse are about to make peace and become allies, but the mouse tricks the dumb lion again by making him fall off the cliff by stepping on a tree branch as the mouse calls him a sucker as usual. The lion tries to aside that the mouse didn't fool him and that it was all planned, but he is unable to make up a convincing excuse, and thus he loses his sanity after realizing there's no use and pulls out a mirror while yelling "SUCKER!" at himself repeatedly and maniacally laughing.
== Availability ==
Golden-Age-of-Looney-Tunes-3-F.jpg|(1992) LaserDisc The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Vol. 3, Side 3: Chuck Jones
346061 front.jpg|(2023) Blu-ray Looney Tunes Collector's Choice: Volume 2 (restored)
=== Streaming ===
lt hbo max.jpg|HBO Max (restored) (18 August 2020 - September 2020)
== Censorship ==
* When this cartoon aired on the American feeds of Cartoon Network, its sister channel Boomerang, and on MeTV, the scene where the mouse disguises himself as a Zulu native was sometimes cut, although the part where the mouse disguises himself as an Indian chief was not cut.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-e-f.aspx
== Notes ==
* This is likely the first Looney Tunes cartoon to not feature a character on the opening color rings, although the original rings are currently unknown due to the short being reissued.
* The unnamed mouse from this cartoon bears a strong physical resemblance to the later redesign of Chuck Jones' mice duo Hubie and Bertie, although both characters would not receive this redesign until "Roughly Squeaking" two years later.
* The short is a parody of Aseop's Fable "The Lion and the Mouse".
* This is the only known Warner Bros. cartoon in which Ray Patin received credit.
== Gallery ==
From-Hand-to-Mouse-Original-title.jpg|Original title card cel
From-Hand-to-Mouse-Original-credits.jpg|Original credits cel with background of the title card of "Russian Rhapsody" by Bob Clampett.
HandToMouseRESTORED.jpeg|Cropped screenshot of 2020 restoration
Tumblr ngxd1498C51snzc5co1 1280.jpg|Lobby card
PS76.jpg|Lobby card
FromHandtoMouseMODEL.jpg|Model sheet
Jnhgftrdesydtufytu.jpg|Animation drawing
From Hand To Mouse (1944) - Watching.jpg
From Hand To Mouse (1944) - Boom.jpg
== References ==
 
Category:1944
Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones
Category:Shorts
Category:Blue Ribbon reissues
Category:Looney Tunes Shorts
Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc
Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese
Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger
Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer
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:One-Shot Cartoons
Category:Cartoons with missing Leon Schlesinger credits
Category:Re-released cartoons whose original titles are known to exist