Ben and Me
Ben and Me is a 1953 American animated two-reel short subject produced by Walt Disney Productions and released theatrically on November 10, 1953. It was adapted from the children's book written by author/illustrator Robert Lawson and first published in 1939. Though both book and film deal with the relationship between a mouse and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the book, with illustrations by Lawson, focused more heavily on actual historical events and personages, and included incidents from Franklin's French career at Versailles. The short received an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject , Two-reel. This short was also notable for being the second release on the Buena Vista Distribution label, with the first being "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom", released on the same day. On its release, "Ben and Me" was packaged with the True-Life Adventure documentary "The Living Desert". When Disney's regular distributor RKO Radio Pictures resisted the idea of a full-length True-Life Adventure, Disney formed his own distribution company to handle future Disney releases. In DTV, the short was set to Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life". Plot. At a statue of Benjamin Franklin , the leader of a tour group of mice reveals the contributions of a mouse named Amos to Franklin's career, reading from Amos' diary, titled "Ben and Me". After describing the exploits of some of his ancestors, Amos tells his own story: The eldest of twenty-six siblings living in the Christ Church in Philadelphia, he sets out on his own in 1745 to find work. Having no luck, he takes shelter in Ben's shop and befriends the beleaguered printer. Amos invents bifocals for Ben and inspires him to create the Franklin stove. Amos also helps Ben turn his  dry publication, "Poor Richard's Almanack", into a successful newspaper, the "Pennsylvania Gazette"; Amos acts as journalist and helps Ben operate the printing press. As the years pass, Amos helps Ben advance socially and build his reputation. Ben makes Amos an unwitting test subject in his experiments with electricity, sending him into the air as part of his kite experiment. Amos is nearly killed when the kite is struck by lightning and crashes to the ground. Furious, he leaves Ben and moves back in with his family. Years later, during the early stages of the American Revolution, Ben is sent  to England to try to reason with the king, but the mission is a failure. In 1776, Ben begs Amos for help. Amos agrees on the condition that Ben sign a contract agreeing to his terms. As Ben is reading the contract, Thomas Jefferson comes by, struggling with writing the introduction to the United States Declaration of Independence. The language in Amos' contract inspires Jefferson, and becomes the Declaration's introduction. Amos accompanies Ben to the signing of the Declaration. Home media. The short was released on December 6, 2005 on "". Additional releases include: