Angelmouse: The Missing Message

A popular and mildly entertaining BBC-aired update on Disney's "boy behaving badly" buddy-team of Pinocchio and conscience-conscious Jiminy Cricket, each of the programs in this six-episode compilation leads off with the titular Angelmouse waffling over an assignment from “you know who” (God, presumably), being hit with a guilt trip by his bird buddy Quilly (who says warningly: “Angelmouse…your thingamajig!” in reference to the wobbling halo over the rodent's head), and finally completing the task through nonsensical solutions that bring each show to an abrupt end. The video leads off with “The Missing Message,” in which Angelmouse and his crotchety bird roommate search for missing items at the Seventh Heaven lost and found, followed by “Angelmouse's Reward,” in which our miniscule hero gets a prize for being well-behaved all day. Other episodes include “A Visitor for Angelmouse,” “The Rainy Day,” “Can't Sleep, Won't Sleep,” and “The Fly-Away Feather.” Although the animation is very low-budget (the characters mouths don't even move), the program's gentle lessons, catchy theme song, and colorful voiceover narration by David Jason make this an appealing, mildly religious-themed entry for younger viewers. Recommended, overall. Aud: P. (J. Williams)