The Mouse on the Moon (1963)

A very disappointing sequel, The Mouse on the Moon is not improved by the passage of time. In 1963, not only was the precursor, The Mouse That Roared, still fresh in the public's mind, but the whole space race that is being satirized herein was on everyone's minds. Now that it is not so au courant, parts of Moon will seem rather rather foreign to modern audiences. This would be less of a problem if the rest of Moon were better, but it largely is not. Somehow, the wit and charm of Leonard Wibberley's novel are totally missing, despite a surface similarity between the film and the book; but the film lacks heart and soul, and even worse, humor. There are plenty of attempts at humor, but they almost all fall flat. True, when Margaret Rutherford is around, a few laughs are bound to bubble forth; but Rutherford, despite being top billed, is not around nearly enough. Instead, Ron Moody is given far too much time, and instructed to go far too far during that excess of time. Bernard Cribbens similarly overacts to a shameful degree, and if David Kosoff is better, he's still not good. Terry-Thomas is the same as usual, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on one's feelings about the actor. Richard Lester's direction is scattershot. It has movement and kineticism, but manages to lack energy and rhythm. It also far too often kills the jokes it is trying to set up. Lester would do much better work in other films, sometimes reaching brilliant comic highs. Suffice it to say that this is very much not the case here. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide