Grammy-nominated composer and lyricist David Chesky’s colorful, heartfelt CG indie feature The Mice Waris now available for streaming on Amazon, a year after it premiered as the opening film at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
Based on Chesky’s 2007 children’s opera of the same name, The Mice War tells the story of Albert, a young mouse who finds himself caught in the middle of a war between the Blue Mice of the North and the Red Mice of the South. Ultimately, the mice learn that, if they are to have any hope of surviving as a species, they must learn to accept one another’s differences.
“In these turbulent times, it’s more important than ever that kids learn to see the stupidity of war and the futility of violence,” said Chesky. “From the conflict with North Korea to killings in the schools, we’re surrounded by hateful actions and hateful rhetoric. The Mice War is my effort to help teach kids that there’s a better way.”
The film’s voice cast features stellar Broadway performers, including Tony Award winner Gregory Jbara, who plays the warmonger General Khan; Tony nominee Alison Fraser as Lucy the loveable sea monster; and Mitchell Jarvis (“Rock of Ages”) as the narrator.
“It has a lot of great music and the animation is wonderful,” Chesky added, “But it’s much more than an hour of enjoyable entertainment. The message couldn’t be more important and I sincerely hope that everyone will see it, and that parents and teachers will talk to their kids about it. If they learn at an early age about the stupidity of war, maybe they won’t make the same mistakes that we did.”
In addition to the Newport Beach premiere, The Mice War has screened at the Madrid International Film Festival and USA Film Festival’s KidFilm Fest.
