Was the Mightiest Mouse a Drug User Too?
an extract from Robert Cettl's book Film Tales: Movie Trivia in the Age of DVD (on sale now in print and soon in e-book)
Animation master Ralph Bakshi was known for his pioneering work in underground, adult animation in the 1970s, notably on such works as the adaptation of Robert Crumb’s comic book character Fritz the Cat. In addition, Bakshi also had an interest in children’s animation and was hired to head up an animation division overseeing children’s cartoons. Bakshi himself took to revamping a character he felt an affinity towards – Mighty Mouse. He took to the project with a dedicated fondness, turning the barely popular anymore character into a new vision of possibility in animation. However, Bakshi may have just betrayed his underground background a little too cleverly for some. Indeed, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, long popular with children and shown on Saturday morning shows, soon became the target for church and family groups utterly dismayed at this re-invention of the innocuous kid’s character. What they objected to most strongly was a particular scene where the mighty rodent was shown inhaling plant pollen to give him added zest. Perhaps knowing Bakshi’s penchant for drug humour, the religious groups felt this too clearly made the Mighty Mouse out to be snorting cocaine.