Short, sweet, and oh so much fun, you will believe a mouse can ride a motorcycle! This is the lovely tale of Ralph, a young mouse addicted to the speed and thrill of cycling, and his friendship with a boy who loves miniature race cars. They understand each other through their mutual love of motorcycles. At least according to Ralph.
That old Milo the Bellboy can talk to Ralph is left as a lovely mystery for us to ponder. Perhaps he has a motorcycle too.
The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App
The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.
Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)
As part of my daily ten-minute morning reading meditation, I’m enjoying re-discovering old childhood novels. Recently, my sister and I uncovered a whole stack of old books from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Beverly Cleary’s The Mouse & The Motorcycle was my first pick to reminisce over. RIP to Ms. Cleary, who died on March 25, 2021. She left us with so many lovely children’s books to rediscover and read to our own children. You can see the booklist on her website here. Did you know Cleary was over 100 years old?
Quoted from BeverlyCleary.com: “Beverly Cleary’s books have earned her many prestigious awards. In honor of her achievements, she was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. Of most importance to Beverly Cleary, the more than thirty-five statewide awards her books won based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Ellen Tebbits, and Otis Spofford, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations.”
The Mouse & The Motorcycle is a charming little fantasy
What stands out about Mouse is its appeal to young boys (the mouse, the child, and even the bellhop are male), but has enough fantasy elements to loop in girls for the ride. It’s fun. It’s funny. And Ralph’s amazing adventures are by no means denigrated by the perils being mouse-sized: being trapped in a waste-basket, climbing down vines quietly enough to elude owls, and the Big Aspirin Hunt. It all feels as real as the epic told by rabbits in Watership Down (my second-favorite novel after The Lord of the Rings).
Mouse is low-fantasy compared to LOTR, but the stakes feel large enough for Very Small Creatures. A clever little story that will make you smile.
(158 pages)
What people are saying about the RunPee app.
Movie Watching Must Have!!
I go feral for this app. I love it so much and I wish everyone knew about it and used it. It is incredibly useful and I would be devastated if this app ever disappeared. Things I love: 1) the pee times! It’s so handy to know the best time to go and then read the synopsis of what’s happening while I’m gone. I never have to worry about missing the good bits! 2) knowing if there is a post-credits scene or not. This might be my fav feature because I would have missed out on some pretty critical scenes if it weren’t for RunPee. 3) the movie review and viewer rankings. This info has made me watch some movies that I normally wouldn’t and it’s nice seeing things outside of my usual scope. 4) that it’s a small family run business. I love shopping small and it really does feel like I’m part of the RunPee family! If you reach out to them, Dan will personally respond to you and he is so warm and helpful. GET THIS APP AND THEN SUBSCRIBE! It is absolutely worth it and you’ll be using it again and again!
View all reviews: Apple App Store | Google Play Store
Movie Grade: A-
You can also watch the short — 45 minutes — 1986 live-action movie based on the book, also called The Mouse and the Motorcycle, in full on YouTube and on Daily Motion.
Children’s Book Review: Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy – A Cricket in Times Square novel
Children’s Book Review – Tucker’s Countryside (A sequel to The Cricket in Times Square)
Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including IF, Fall Guy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and coming soon Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.
Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)
Leave a Reply