''Ben and Me'' is a 1953 American animated two-reel short subject produced by Walt Disney Productions and released theatrically on November 10, 1953. It was adapted from the children's book written by author/illustrator Robert Lawson and first published in 1939. Though both book and film deal with the relationship between a mouse and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, the book, with illustrations by Lawson, focused more heavily on actual historical events and personages, and included incidents from Franklin's French career at Versailles. The short received an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Subject, Two-reel. This short was also notable for being the second release on the

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label, with the first being '' Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'', released on the same day. On its release, ''Ben and Me'' was packaged with the True-Life Adventure documentary '' The Living Desert''. When Disney's regular distributor RKO Radio Pictures resisted the idea of a full-length True-Life Adventure, Disney formed his own distribution company to handle future Disney releases. In DTV, the short was set to

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

's '' For Once in My Life''.

Plot

At a statue of Benjamin Franklin, the leader of a tour group of mice reveals the contributions of a mouse named Amos to Franklin's career, reading from Amos' diary, titled ''Ben and Me''. After describing the exploits of some of his ancestors, Amos tells his own story: The eldest of 26 siblings living in the Christ Church, Philadelphia, he sets out on his own in 1745 to find work. Having no luck, he takes shelter in Ben's shop and befriends the beleaguered printer. Amos invents

bifocals Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism. History Benjamin Franklin is generally credited with t ...

for Ben and inspires him to create the Franklin stove. Amos also helps Ben turn his dry publication, '' Poor Richard's Almanack'', into a successful newspaper, the '' Pennsylvania Gazette''; Amos acts as journalist and helps Ben operate the printing press. As the years pass, Amos helps Ben advance socially and build his reputation. Ben makes Amos an unwitting test subject in his experiments with electricity, sending him into the air as part of his kite experiment. Amos is nearly killed when the kite is struck by lightning and crashes to the ground. Furious, he leaves Ben and moves back in with his family. Years later, during the early stages of the American Revolution, Ben is sent to England to try to reason with

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, but the mission is a failure. In 1776, Ben begs Amos for help. Amos agrees on the condition that Ben sign a contract agreeing to his terms. As Ben is reading the contract, Thomas Jefferson comes by, struggling with writing the introduction to the United States Declaration of Independence. The language in Amos' contract inspires Jefferson, and becomes the Declaration's introduction. Amos accompanies Ben to the signing of the Declaration.

Voice cast

* Sterling Holloway as Amos Mouse * Charlie Ruggles as Benjamin Franklin *

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

as mouse guide * Bill Thompson as Governor Keith, and as the human tour guide * Hans Conried as Thomas Jefferson, and as a criminal * Jimmy MacDonald as miscellaneous men

Home media

The short was released on December 6, 2005 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts: 1920s–1960s''. Additional releases include: *On VHS under the ''Walt Disney Mini-Classics'' label in 1989 *On DVD in 2012 under the ''Disney Generations Collection''

References

External links

* * *
"Ben and Me"
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 4, 2012. {{Hamilton Luske 1953 short films Works about Benjamin Franklin 1950s Disney animated short films Animated films about animals Animated films about mice American Revolutionary War films Films set in Pennsylvania Films set in Philadelphia Films set in the Thirteen Colonies 1953 animated films Films directed by Hamilton Luske Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Oliver Wallace Films set in 1745 Films set in 1776 Cultural depictions of Benjamin Franklin Cultural depictions of Thomas Jefferson Secret histories Animated films based on children's books Animation based on real people 1950s English-language films American animated short films Films with screenplays by Winston Hibler