''Max, the 2000-Year-Old Mouse'' is a 1967 Canadian animated television series produced by

Steve Krantz Stephen Falk Krantz (May 20, 1923 – January 4, 2007) was a film producer and writer, most active from 1966 to 1996. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Krantz graduated from Columbia University and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Fo ...

, which originally aired in Canada in 1967 and became popular in several parts of the world, most notably the United States, where it was syndicated on both local and PBS stations between 1969 and 1979, and also the United Kingdom, where it was repeated numerous times on the ITV network between its original transmission in 1969 and its last showing to date in 1992.

Overview

The series was an educational show, aimed at children, in which still pictures and limited animations told the stories about important figures and key events in Western history. 104 episodes were made in total, each running at five and a half minutes in length. The episodes were filmed quickly and cheaply, and the premise of the show was simple. An episode typically begins in a room in a museum, with artifacts on display while the unseen and unnamed narrator (

Bernard Cowan Bernard Cowan (June 11, 1922 – July 17, 1990) was a Canadian actor, producer and writer. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was occasionally credited under his nickname, Bunny Cowan, such as on the production ''Willy McBean and His ...

) introduces the era and historical person(s) to be featured. Key figures whose biographies were explored in the series included Paul Revere,

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

, and Daniel Boone, among many others, with Max dubiously claiming to have helped all of them over the course of his very long life. A few years later, Krantz reused the general format (and voice cast) for the similar series '' Professor Kitzel''. The show's theme music was also later used by

Siskel and Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's dea ...

's movie review series for PBS, ''

Sneak Previews ''Sneak Previews'' (known as ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' from 1975 to 1977 and ''Sneak Previews Goes Video'' from 1989 to 1991) is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It wa ...

''.

Max

Max, voiced by

Paul Soles Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian actor and television personality. He led the voice cast in such series as ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966), voiced the title character in ''Spider-Man'' (1967), and portraye ...

, is a pink mouse who lived in the museum, essentially served as comic relief and also helped with the narration, while repeatedly claiming to have been a witness of and/or participant in various historical events. Footage of Max, set in the past or present, typically shows him as comically clumsy with contemporary tools and weapons.

Episodes

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

Davey Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

* David and Goliath *

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

* Johnny Appleseed *

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

References

External links

* *{{bcdb title, 58019 1960s Canadian animated television series 1970s Canadian animated television series 1980s Canadian animated television series 1990s Canadian animated television series 1967 Canadian television series debuts 1992 Canadian television series endings Animated television series about mice and rats Canadian children's animated education television series Television series by Grantray-Lawrence Animation