MouseHunt

Hold your end up higher.

- You're not holding it. - I am too.

- You are not. - Don't worry about me.

Mmm.

- Isn't that suit charcoal? - No.

Looks charcoal gray to me. Some gray polyester blend.

You'd think you could

find a black suit for your own father's funeral.

- It's black. - No. I'm sure it's gray.

- It's black. Black. - Gray. Gray!

- Black! - Fine, it's black.

It's the grayest black I've ever seen.

- Doesn't matter what color it is! - Oww!

I'm sorry, Pop. I'm sorry!

Quick! Get him out of there!

He's halfway to the harbor by now, bub.

Ah, well.

"I leave you not just a model factory,

but something infinitely more valuable.

The future of string... itself."

- -

"And thus it is my dying wish

that my two sons run Smuntz String together."

Great. Let's stick a "For Sale" sign on the lawn and see what we can get.

Ernie, we're not supposed to sell it.

We're supposed to run it together.

Either way, this Godforsaken museum piece

is not worth a dime, now is it, Lars?

Some things are more important than money, Ernie.

Notice it's always the financially challenged who say that?

Uh, please, please.

"I also bequeath to you my personal effects,

including my ceramic egg...

...half box of Cuban cigars...

Oh! Yes, yes, yes, yes.

- My collection of spoons." -

My goodness, what a treasure. What a legacy.

Spoons! Spoons!

So many spoons, so little time.

Oh! And, of course, something no household should be without.

The ceramic egg! Ooh-hoo-hoo.

Can I have the egg? Can I? Huh? Huh? No.

- I want you to have it. - Fine, I'll take it!

If you find any real estate on that desk, let me know.

It seems there is also a house.

- A house? - Yes, 5120 Nortondale.

Your father acquired it many years ago as payment of a debt.

He never lived there, but it's interesting.

It seems the previous owner

was found locked in a trunk in the attic.

Wait a minute. Is it worth anything?

He was able to borrow $50,000 against it to pay his workers.

Really? So what is its value today?

$50,000.

Great. A worthless house and a broken-down string factory.

Oh, well. At least the day wasn't a total loss.

Thanks for the stogies, Pop.

Wait. You can't go. We have to go through all these papers.

You'll have to excuse me. I've got a date with the mayor.

- -

Mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor, over here! Mr. Mayor!

Do you think your recent triple heart bypass

will affect your campaign strategy?

Now, Leslie, I'm just here to eat.

Ah, Monsieur Maire, Madame Maire, welcome to Chez Ernie.

Ah, what an honor it is to have you in my humble bistro.

Suivez-moi. Oh, you brought the little ones.

The little bicycle thieves. Bonjour! Our very best table.

- Have you lost a little weight? - Oh, I...

I think so! I think you may be buff!

Je suis enchanté pour vôtre beauté.

- You know what I mean? - Oh, Monsieur Ernie...

Excusez-moi. Au revoir, les enfants!

The air's not so thin at the top.

Just like the old man to die before I hit it big.

Remember, everyone. Attention to detail is vital!

Presentation is everything.

No, no, no, no, no! These I must deliver myself.

Duck a l'orange avec du quack sauce...

And, for ze mayor, la spécialité de la maison,

lobster loaf à la Ernst ou la bibliothèque.

- Oh... - Bon appétit.

Ah, bonjour!

How does it feel to be serving the mayor

on the eve of his reelection?

Well, Leslie...

- May I call you Leslie? - Ah, of course.

Crunchy! Hmm. I love the almonds.

Leslie, cuisine, she is a fickle mistress...

- Ee-yew! Look! -

- A cockroach! -

That's only half a cockroach.

- Daddy! You ate the head! - Honey, are you OK?

Not again!

Was this an accident, or did you murder...

Clear!

- I can do that better! -

Smuntz String is a relic of history.

You don't make string by twining two strands together anymore.

No. You make it simple, singular, strong, with nylon.

But that's not string. That's cord.

- Exactly. - Twine is yesterday.

- Single-strand cord is today. - Zeppco International

has been interested in your factory for years,

but your father refused to sell.

We are hopin' you'd be a little smarter.

Zeppco is willin' to buy you out,

and bring this museum into the 21st century.

'Course, we would keep you on as a string consultant,

with a huge salary and a hefty pension.

So... What do you say?

- My sons... - Ernie.

- Ernie! - Yeah. Just a sec.

I want you... to have... something.

My most prized possession.

Oh, it's a piece of string.

Not just any string. The string.

I found it my first day in America.

What's with the string?

It's been in my pocket for 60 years.

Here! I want you two to share it.

Maybe it'll bring you closer together.

You haven't talked much lately.

- Yeah. - Ah! What are you doing?

- I'm breaking it in half. - No!

- No? - I want you to share it.

- Forever. - Sure, Pop, sure.

Here, you carry it the first 50 years, I'll take it the next.

- Sure. - Turn up the morphine drip.

I heard that.

Promise me... that you will never sell...

...Smuntz String...

...to one of those big conglomerates.

Keep it between you.

Brothers. Family.

- Promise. - I promise, Pop.

- I promise. - So you were sayin'?

- I'll have to pass. - What?

A world without string is chaos.

For once the Smuntz name was worth something!

- No, no! Don't! - Oh!

You... You used to love string!

That was before, when I was dating

the son of a wealthy string magnate!

Not now, when I am married to the half-owner

of a worthless deathtrap!

I thought you'd be happy! I stood up for myself today.

April, I've got new ideas for the factory.

You know, I've got big plans!

Don't you see, Lars? That's all you've ever had are plans.

But my life is passing me by, and I... I need more!

There's no air in the middle class. I can't breathe here.

- Please, April, don't go. -

I'm not going anywhere.

In a few brief moments,

the joy of the holidays was shattered,

and the world changed for many people.

Mayor McKrinkle died this afternoon at 4:30 p.m., at our Lady of Sorrows Hospital.

Doctors here say the official cause of death is

heart failure due to the mayor's recent culinary disaster.

And, once the hottest restaurant on the wharf,

Chez Ernie has been condemned and scheduled for demolition.

I don't think I ordered my cheese sandwich with capers.

- Live to Leslie Reinhart for an update. - I'm sorry.

If there is a villain in this tragedy, it is Ernie Smuntz.

- Once the whiz kid of the local restaurant scene... - You're on TV again!

What? Oh.

You know what this is? I'll tell ya.

- Guilt by accusation. - No capers.

No capers? But that's just grilled cheese. What's the point?

Why don't they eat out of a trough?

Which one of you palateless sheep sent my sandwich back?

- Hi, Ernie! - Lars?

When I'm in the kitchen, I cook.

I can't control every single thing that goes on in there.

It really isn't fair for everybody to blame you.

You didn't do anything wrong.

Yes, but society always needs someone to persecute.

A scapegoat, someone to demonize.

The same thing happened to Galileo.

Really? That's unbelievable.

With a cockroach and everything?

No. The point is,

I put everything I had into that restaurant.

It was my livelihood and my home.

In one fatal bite, it was all taken away from me.

If only we could sell the factory.

I'd let you stay with me, you know, but, uh,

- April threw me out. - Oh, that's too bad.

Yeah, well, don't worry about me, though, Ernie.

This is temporary. April's been like this since high school.

- She'll be back. I... - Would you look at them?

Sleeping in the street. Pitiful.

If I had a house, I'd sleep in it!

Ernie, do you remember how close we were as kids?

No.

Hey! Merry Christmas!

Yeah, I was on top once too.

But there's only one way to go from there, and that's down, baby, down!

- Oh, ho! -