Good Will to Men
★ 6.0•1955-12-23•9 min
A group of young mice is in the ruins of a church, practicing singing for an upcoming service. After singing an adulterated version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," the mice wonder about the last line, "Good will to men." One of them asks the choirmaster, an old mouse, "What are men?" The old mouse explains that they all killed each other off by building bigger and more destructive weapons, first guns, then missiles, then bombs.
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CinemaSerf
TMDB User•Feb 15, 2026
★ 7
What is doubly pleasing about this animation is that it illustrates that despite the successful efforts of mankind to eradicate itself from the face of the globe, those from the animal kingdom have survived to celebrate Christmas and to pass from one generation to another stories of the terrors of the wars of man. The organist is explaining to his choir just what man was, and just how obsessed he became with weapons, war and destruction. Their morals of kindness; their commandments about vengeance and killing; their grand ideas - all compromised by their insatiable need to destroy. The choice of the mice as the choristers - small, timid and expressive-faced creatures is quite inspired as is the time of year in which they congregate to praise their Lord. I’m not remotely religious, but watching this poignantly drawn feature does make you wonder if perhaps this planet would be so much better without us?
