wealthy bidder and the other bidders, the brothers are left with nothing, but take solace in that the collapse indeed killed the mouse when Rudolf's lucky string (the last thing he gave the brothers before he passed) falls from the sky. Lars picks it up, but when Ernie tries to take it, it splits in two, which was against Rudolf's dying wish for them to share the string forever, shocking them both. Dejected, the brothers spend the night in the factory, unaware that the mouse has survived, and followed them. Seeing their sorry state, the mouse takes pity on them and activates the factory's machinery, dropping a block of cheese into the wax boiler to produce a ball of string cheese. Inspired, the brothers end their battle with the mouse and renovate the factory to produce string cheese and other cheese-based products. Lars (now having formed a relationship with a Belgian model named Hilde) runs the factory with Ernie as his chef and the mouse as their taste-tester for new cheese combinations. The film ends with a shot of Rudolf's lucky string framed and with a plaque underneath it saying his motto: "A world without string is chaos." Cast Nathan Lane as Ernie Smuntz, a man who refused heirdom to his father's string factory to become a chef. Lee Evans as Lars Smuntz, Ernie's brother and the heir to their father's string factory. Maury Chaykin as Alexander Falko, a wealthy LaRue collector. Christopher Walken as Caesar, an odd and eccentric exterminator hired by the Smuntz brothers to rid them of the mouse. Vicki Lewis as April Smuntz, Lars' money-hungry former wife. William Hickey as Rudolf Smuntz, a string magnate and the late father of Ernie and Lars. Eric Christmas as Ernie and Lars' lawyer. Michael Jeter as Quincy Thorpe, a LaRue historian. Cliff Emmich as Mayor McKrinkle. Debra Christofferson as Ingrid, a Belgian model. Camilla Søeberg as Hilde, a Belgian model. Ian Abercrombie as the auctioneer. Annabelle Gurwitch as Roxanne Atkins, a photographer. Eric Poppick as Theodore Plumb, the banker. Ernie Sabella as Maury, a worker at the cat shelter. Jack Angeles as Kennel Employee Frank Welker as Catzilla (animal vocal effects, uncredited). Release Mouse Hunt was released in North America on December 19, 1997, then in the United Kingdom on April 3, 1998. Home media Mouse Hunt was originally released on VHS on May 5, 1998, and DVD on