An Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation of a 1913 novel by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, it follows the story of a young shoemaker's apprentice named Lapitch, here depicted as a mouse. Tired of being mistreated by his grouchy master, he sets off on an adventure with his dog Brewster. Along the way he makes new friends and offers them assistance with their problems. But lurking in the background is the evil Dirty Rat, a thief who is working against Lapitch.
This film provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Though not present in the English dub, it is blatant in the original version (both the book and the movie) where Mr. Scowler is straight up cruel towards Lapitch. Instead of simply telling him off, Scowler yells at and repeatedly berates Lapitch, even going as far as saying the latter ruined him after the mayor and his son storm out and that he'll throw the boots into the fireplace and then have the boy pay for them. Physical abuse is also part of the story in the book version, where it explicitly states that Scowler hits Lapitch with those same boots during that part and that "paying for them" means getting beat even more later. The treatment is so bad that Lapitch decides to run away and, in his farewell note, asks Mr. Scowler to treat his next shoemaker better.
- All-Loving Hero: The main protagonist, Lapitch, is good-natured and eager to help anyone he meets.
- Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation: Of the 1913 novel The Brave Adventures of Lapitch by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. Lapitch was a human boy in the original.
- Bad Boss: Dirty Rat is this to Melvin, outright threatening him when he didn't retrieve the loot that Dirty Rat had demanded.
- Big Damn Reunion: At the end when the Scowlers discover that Lisa is their long-lost daughter. While the actual reunion itself is off-screen, it is implied that this also happens when Marco's father returns after a long time away from his family.
- Big Friendly Dog: Brewster is a kindly canine who accompanies Lapitch and supports him on his journey.
- Bowdlerise:
- The English version of the movie removes a few things the original had, namely some of the Christianity-oriented elements such as Lapitch crossing himself and the priest saying that Lapitch's soul is going to Heaven when the villagers think he perished. Curiously enough, "Take My Hand" keeps the part where Jesus on a cross floats across the screen.
- "Take My Hand" is a soothing song, but the Croatian version of it (which is completely different) is much more depressing. It was originally a song about Lapitch and Lisa struggling to find a home and bore symbolism of the ongoing war at the time of production; the international version was made a lot more tame and heartwarming in comparison.
- Canine Companion: Brewster, despite belonging to the Scowlers, becomes Lapitch's loyal traveling partner.
- Circus Brat: Lisa, who was brought up in the circus believing she was an orphan. It turns out that she is the Scowlers' missing daughter, Susanna.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The reason Mr. Scowler is always mean and grouchy is because of losing his daughter. He gets better when he is reunited with her.
- Dance Party Ending: The last scene shows the main cast and the rest of the villagers dancing.
- Disappeared Dad: Marco the squirrel has one (who reappears at the end).
- Disney Acid Sequence: "Shoe Song" and "Dirty Rat" are full of colorful and trippy imagery.
- Disney Villain Death: Dirty Rat and the cart he was riding in fall off a cliff at the end of the film. Presumably he does not survive.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Melvin the raccoon is a criminal who works for Dirty Rat. When he hears of how upset his mother is by his bad behavior, he bursts into tears. Eventually he reforms and promises to live a good life.
- Evil Wears Black: Dirty Rat is clothed in black, owing to his villainous nature.
- Expy: One of the underwater scenes puts focus on a school of fish that look like a palette swap of Flounder. They have the stripes and everything, with the one difference being that they're in different colors instead of yellow and blue. This is especially apparent with the one that gets focused, clearly looking like an orange Flounder.
- Foreign Re-Score: In spades; the movie was originally in Croatian, and the international versions (including English) ditch not only all of the background music but also the sound effects.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: The anthropomorphic animals wear complete outfits of clothes.
- Furry Confusion: Like a real dog, Brewster cannot speak, walks on four paws, and does not wear clothing. Yet his friend Lapitch is an anthropomorphic mouse. Dirty Rat also rides in a cart pulled by a horse. Most bizarrely, there are non-anthropomorphic squirrels hopping through the trees in one scene while Marco and his mother are also squirrels.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Lisa is a blonde-haired mouse girl who is sweet and loving.
- Heel–Face Turn: At the end, Melvin gives up his life of crime and promises to be good from then on.
- The Idealist: Lapitch, who is relentlessly optimistic and sets out to make the world a better place. One of his quotes is "Nothing is ever as bad as it seems."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Scowler only became bitter because of the loss of his daughter. When she returns, he shows his true kind and happy nature.
- Long-Lost Relative: Lisa turns out to be the missing daughter of the Scowlers. Marco's father also returns to his family after a long absence.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The young circus performer Lisa is revealed to be the daughter of the Scowlers, and it was her disappearance that caused their unhappiness. A distinctive scar is what tells them for certain she is their child.
- Meaningful Name:
- The cruel shoemaker Lapitch is apprenticed to is Mr. Scowler (because he scowls, or looks angry, a lot).
- Dirty Rat is, well, a dirty rat. In Croatian he's called "Black Rat" - after his non-animal original counterpart, the Black Man, who is also briefly referenced in his Villain Song - which makes sense because he is dressed in black clothes.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Melvin works for Dirty Rat, but is not evil like his boss, just misguided. It doesn't take much for him to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
- Nice Mice: Lapitch is a good-hearted young mouse. Lisa is also nice and so is her mother Mrs. Scowler. Even Mr. Scowler takes a level in kindness when his daughter returns to him.
- Never Say "Die": Played with when Lapitch puts out the barn fire and then falls after a support beam breaks under him. In the English dub it is played straight, while in the original Croatian version the implication is much more clear but not directly mentioned; one of the characters, who is a priest, says in the English dub that they shouldn't have let Lapitch climb onto the roof, while in the original he refers to the white puff of "smoke" (actually flour) they see floating upwards as "Lapitch's soul ascending to Heaven", basically being a way of saying "Lapitch has died".
- Rascally Raccoon: Melvin is a raccoon thief who works for Dirty Rat before having a change of heart.
- Revised Ending: In the original version of the movie, Mr. Scowler gets a crank organ off of a high shelf and turns the crank to get the music started, and the main characters dance to the music - even dancing themselves out of the house, upon which the other citizens immediately follow suit and the scene eventually pans out of town and towards the sun. In the English dub, Mr. Scowler gets a violin instead and the citizens first walk towards the main cast before they start dancing too, and omits a few scenes from the original including the final sequence (choosing to end off on people dancing instead) alongside including new ones the original did not have such as a shot focusing on Pico and the pink parrot flying with him.
- She's a Man in Japan: Blanca the horse, referred to with female pronouns, is originally male and named "Soko" (an old Croatian word for "falcon") in both the book and Croatian version of the movie.
- Title Drop: At the end of the film, Mr. Scowler declares "From now on, you're not a shoemaker's apprentice. You're Lapitch the little shoemaker!"
- Villain Song: "Dirty Rat"
, named after the villain in question. A short version of the 3-minute track plays after Lapitch and Brewster fall asleep next to him. - Wingding Eyes: After she kisses him, Lapitch's eyes have Lisa's face in them.
- Worthless Treasure Twist: The treasure chest Marco and his mother keep (and Dirty Rat wants to steal) turns out to be "full of memories": family artifacts of sentimental, rather than monetary, value.
- You Dirty Rat!: The film's villain is a rat who is actually called Dirty Rat.
