"Spinning Mice" is a cartoon from Van Beuren Studios--a cartoon producer for less than a decade during the late 1920s and into the 30s. While their cartoons were of decent quality compared to most companies of the time, the quality of their work never came close to rivaling Disney. Part of this was due to the deficiencies of the art and writing of the cartoons but part wasn't really Van Beuren's fault. Disney had an exclusive contract with Technicolor for full-color film stock for several years. Tinier studios like Van Beuren either had to make black & white cartoons of use the less advanced (and uglier) two- color film-- such as with the Cinecolor you see in this particular short. Because it was not true color, the film is made up mostly of oranges and blues and comes off as a bit garish.
When this cartoon began, I was shocked that it was live-action as some kids were tormenting some live mice. Only after a bit did it become a cartoon, as a mouse tells two somewhat ugly children a story. Naturally, it involves characters that sing--a serious problem in many 1930s cartoons (and VERY often with Van Beuren cartoons). And, naturally, it's a story about a jerk who does nasty things to animals...including mice. But, when he pours his magic formula on them, the mice become evil imps and teach him a lesson. And, the audience is perplexed as to WHAT the heck they just saw! Weird and pretty difficult to enjoy, this sort of stuff is probably why Van Beuren soon folded!