Real mice are not that smart. I say that with kindness, but its true. These two change that unfair stereotype…mostly. Hubie is quite smart. As for his friend…well, I would not say he’s dumb just…slow. If you tell him what to do, he can do it. That’s a good thing because I enjoy seeing them drive cats insane.
This also might just be the start of cartoons where cats wouldn’t just get beat up by mice, but would get outsmarted by them. (Don’t quote me on that.) In case you ever have trouble telling them apart, just remember Blanc voiced Hubie and Freberg voiced Bertie. (That, and Bertie has huge buck teeth.)