Dave Coverly admits there is no overriding theme, no tidy little philosophy that precisely describes what Speed Bump is about. “Basically,” he says, “if life were a movie, these would be the outtakes.

On Monday, mice were talking in Dave Coverly’s corner of the world. “ ‘Location, location, location,’ I said,” chastised one mouse, as she and her wide-eyed husband peered out their front door and ...