Fievel et le Nouveau Monde

I was introduced to An American Tail after perpetually reading the 'book' of the second film, Feivel Goes West. I can't say which one I enjoyed more although at the time, I think I was seven, but this one I understood a lot better.

The sweet-hearted tale of a family of Russian mouse emigrants who travel to America, the 'land of opportunity' but on their way lose their son, really manages to perk up your day. It has all the classic elements of a family flick: great characters, wonderful score and songs, and of course a happy ending (You can't say you didn't expect that).

In some ways it's meant to be almost a satire, a parallel story of many Russian immigrant families who flee to America from the Cossacks: there is actually a scene in the beginning involving the ransacking of a Russian village by Cossacks, aided of course, as most history books conveniently omit, by their vicious slavering cats who destroy the mouse population. This satire is slightly lost once they reach America, but the simple plot of the mouse boy trying to find his family again works very well. It's quite frustrating at times as we see how close they all come to running into each other; a split second here and a well-timed door slamming there, and it could have been all over in thirty minutes of screen time. But where would be the movie in that?

Lastly, the voice cast does a great job. While I personally think the sequel had a better cast, An American Tail boasts some fine names as well - Dom DeLuise and Nehemiah Persoff who also did the sequel, Christopher Plummer, and Madeline Kahn all combine for a great effect. It's not necessary to see this to also see the sequel but it definitely deserves to be watched. Touching, light-hearted and with one of the most beautiful theme songs you will ever hear, it's a winner. ***1/2 / *****

"An American Tail" was Don Bluth's second animated feature since leaving Disney, and, in my opinion, it is his best. It's got the most heart out of all of his movies. It's got the Oscar-nominated song "Somewhere Out There" and the main character of Fievel. This character just warms my heart and I can easily feel for him. Don Bluth has made only three very good animated features: this movie, "The Secret of NIMH", and "The Land Before Time". But "An American Tail" tops them both. No matter how predictable or sentimental the story is, I always get caught up in it. The sequel was good, but it was more like a fast-paced western comedy with some one-liners and such sight gags. The original is the better film in my opinion. Only complaint: one too many chase scenes with Fievel and other mice running from cats.

Not only is An American Tail easily one of the best animated features ever made, but it proves to be leaps beyond the efforts of recent Disney movies by refusing to be constricted to an all-too-familiar formula. This movie does not stay within the cozy, comfortable guidelines that Disney adheres to in order to make money. Instead, it tells a truly unique tale, one not borrowed from any other source, and one overflowing with artistic wonder and originality.

The characters you will see here are not stock, not pulled from the typical Disney hat. The story is not a chuckle-a-minute, lowbrow attempt to take the easy way out in pandering to children. The main character, Fievel, suffers real hardships and tragedy, and stares into the despair of his own soul before the movie is finished. This, of course, makes the ending that much more satisfying, an infinitely more significant and authentic moment than any cardboard cut-out Disney plot.

If you want to see what animation was meant to be as an art form, if you want to feel the power and emotion that can truly be reaped from this under-appreciated and over-commercialized medium, look no further than An American Tail.

We watched this in kindergarten. This is like the best film of all time of the century. There's no way in hell it deserves a 6.8. I don't know what's up with the kids these days they don't seem to understand Jack diddly squat 50 Moskowitz was my hero lol. How dare you write this a 6.8 lol I'm gonna write it at 10 just so it offsets and gets a better review lol coming to America. This is a true story one of the very few Walt Disney movies that I do enjoy and I like and not understood why it got such a bad review from other people. Anyways, not much more I can say about this just go ahead and watch it and you will love it because I do.

Don't take me wrong: although An American Tail is a wonderful film, the old Disney classics are not the ones I'm talking about in the summary. I'm talking about the over-commercialized crap we get these days. Don Bluth's second animated feature is again about mice, like Secret of NIMH. I think NIMH was better, though not by much. The songs are pretty good, although not like some Disney songs. The animation, however, is simply gorgeous. I can't believe people dismiss it as poorly animated just because the colors aren't bright! The colors are dark and moody, as they should be, An American Tail--nor any of Bluth's films--were ever supposed to look like Rayman. If you want to see Bluth with bright colors, glance at some cheery scenes from A Troll in Central Park. I find the way Fievel and his family miss each other by inches frustrating, though. In fact, I was surprised Fievel and Tanya couldn't hear each other as they sang "Somewhere Out There". A simply beautiful film, a must for anyone who looks for variation in the field of animation, but infuriating for anyone who thinks the scope of animation should be restricted to Disney.