An American Tail (1986)
Arguably the greatest of Don Bluth’s movies, but is it his best to me?
Brief Backstory
Leaving Walt Disney Productions in the late 70s, Don Bluth decided to build his own animation studio with blackjack and hookers after having some grievances about how Disney was going, especially with the Fox and the Hound.
And of course the joke was on Disney as Don Bluth and Disney were locked in a fierce war, with Don Bluth having the edge with the Secret of NIMH. This would continue throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1990s, with several major favorites such as An American Tail, which came out in late 1986 and was at ends with the Great Mouse Detective.
For An American Tail, Don Bluth teamed up with Steven Spielberg, who would later create Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain.
Story
During a Cossack attack, the Mousekewitz family and other mice are forced to leave Russia and go to America, where apparently cats don’t exist. However, one of the Mousekewitz children, Fievel, ends up stranded on the way. During Fievel’s quest to find his family, he stumbles onto a plot by the evil Warren T. Rat who has committed to racketeering and extortion towards the mice.
Random Facts
There’s a lot of shipping with Fievel and Olivia from the Great Mouse Detective. Don’t ask why.
An American Tail’s been used for studying issues with immigration and how immigrants are treated.
The chairman mouse from the Rescuers was used as a reference for Papa Mousekewitz. Given how Don Bluth worked on that it doesn’t come as a surprise.
Fievel looks similar to Jaq from Cinderella. Papa Mousekewitz looks a little like Gus from Cinderella as well but without the sock hat.
Random Opinions
Although Warren T. Rat is somewhat similar to Honest John from Pinocchio (hell there’s even a guy in this movie called Honest John) he makes me think of Ratigan from the Great Mouse Detective.
Going back to the Great Mouse Detective, both movies seem to have some similarities, both involve young mice trying to find their families and take place in the 1890s.
Disney on the mind again, the storm wave reminded me of Zeus from Fantasia in the Pastoral Symphony segment. Unsurprising as Fantasia is very popular for making references in numerous animated movies due to the huge impact it had.
This movie’s fucked up. I recently rewatched it after several years and found some of the scenes really disturbing, notably with Moe and how he screams at his “loyalists” and chucking Fievel across the room. Looks like Homer might’ve not been the only one who’s had bad dreams of a guy named Moe.
Apparently from dog/cat ownership ratio, cat ownership is much lower in the south save for Florida. Montana’s the only state in the northern states that has more dog owners. https://preview.redd.it/d21xoj6b25k71.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01a95238ad5fdee48bd285d2a413671d80decd32 to read the map. To put it simply, Papa Mousekewitz claim of no cats in America is as true as the Earth being flat.
Pros
- No cats in America is great, and the changes in musical style reflect the different cultures that some of the mice came from.
- While not the best source for a history lesson, this gives a good idea of how immigrants endured hardships as they went on their quest for America. These issues still exist today obviously.
- Great villains.
Cons
- I don’t really like sad movies, so that’s a big issue I have with this movie.
- Warren T. Rat is quite forgettable for me, and it’s mainly due to the lack of scenes he has. This would’ve been beneficial for a horror movie, but for being a main villain something that’s not monster related or horror in general, it just didn’t work for me.
Rating: 8/10 – Great
For a non-Disney animation movie, An American Tail is a big hit. While it doesn’t beat the Great Mouse Detective, I still think this movie holds up wonderfully. Give it a look if you’re willing to brave the depressing nature (which IS typical with Don Bluth’s movies) that this has.
One response to “An American Tail”
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Sorry, An American Tail didn’t make me cry. If you wanna see a movie that’ll make you feel super sad. I highly recommend Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. It’ll mess you up.
Although I never cried watching animated movies, a few movies managed to make me sob are Logan, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Interstellar, Avengers: Endgame, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 & No Time to Die.
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