Movie Review: An American Tail

An American Tail
Universal Pictures, U-Drive Productions, Sullivan Studios, Amblin Entertainment, Don Bluth Productions, USA, 1986.

In 1885 Russia Jewish family Mousekewitz celebrates Hanukkah. Papa (Nehemiah Persoff) and Mama (Erica Yohn) tell kids Fievel (Phillip Glasser) and Tanya (Tanya Mousekewitz) and baby about wonderful land of America where are no cats and streets are made of cheese. Cossacks burn the village so the family decides to escape the pogroms and emigrate.

Cossack cat

Family Mousekewitz

The ship carrying them gets into a storm. Curious Fievel wants to see the sea and falls overboard. Saved by an empty bottle Fievel arrives in America where he meets a friendly pigeon Henri (Christopher Plummer). Fievel starts to search for his family and meets a greedy rat Warren T. Rat (John Finnegan) who sells him into a sweatshop. He and streetwise Tony Toponi (Pat Musick) have no time for that so they escape soon. They meet Bridget (Cathianne Blore) who tries to unite the mice against cats. Despite the rumours the American Dream is not easily obtained as there are cats in America and they are killing the mice.

Henri and Fievel

Warren T. Rat

Tony and Bridget

In the political meetings Fievel meets drunk politician Honest John (Neil Ross) and rich benefactor Gussie Mausheimer (Madeline Kahn). Fievel invents a plan to drive away the cats but gets captured. In captivity he meets friendly vegetarian cat Tiger (Dom DeLuise). Meanwhile the mice have built a Secret Weapon to fight the cats.

Tiger

This was movie I saw in movie theatre 1987 or 1988 dubbed in Finnish. One song "Never say Never" I remembered for a long time afterwards. Compared to Disney-movies I had seen the movie felt darker and occasionally sad. Also the themes of immigration and oppression were quite unusual for a kids' cartoon of that time. Now it is easier to distinguish the story's parallels with historical times when various ethnic groups immigrated to New York. This is like "Gangs of New York" for kids. Steven Spielberg included some experiences of his grandfather Fievel into the story. Film has beautifully made animation with some good songs by James Horner and Barry Mann. However it has some flaws that were caused by production difficulties and cuts. For example baby Mousekewitz strangely vanishes at some point. Some scenes were notably shortened because of the limited budget. Also the ending feels like tying up the story could have improved from better writing. Now the seams of the three distinctive endings are too clear: the mice drive the cats away, Fievel finds his family and Henri takes the family to see more America.

Hey, this trio of rude mice looks like Alvin and the Chipmunks

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#39. Movie you remember from your childhood) 

Rating: Very good

Voice actors: Erica Yohn, Nehemiah Persoff, Amy Green, Phillip Glasser, Christopher Plummer, John Finnegan, Will Ryan, Hal Smith, Pat Musick, Cathianne Blore, Neil Ross, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Alitzah, Betsy Cathcart, Johnny Guarnieri, Warren Hays, T. Daniel Hofstedt, James Ingram, Dan Kuenster, Linda Ronstadt
Director: Don Bluth