An American Tail is one of the iconic Don Bluth movies. In it, most of the mice in Russia leave for the U.S. under the assumption that they could go there to escape the cats and that no cats live in America. While this may seem stupid since anyone (or any animal) can go to America, it's probably symbolic of the belief that America is (was) a promised land of sorts where you could escape the problems of your country. Unfortunately, the immigrants face many problems upon reaching the new world, not the least of which being cats in this case. Fieval falls off the ship and everyone assumes he's dead, but he washes up on shore eventually, not much worse for the wear but missing his family. Since we don't see him go through Ellis Island formally, instead wandering around in search of his family by trying to listen for the sound of his father's violin, does that mean he's technically an illegal immigrant? I guess it doesn't really matter since he's a kid and he winds up in a sweatshop and, for a brief period, Orphan Alley before finding his family and helping the mouse community chase the cats onto a boat headed for China.
Like most Don Bluth sequels that he's not involved with whatsoever, Fieval Goes West is not anywhere near as good as the original. The sequel follows the same formula, there being an issue with the neighborhood getting ransacked by cats almost every night and the Mousekewitzes feel that it's time to move again, seeking opportunities out west where other mice are going to settle. Once again they are led by a cat pretending to be a rat, and it isn't long before Fieval learns of his treachery but falls off the train anyway. At this stage, cats and mice are supposed to be getting along more, even though they are mostly all portrayed as villainous except for Tiger and his new girlfriend. Also, surprisingly, Papa Mousekewitz is less upset about Fieval's going missing again after everything had worked out the first time, and Fieval makes his way back to the settlement rather quickly to try to warn everyone and thwart the scheme. This time his plan involves training Tiger to act more like a dog to replace (or assist) the aging canine deputy.
There are small flaws and nitpicks I can make about both movies. One thing that I have to mention about both of them is the existence of the baby sister. One scene she's there, and in the next she's not. She just keeps appearing and disappearing whenever the animators feel like adding her to the scene. Who's watching her the whole time the family appears onscreen without her? That's the one thing that really bugs me above all else. Other than that, the only one I have major complaints about is the sequel. Why would Miss Kitty want Tiger to act more like a dog? What does this franchise have against cats anyway? Are they like the Sharpteeth from The Land Before Time movies (which I applaud Marzgurl for reviewing all thirteen of)? Like that series, every sequel in this series seems like a dumbed down version of the original. Thankfully there were only two more sequels after this one that curiously take place before the move out west, but I haven't been able to find either of them to watch (and as Marzgurl has reviewed both of them as well, I won't have to). However, they are starting to do something interesting with the distribution of these movies. The copy I borrowed from the library had the first movie on one side of the disc and the sequel on the other side. At Wal-Mart, I saw another double-sided Don Bluth release: The Secret of NIMH and its sequel. In that case I'd rather read the book, but the existence of this release with sequel-Timmy featured prominently on the cover might drive the Nostalgia Critic to insanity if he ever saw it. With An American Tail, I just had trouble finding it since it was only listed under the name of the sequel in the library database.
Ignoring that, Dom Deluise is a treat to listen to as Tiger in both films (although the scene in the sequel where Tiger is supposedly being worshiped as a god by a desert tribe is a bit strange, but I think the man has earned it posthumously). Madeline Kahn, one of my favorite actresses of all time, appears in the first one as one of the main organizers of the rally (pronouncing it like Elmer Fudd because her character suffers from the same speech impediment). John Cleese also appears in the sequel as the main bad guy...yeah, hearing a British person speak with a western American accent is not a good time, but at least it's dropped as soon as he can ditch the rat puppet, though his character's dignity is still made to suffer in other ways. I am so sorry, John. My favorite part is when Tanya finally gets the chance to sing onstage and everyone ends up falling in love with her voice (John Cleese's character a little too creepily so). Unfortunately, success makes her blind to the imminent danger her brother is trying to warn her about. In short, the sequel is stupid but at times delightfully so. If you can bear it, watch it.
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