Don Bluth's second animated film, and the first animated film produced by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the pilgrims and their journey to America. With rodents. I'm talking about what may be the most downbeat movie of our childhoods, "An American Tail".
The movie takes place in 1885 Russia, where the Mousekewitzes— a Russian-Jewish family of mice —are having their Hanukkah celebration. Fievel, the young son in the family, is given a hat that has been in the family for three generations. But they are suddenly attacked by an army of cruel cats belonging to the Cossacks (a reference to actual anti-Jewish pogroms occurring in the Russian empire at the time), who destroy their village. They are forced to move to America, where Papa Mousekewitz is convinced there are no cats. On board the ship set sail to America, he tells everyone to set their minds at ease because, as they sing: There are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese. This song is very catchy and is realistic when you think of how there are poor people in other continents who literally believe that money grows on trees.
Correction: There were no cats in America, but everything changed when the fire nation attacked.
So during the trip, a huge storm strikes, causing Fievel to be washed overboard. The others arrive mournfully in America, believing that Fievel has drowned. However, he has floated to the shores of New York in a bottle. A friendly French pigeon working on the construction of the Statue of Liberty, named Henri (voiced by Christopher Plummer), finds him and gives him a wash. Fievel is pessimistic that he will ever find his family. Henri encourages him to always look on the bright side with a song that Fievel soon sings along to, titled "Never Say Never." I'm going to take the words out of your mouth: Justin Bieber stole Fievel's little song! That little biter! So Henri has one of his friends fly Fievel down to the city, where he goes his way to find his family. The city is full of immigrant humans and mice being hustled by con artists. One of the slickest of the scoundrels preying on the unsuspected newcomers is Warren T. Rat and his cockroach accountant Digit. Upset that he has made fifty cents less than the day before, Warren T. Rat spies Fievel, introduces himself and claims he can take the boy to his parents. Fievel follows the rat anticipating the reintroduction to his family right away, but the rats sells him to a sweatshop. But with the help of a street-smart Italian mouse named Tony, they both manage to escape. They pass a rally where an Irish mouse named Bridget is trying to convince the other mice to organize an order to defeat the cats. Fievel tells the crowd they have nothing to fear because of what his Papa kept saying. But at that moment, a gang of cats called the Mott Street Maulers attack the marketplace.
After they escape, Bridget takes him and Tony to see Honest John (the mouse, not the fox), who is a drunk yet reliable politician who knows all the voting mice in New York City. But as the Mousekewitzes have not yet registered to vote, he can't help Fievel find them.
On his journey, Fievel keeps thinking that he hears his father playing violin, but it comes from an Edison cylinder recording. He hears someone calling out his name, but it turns out to be another mother calling her son Fievel. Most of his search just leads to him falling into one depression after another. This is the main issue with the movie. As a film for kids, it should be more upbeat with some sense of discovery. Fievel doesn't learn a lot about America, except for the hard truth that there are, in fact, millions of cats there.
One of the only cheerful scenes in the movie is where Fievel meets a goofy, soft-hearted cat named Tiger who likes mice befriends him (he's voiced by Dom Deluise, who voiced Jeremy in "The Secret of NIMH". This won't be the last you hear of him in the Don Bluth brand). Fievel and Tiger find out that they have a lot in common and become "A Duo".
He is also given hope when Bridget tells him that she is certain his family is somewhere out there just waiting to be found. And meanwhile, Fievel's older sister Tanya has a feeling that he's still alive, thought her parents insist that the feeling will eventually go away. That night, Fievel and Tony stay at the water tower where Bridget lives. In a tear-jerking scene, Fievel and Tanya, though unaware of it, sing the song "Somewhere Out There" together.
"Somewhere Out There" is one of my favorite songs written for a movie. It's a song that could be sung in multiple cases. For instance, the situation the song is in in the movie, but it's often thought of as a song that gives you hope that your soul mate is out there watching the same stars with you, and somehow you will cross each other's paths.
I guess I sort of liked the movie; it has great musical numbers, an affable take on Jewish history, and the dark, fluid animation that made Don Bluth famous. But I wish it had focused far less on despair and more on making the most of the time you're alone, but with so much around you.
6/10 for "An American Tail".
The movie takes place in 1885 Russia, where the Mousekewitzes— a Russian-Jewish family of mice —are having their Hanukkah celebration. Fievel, the young son in the family, is given a hat that has been in the family for three generations. But they are suddenly attacked by an army of cruel cats belonging to the Cossacks (a reference to actual anti-Jewish pogroms occurring in the Russian empire at the time), who destroy their village. They are forced to move to America, where Papa Mousekewitz is convinced there are no cats. On board the ship set sail to America, he tells everyone to set their minds at ease because, as they sing: There are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese. This song is very catchy and is realistic when you think of how there are poor people in other continents who literally believe that money grows on trees.
Correction: There were no cats in America, but everything changed when the fire nation attacked.
So during the trip, a huge storm strikes, causing Fievel to be washed overboard. The others arrive mournfully in America, believing that Fievel has drowned. However, he has floated to the shores of New York in a bottle. A friendly French pigeon working on the construction of the Statue of Liberty, named Henri (voiced by Christopher Plummer), finds him and gives him a wash. Fievel is pessimistic that he will ever find his family. Henri encourages him to always look on the bright side with a song that Fievel soon sings along to, titled "Never Say Never." I'm going to take the words out of your mouth: Justin Bieber stole Fievel's little song! That little biter! So Henri has one of his friends fly Fievel down to the city, where he goes his way to find his family. The city is full of immigrant humans and mice being hustled by con artists. One of the slickest of the scoundrels preying on the unsuspected newcomers is Warren T. Rat and his cockroach accountant Digit. Upset that he has made fifty cents less than the day before, Warren T. Rat spies Fievel, introduces himself and claims he can take the boy to his parents. Fievel follows the rat anticipating the reintroduction to his family right away, but the rats sells him to a sweatshop. But with the help of a street-smart Italian mouse named Tony, they both manage to escape. They pass a rally where an Irish mouse named Bridget is trying to convince the other mice to organize an order to defeat the cats. Fievel tells the crowd they have nothing to fear because of what his Papa kept saying. But at that moment, a gang of cats called the Mott Street Maulers attack the marketplace.
After they escape, Bridget takes him and Tony to see Honest John (the mouse, not the fox), who is a drunk yet reliable politician who knows all the voting mice in New York City. But as the Mousekewitzes have not yet registered to vote, he can't help Fievel find them.
On his journey, Fievel keeps thinking that he hears his father playing violin, but it comes from an Edison cylinder recording. He hears someone calling out his name, but it turns out to be another mother calling her son Fievel. Most of his search just leads to him falling into one depression after another. This is the main issue with the movie. As a film for kids, it should be more upbeat with some sense of discovery. Fievel doesn't learn a lot about America, except for the hard truth that there are, in fact, millions of cats there.
One of the only cheerful scenes in the movie is where Fievel meets a goofy, soft-hearted cat named Tiger who likes mice befriends him (he's voiced by Dom Deluise, who voiced Jeremy in "The Secret of NIMH". This won't be the last you hear of him in the Don Bluth brand). Fievel and Tiger find out that they have a lot in common and become "A Duo".
He is also given hope when Bridget tells him that she is certain his family is somewhere out there just waiting to be found. And meanwhile, Fievel's older sister Tanya has a feeling that he's still alive, thought her parents insist that the feeling will eventually go away. That night, Fievel and Tony stay at the water tower where Bridget lives. In a tear-jerking scene, Fievel and Tanya, though unaware of it, sing the song "Somewhere Out There" together.
"Somewhere Out There" is one of my favorite songs written for a movie. It's a song that could be sung in multiple cases. For instance, the situation the song is in in the movie, but it's often thought of as a song that gives you hope that your soul mate is out there watching the same stars with you, and somehow you will cross each other's paths.
I guess I sort of liked the movie; it has great musical numbers, an affable take on Jewish history, and the dark, fluid animation that made Don Bluth famous. But I wish it had focused far less on despair and more on making the most of the time you're alone, but with so much around you.
6/10 for "An American Tail".