An American Tail (1986) is an animated family musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth, produced by Steven Spielberg and distributed by Universal Pictures. It's Bluth's second directorial feature and his first to be from a big-name studio and producer. It got very positive reviews from critics and was a box office success. It spawned a theatrical sequel An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) as well as a couple of direct-to-video sequels and a spin off TV series. I had Fievel Goes West on VHS as a kid and watched it countless times before I knew it was a sequel, so I have a soft spot for that movie. I saw the first American Tail movie maybe one time at school during extended care, so this wasn't as nostalgic to me as Fievel Goes West.
The original "An American Tail" movie follows a family of Russian mice called the Mousekowitz family. They consist of Papa, Mama, their daughter Tanya and son, our main protagonist, Fievel. They have a cat problem (cats represent communists), so they travel to America as it’s a free country and they believe there are no cats there (they sing a whole song about it). So, they hitch a ride on a cruise ship, then a storm comes in which Fievel gets separated from the rest of his family. Fievel gets to America safely, particularly New York, and sets out to get back with his family while also surviving the streets of New York.
Fievel finds out however, that there are in fact cats in America, as he encounters a gang of cats led by our main antagonist Warren T. Rat. Warren T. Rat is an evil cat who disguises himself as a rat to earn the trust of the mice as part of his plan to take over. Fievel makes a few friends along the way. There's Tony, a streetwise mouse who treats Fievel as a surrogate brother and nicknames him "Philly". There's also Bridgit, a female mouse who serves as Tony's love interest. Then there's Tiger, a part of the cat gang who isn't like the other cats. For a cat, he's shown to be much more friendly, and he even shows sympathy towards Fievel as he refuses to eat mice (he mentions he's a vegetarian but will eat fish now and then). With a little help from his friends, Fievel comes up with a plan to save the mice and chase the cats out of the country. That's about the gist of it.
I generally enjoyed this movie. It's got beautiful animated that's quite impressive for the time, and great attention to detail. It's also very funny at times and emotional at other times. It's got likable characters. Even the songs are pretty good for a "non-Disney" animated musical. I think the part where Fievel controls the big mouse mecha was pretty cool (the rotoscoping was especially neat). I wouldn't say it's a great movie by any means.
I thought the story was rather simplistic and predictable. I found the twist with Warren T. Rat being a cat the whole time to be blatantly obvious. I wouldn't call it one of Don Bluth's best or at least I wouldn't call it my personal favorite of his. My favorite Don Bluth film is The Secret of NIMH (1982). I think The Secret of NIMH and The Land Before Time (1988) were both better than this. But for what it is, An American Tail (1986) is a pretty good kids' cartoon.
I give An American Tail (1986) a solid 7.5/10.
(It's been years since I've seen Fievel Goes West, so I may have to rewatch that one to see how it compares to this.)
There's one more thing I'd like to comment on. Don Bluth is known for having a dark an edgy style to his animated films. However, I'd say An American Tale is one of his tamer films. At least I think it's tame in comparison to The Secret of NIMH (1982), The Land Before Time (1988) and especially All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989).
That's my 2 cents on An American Tail (1986)
Have you seen An American Tail (1986)? What did you think? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Did you think it's okay? Let me know in the comments.
As I post this, An American Tail (1986) isn't currently streaming for free anywhere, but i'ts available on Digital Purchase through Fandango at Home, Amazon, Apple TV, and YouTube.
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