An American Tail

Sadly, there are precious little on the American Tails to be found on the web, particularly personal homepages. Most of the images you see on this page are ironically extracted from a review at the Disney Channel. (Still, I don't think it is ethical for them to put the little "© Disney" at the bottom right of each image. They sure as heck took no part in the production of the movie!)
I would appreciate contributions of any images on American Tail you might have for publication on this page! If you have a homepage dedicated to the American Tails, email me so that I could link your page to mine!

Well, to begin, I first watched An American Tail in 1990. I was not overly impressed at that time (perhaps because I was much younger then) however, and only began to have a special interest when I watched the sequel Fievel Goes West in 9th Aug 93.
I then went back to watching An American Tail and found that it was actually very good and well deserving of the critical acclaim it received. Of course I couldn't help comparing An American Tail (AT) with its sequel Fievel Goes West (AT2). Up till now I still couldn't decide which one I like better! The two movies so very different in theme, mood, effects and style. Therefore it would probably not come as a surprise that the movies were produced by different directors.

An American Tail (1986) was directed by Don Bluth, who also produced NIMH. Perhaps that is why AT, though basically an inspiring and beautiful film, share some of the dark and somber mood that characterize NIMH. Its storyline is totally original, not adapted from fairy tales or legends the way the Disney Company is well know for. Out of all the animation that Don Bluth directed, AT probable received the most recognition, on par with the best that Disney could offer.
An American Tail is well known and its theme song Somewhere Out There had since became something of a classic.

Fievel Goes West, directed by Steven Spielberg, was produced in 1991. The opposite of AT, it is humorous and cheerful frequently described as "rollicking", "rousing" etc... more of a film for small kids. Lacking in originality as sequels usually do, it didn't attract much attention. However, the effects in AT2 is superior to that seen in AT. The animation is more polished, definitely.

The main character of both movie is, of course, Fievel Mousekewitz. Drawn with the over long sleeves and the oversized cap that had since became a trademark, he is really, well, cute. Coupled with this is a behavior modeled after a frisky 8 year old that is full of exuberance and life. For both movies, Fievel's voice was provided by Philip Glasser. Appearance-wise, he was drawn somewhat differently in the two movies. In AT, his hair was more spiky. Looking generally younger and more childlike, he gives a stronger sense of vulnerability. In AT2, he looks older (slightly) and spends about a third of the time dressed up as a cowboy. (that looks very cute btw) Fievel's animation in AT2 is better then that in AT, being smoother and more well-controlled.

Well, Fievel managed to get himself into some major trouble in both American Tails. This could be attributed partially to his fearlessness. All-confident of his invulnerability, he taunted cats that towered over him like a skyscrapers, fell off steamships and trains, takes a ride down New York's sewage system... in short all the silly and dangerous things he would have never done had he been older or wiser.

Fievel's constant companion is Tiger, a large and extremely furry orange cat. Voiced by Dom DeLuise, he joined Fievel midway through AT. (A vegetarian, he didn't eat Fievel on sight and is the only 'nice' cat in the AT world) Silly, fat and seemingly inflatable, he is the comic relief of the movies the way Jeremy is in NIMH. His character was only further developed at the end of AT2 when he showed his tougher side and defeated Cat R. Waul's gang in a showdown.

The American Tails are widely regarded as children's fare, lacking the dark theme of NIMH or Watership Down. They are also musicals. Though I admit this might be the case, I like to think that there is more to American Tail then just that. Something that elevates it beyond the standard Disney productions. After all, the show does have some mature themes. The Mouse Society in the AT is rather complex. Mirroring human society in the 19th century, you have mouse entrepreneurs, mouse politicians, mouse customs officers... etc.

The Mouse immigrants arriving in American finds that though it is indeed the Land of Opportunity, the streets are not exactly "Paved with Cheese". There is exploitation in the American Mouse society (mainly by the rats and cats). Urban decay had set in and there are orphans and the homeless. And cats are still very much in evidence. In particular, a gang of cats led by Warren T.(The Fifth Street Maulers if I remember correctly) put the Mouse community under a reign of terror. Besides the frequent raids on Mouse territory that claimed so many mouse lives, the gang carried out extortion, threatening the mouse with more violence if they would not pay up. Finally, the mouse leader Gussie Mausheimer, rallied the mice in fighting the cats.

Fievel himself took no small part in the grand scheme that finally saw the end of their oppressors. His plan involved the construction of a huge and hideous looking wooden mouse that runs on wheels like a juggernaut. Named after the legendary catkiller, the Mouse of Minsk, it shoots out fireworks and gives off dreadful noises. Needless to say, the Fifth Street Maulers turned tail at first sight of this monster. Driven off the pier of the New York Harbor, they ended up on a ship bound for Hong Kong and never returned.

At the end of AT, Fievel was finally reunited with the rest of the Mousekewitz family, ending his epic 5 days adventure. This is the very emotional scene near the very end of the movie with Fievel hugging his mom, dad and sis. Credits are to Don Bluth's team of artists, who managed to make a pool of rain water surrounded by trash look like a scene from heaven.

THE MUSIC

Yes, I managed to get some AT Music Files up on my page! Actually they are at my other webpage located at another server ( I have an account with singnet.com ) Anyway, all the songs are in RealAudio format. I know, the music quality is not that great, but heck, you sure can squeeze quite a few songs into 2 Megabytes! Here they are :

Somewhere Out There Sung by Fievel and Tanya (Philip Glasser and Betsy Cathcart) in an actual scene in the movie. Very cute! It really captures the original spirit of the song, which is of sibling love rather the romantic love.

This is the Finale Version of Somewhere Out There. Sung professionally by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, it came at the credits of AT. If you ever hear Somewhere Out There on the radio or other records, chances are it would be this version.

The theme song of Fievel Goes West is Dreams to Dream This version is sung by Cathy Cavadini, Tanya Mousekewitz's voice in AT2. The other version is sung by Linda Ronstadt. Not as popular as Somewhere Out There, it is a beautiful song nonetheless.

Here is an instrumental piece which came near the end of AT2 when Tiger is training to be a sheriff. Titled In Training on the soundtrack. I find it quite rather nice.

Download RealPlayer to hear the RealAudio files!

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