Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context WesternAnimation / AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest

Go To

1%%
2%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExamples are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
3%%
4%% Please follow Administrivia/ExampleIndentation when adding examples.
5%%
6%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1640920868016284400
7%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
8%%
9[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_an_american_tail_fievel_goes_west_australian_movie_poster.png]]
10%%
11''An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' is the first sequel to ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''. It was released through Creator/{{Universal}} on November 22, 1991.
12
13Picking up some years after the events of the first film, the Mousekewitz family are disillusioned with living in New York, with the final straw being a cat attack on their alley home. After the villain, Cat R. Waul, tricks them and a crowd of other mice into buying train tickets to a small town in the West via using a mouse puppet, the family boards a train to TheWildWest. But, echoing the tone of disillusionment in the first film, it turns out the town of Green River is a DyingTown, and Cat R. Waul had more nefarious motives for bringing the mice there. Fievel is the only one who overheard Waul's plans, and no one who will believe him except for a washed-up former hero sheriff, Wylie Burp (voiced by none other than [[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]] in his final film role).
14
15The film marked the debut of Creator/{{Amblimation}}, the newly-created animation arm of Creator/StevenSpielberg's studio Creator/AmblinEntertainment. Directing duties were handed to Creator/PhilNibbelink and Simon Wells rather than Creator/DonBluth, who had produced the first film with Spielberg, kicking off the trend of sequels to Don Bluth films which [[BTeamSequel he had absolutely no involvement in]] (the glut of ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime Land Before Time]]'' sequels was only three years away). Due to Spielberg's popularity and the franchise being more closely associated with him than Bluth, this is also one of only two sequels to a Bluth film to receive a theatrical release rather than be DirectToVideo (the other being ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven2'').
16
17The break-off from Bluth, combined with Spielberg having just produced the slapstick-heavy ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', resulted in this film being significantly [[DenserAndWackier less bleak and more comedic in tone than the original]]. The later direct-to-video sequels throw a veil doubt over the canonicity to the original, with the Mousekewitz family living ''back'' in New York and Fievel mentioning he "dreamed" that he moved west, but the truth of the matter seems to have been left up to {{Fanon}}.
18
19Also of note, this film spawned a very short-lived animated series, ''WesternAnimation/FievelsAmericanTails''.
20
21----
22!!''Fievel Goes West'' provides examples of:
23
24* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Tanya temporarily becomes narcissistic after her successful singing performance in front of the cats, to the point where gives her brother an autograph and disregards his warnings about the dangers of her new manager Cat R. Waul, who plots to eat the mice in town except for Tanya because he’s entranced by her singing voice.
25* ActorAllusion: Wylie Burp's actor Creator/JimmyStewart is quite familiar with the Western genre.
26* AesopAmnesia:
27** You'd think that Fievel would learn not to go wandering off on a transportation device he's not familiar with after what happened in the first movie. But he does, and once again gets separated from his family. You'd also think his mother would not jump to the conclusion that he's dead right away, after he turned out to be alive the last time he got separated from them. She does (though Papa assures her that Fievel will come back).
28** Given Fievel's role in exposing the truth behind Warren T. Cat's protection racket (to say nothing of the downfall of the Mott Street Maulers), you'd ''think'' his family, let alone all the New York Mice who were there, might give his warnings ''some'' credence.
29* AgeLift: Tanya is aged up in this film, whereas she was closer to Fievel's age in the first film. Justified given a fair amount of time has passed and she probably hit puberty before Fievel has.
30* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Played for laughs in when Wylie Burp teaches Tiger how to be a dog.
31* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Miss Kitty tells Tiger he's too milquetoast for her when leaving on a train out West.
32* AllJustADream: Done at the beginning where Fievel shoots a bunch of cats and gets a badge from Wylie Burp. A DreamWithinADream, if you think about it.
33* AndStarring: The opening cast roll ends with "and James Stewart as Wylie Burp".
34* AnimationBump: Say what you will about the sequel, but you have to admit that the animation was of amazing quality, even at the time it was released – it was even better than most of the '''Disney''' films out at the time.
35* AwardBaitSong: "Dreams to Dream" definitely is the "Somewhere Out There" of the film—right down to having Music/LindaRonstadt back to sing it in the end credits.
36* AxCrazy: Chula doesn't have the ax, but his personality fits the bill.
37-->'''Chula''': The inky-dinky spider, caught a mouse in its web. The inky-dinky spider '''bit off the mouse's head!'''
38* BabiesEverAfter: Tony and Bridget's cameos where they're seen with a baby.
39* BadassLongcoat: Fievel, Tiger and Wylie Burp all wear one for the final showdown with Cat R. Waul.
40* BaitAndSwitch: The conductor's IronicEcho, "Next stop: mouth, throat, stomach, intestine, and – you guessed it – Green River."
41* BalloonBelly: When Tiger is told to suck in his chest, and he instead deflates like a balloon.
42* BeautifulSingingVoice: Tanya launches into her theme song while doing chores. Her voice is so captivating that Cat R. Waul gets just one earful, and drops [[TheHero Fievel]], who he was about to devour whole. Homing in on Tanya's voice, Waul cradles her in his hands, and immediately makes her part of his saloon's stage act, describing Tanya as "a diva." She has a similar effect upon Waul's clientele.
43* BewareTheNiceOnes: Tiger is very dangerous when his loved ones are threatened.
44* BeYourself: It's what both Fievel and Tanya learn by the end, and it's shown that they've learned it more through action than words; i.e. Tanya washing her makeup off and Fievel turning his hat right-side-in so it's blue again and not a cowboy hat. Tiger goes back to acting like a cat once he saved the day.
45* BeingGoodSucks: Or at least, ''pretending'' to be good sucks. While the Cactus Cat Gang recognizes and accepts the logic and benefits of Cat R. Waul's long game, that ''doesn't'' mean they're happy at having to suppress their instinctual urges and pretend to be nice to their prey for the scheme's duration.
46* {{BFG}}: Relatively, a human revolver operated by cats. More so in the hands of a mouse kid like Fievel.
47* {{Bookends}}: The film opens and ends with Fievel obtaining Wylie Burp's badge. At the beginning, Fievel dreams of obtaining the badge after helping the latter out. At the end, Fievel finally obtains the badge for helping Wylie defeat [[spoiler:Cat R. Waul]].
48* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Native Americans in both ''Fievel Goes West'' and ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' stick to this dress code.
49* BullyingADragon: During the cat attack in New York, Fievel challenges a giant cat who cornered his family to a fight while insulting him to his face. All it does is piss off the cat who then intends to eat Fievel in spite of the boss's orders, with Fievel being so scared that he sheds a tear.
50* ButHeSoundsHandsome: When controlling the mouse puppet, Cat R. Waul gets so into praising himself he gets distracted and forgets to control the puppet for a second.
51* BuffoonishTomcat: The titular orange cat Tiger is the FatComicRelief who [[FatIdiot isn't all that bright]] and is the poster boy of this trope.
52* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: When Fievel is chased into a hole by a hawk, we see only his eyes, and the eyes of an angry scorpion.
53* CactusCushion: While lost in the desert, Fievel sees a mirage of his family. As he goes to give them a hug, they turn into cacti and he jumps back in pain.
54* TheCameo:
55** Tony and Bridget can be seen very briefly in a few scenes. The most noticeable examples are during the early cat attack sequence, and when the mice arrive in Green River and move in. They can also be seen in the crowd in the sewer, and in the audience sitting in the giant mousetrap, but in those scenes they are extremely OffModel and thus can't really be distinguished without using freeze-frame.
56** Honest John is seen in "Way Out West" as one of the politicians.
57* CantMoveWhileBeingWatched: The buffalo skeleton trying to pounce on Tiger. Subverted when he catches it upright, prompting it to dance and collapse, then complete its pounce after he dismisses the past event.
58* CassandraTruth: In the film's second half, everyone disregards Fievel's warnings about what Cat R. Waul's going to do to them. They assume he's suffering from heatstroke after being stranded out in the desert (on top of having been successfully taken in by Waul's PR campaign). Fortunately, Wylie Burp, being a reasonable former sheriff, believes Fievel and teams up with him.
59* CatsAreMean: Played straight with the BigBad and his gang, but [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with Miss Kitty and Tiger.
60%%* CharacterActionTitle: ''Fievel Goes West''.
61* TheChewToy: From the moment he appears on screen, Tiger doesn't catch a break until he and Fievel finally manage to meet up again. Miss Kitty breaks up with him because she wants a "cat who's more like a dog", his attempts to help the mice during the cat attack are stymied when he freaks at the sight of T.R. Chula and falls into a garbage can, trying to catch the Green River train leads him from one run-in with dogs to another, winds up being dragged for hundreds of miles behind a stagecoach and getting stranded in the middle of the desert, misses meeting up with Fievel because they both mistake the other for a mirage, and finally gets captured by Native American mice and nearly roasted alive.
62* ContrastingSequelSetting: The wide-open, western feel of Green River, Utah, is a huge change from the gritty turn-of-the-century New York of the first film.
63* CowardlyLion: Tiger, at least until his BerserkButton is activated.
64* ComicBookAdaptation: Creator/MarvelComics did a ''Fievel Goes West'' comic. It's OffModel. And just to demonstrate how laughably OffModel [[http://i.imgur.com/ZerEzKJ.png it is]]...
65* ContinuityNod: In the film's opening ImagineSpot, Fievel introduces himself as "Fillie the Kid", a play on UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid and the nickname Tony gave him in the first movie.
66%%* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Cat R. Waul gets either what could be seen as this or AndIMustScream.
67* ContrivedCoincidence: None of the Mice are suspicious of how convenient it is that Cat R. Waul unveils himself in Green River offering supplies, and assistance just moments after a water shortage endangers all of them.
68* CousinOliver: Yasha Mousekewitz is somewhat elevated to this in ''Fievel Goes West'' and the series ''Fievel's American Tails'', despite having been in the first movie (she inexplicably disappears halfway through). In all the other movies, she's mostly [[LivingProp not much more than a prop]].
69* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: After Fievel reunites with his family halfway through the movie, he tries to warn the mice population about Cat R. Waul's plot. Unfortunately, no one, not even his own family, believes him. He was right. Fortunately, Fievel managed to enlist the help of Tiger and Wylie to stop the plan.
70* ADayInTheLimelight: It gives Tanya and Tiger a great deal more CharacterDevelopment than the first film did, and isn't exclusively focused on Fievel (despite his name being in the title).
71%%* DeathGlare: The Lazy Eye!
72* DemotedToExtra: Tony and Bridget only briefly appear in this movie.
73* DenserAndWackier: ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' is widely considered one of the most depressing animated films ever aimed at children. This film, however, is a rollicking, gag-heavy slapstick comedy.
74* DesertSkull: Tiger runs into a buffalo skeleton that seems to come to life when he's not looking. Turns out it's being manipulated by native mice, who then capture Tiger.
75* DidntThinkThisThrough: While it's not explicitly pointed out in the film, this is the big flaw of Cat R. Waul making Tanya his personal diva. Yes, his patronage and protection ensures Tanya ''will'' be spared from the endgame...but, she'll still have a balcony seat for the culling. Did Cat R. Waul ''really'' think his diva was just going to be able to overlook the fact that her patron had just turned her entire family into Mouseburgers?
76* DistractedByMyOwnSexy: Cat R. Waul gets a little too caught up in praising himself, almost forgetting that he's supposed to be talking through his mouse puppet (which goes limp as he searches for adjectives).
77* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: During the final fight slingshots are substituted for guns (with one exception). Partway one cat steps forward and draws a slingshot with 6 straps. Tiger's slingshot promptly turns into a spaghetti noodle.
78* DoubleTake: After falling into a small burrow to avoid an eagle, we only see [[ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes Fievel's eyes]] in the darkness, then another pair of eyes appear. Fievel looks at them and turns away, then quickly looks back as he realises it's a very angry scorpion!
79* EarlyBirdCameo: Cat R. Waul shows up for a brief few seconds in the day dream Fievel has at the beginning of the movie.
80* EekAMouse: During Tanya's performance, Chula chases Fievel into the human saloon upstairs and scares the patrons. Compared to the random item throwing in the original, a gunslinger responds by drawing his revolver!
81* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Cat R. Waul during the Cactus Cat Gang's opening attack early in the film. His orders and demeanor quickly establish him as being similar to Warren T. Cat in many respects, but also more cultured and pragmatic (and with a definite long game beyond acquiring mere profit).
82* EvilDesiresInnocence: Cat R. Waul has devious plans to earn the trust of all the mice, lure them to his town in the Wild West, and then, once the town is firmly established, turn them all into mouseburgers. He is, however, captivated by the singing voice of Tanya Mouskewitz and seeks to keep her safe for himself, to the point where, when she is on the deathtrap, he halts his own scheme to save her.
83* EvilPowerVacuum: Downplayed. While not technically pointed out in the film itself, the defeat and exile of the Mott Street Maulers makes it easier for Cat R. Waul and the Cactus Cat Gang to move in on Warren T. Cat's former territory to conduct their long game. If it hadn't been them, it almost certainly would've been another faction of cats.
84* EyePop: Weaponized by Wylie Burp, known as the "Lazy Eye". It's used [[MoreDakka on full auto]] later in the movie.
85* FailureMontage: When Tiger trains under Wylie Burp in ''Goes West'', bumbling through each exercise until he finally gets things right.
86* FalseFlagOperation: Cat R. Waul's plan. The main story starts when the cat gang terrorize all the mice in New York, leading to them taking refuge in the sewers where they meet a cowboy mouse (actually Cat R. Waul using a marionette) who convinces them that Green River is a utopia where cats and mice get along. It works and hundreds of mice – including Fievel's family – move out West where the cats maintain the facade to not only get Waul's business up and running but also to put themselves in a perfect position to kill all the mice at once so they can eat them.
87* {{Facepalm}}: Cat R. Waul's exasperated reaction to his men getting spooked by Team Fievel's Lazy Eye during the final showdown.
88* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Of the "real guns are OK as long as they aren't used to kill" variety. While there are some revolvers, those only get aimed at inanimate objects or aimed so badly they don't come close to hitting anyone. When the cats (and one dog) have their shootout, it's with slingshots that use bullet and ricochet sound effects. Cat R. Waul has a revolver that's mounted and used like a {{BFG}}, as it's too large for the cats to hold.
89%%* FauxAffablyEvil: Cat R. Waul is a shining example.
90* FlatWhat:
91-->'''Miss Kitty:''' You put a mouse on that stage and your saloon's gonna be as empty as Death Valley on a cold day in June when the snow don't fall.
92-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ''What.''
93* FollowYourNose: A sensual variation as Miss Kitty's perfume lifts Tiger's nose and purrs at him.
94* FreezeFrameBonus:
95** Just as Cat R. Waul is picking Tanya up in his paws while she sings "Dreams to Dream", one of the animators [[http://jezebel.com/gah-theres-a-hidden-dick-doodle-in-an-american-tail-1526897586 snuck in a lewd drawing for a single frame]], where she has her mouth open. Hilariously Universal Studios was apparently unaware of this for more than 25 years, until the Blu-Ray release finally erased it.
96** A more innocuous example occurs at the beginning of that scene - when Cat R. Waul first hears Tanya singing, his ear extends with a treble clef appearing for a brief second as he's captivated by her voice.
97* FreudianSlipperySlope: Cat R. Waul's speech at the unveiling ceremony.
98-->''Cats and gentle mice, lend me your ears. It is my distinguished pleasure to invite all of you... to share our dinner... Triumph! To share our triumph! Today we herald in a momentous, new feast... ival. Feastival... Festival. To mark this brilliant and illustrious snack... Occasion!''
99* FunnyBackgroundEvent: During "The Girl You Left Behind" song, Fievel was desperately trying to get away from Chula trying to eat him while trying to warn Tanya of Cat R. Waul's plot. However, Tanya and the cat patrons don't even notice him as they're all too wrapped up in the song.
100* FurryConfusion: The angry dogs who chase Tiger before he goes West are all depicted as regular dogs. Then we get Wylie Burp, a sheriff dog who talks, walks on two legs and wears clothes.
101* GenreShift: The sequel moves from the period drama of the original film to western-adventure-comedy territory.
102%%* GiantSpider: Voiced by Creator/JonLovitz.
103* GlassShatteringSound: Tanya can break glass with her singing voice.
104* GodGuise: Tiger is worshiped by a tribe of Native American mice because he bears a striking resemblance to a rock formation.
105* GoneHorriblyRight: Cat R. Waul's long game hinges upon playing up Green River as a utopia where Cats and Mice live alongside each other in peace and harmony. By the ending of the film, he and the Cat Cactus Gang are all driven out of town. This leaves Tiger and Miss Kitty as the only cats left in Green River -- both of whom are openly friendly with mice (Fievel and Tanya especially). So, in a roundabout way, Cat R. Waul ''did'' end up turning Green River into an actual Cat-Mouse utopia.
106* GunsAkimbo: Fievel, of all characters, in his daydream with Wylie.
107* HappyEndingOverride: Warren and his gang may not have come back from Hong Kong, but that doesn't mean there aren't ''other'' hostile cats to menace our main characters. And the Mousekewitz family is still as poor as it was in Russia in the first film.
108* HeKnowsTooMuch: After Fievel inadvertently discovers Cat R. Waul's plan to trick the mice into believing they are good and eating them alive when their guard is down, instead of eating him, he has his henchman Chula knock him off of the train into the badlands, in hopes that he won't be able to find his way to Green River and likely die. [[spoiler:Fortunately for Fievel, he manages to get back to his family again.]]
109** Averted by the midpoint of the movie as Cat R. Waul doesn't care if Fievel knows his plan because by that time, all the mice citizens have taken his story hook line and sinker, taunting Fievel to go ahead and tell the mice what he knows because it doesn't matter. He's right and no one believes Fievel.
110* HeroicBSOD: All Fievel can do is look at Tanya's autograph in shock after his efforts to warn her of Cat R. Waul's plot go unheeded.
111* HollywoodMirage: Fievel hugs a cactus and Tiger kisses an owl because of the mirages they see while wandering in the desert. Then they [[MissedHimByThatMuch mistake each other for mirages when they pass each other by]].
112* HollywoodNatives: The Mousican Tribe, a tribe of native mice, complete with face paint, chanting, war cries, and everything. They plan on sacrificing Tiger until the Chief sees him hanging by his paws above the camp fire exactly matches a butte shaped the same, whereupon they believe Tiger is their god and then pamper him with a spread of fruits and vegetables.
113* {{Homage}}: During Tiger's training regime, the soundtrack plays homage to Copland's Hoedown.
114* ImprobableAimingSkills: Fievel imagines to have these. As in, he doesn't even have to aim.
115* InjunCountry: Played somewhat offensively straight.
116* InstantRoast: Native American mice shoot fire crackers at a hawk, blowing it out of the sky, and a few minutes later some mice are shown carrying a fully-cooked and beheaded roasted hawk.
117* IronicNurseryTune: "The itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiider caught a mouse in his web...the itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiider BIT OFF THE MOUSE'S HEAD!"
118* IWantMyMommy:
119** Tiger gives a comedic example, casually invoking the trope when he's trapped on a flagpole.
120** Dramatic example for Fievel; he cries for his parents when he's picked up by a hawk.
121* JustTheWayYouAre:
122** This is the moral of Tanya Mousekewitz's subplot. She gets a makeover so she can sing at Waul's saloon, but after discovering Waul is actually evil and tried to kill every mouse in Green River, she remembers what her friend Miss Kitty told her, that the real woman is what's underneath the mask, and she washes her make-up off.
123** Also, in a related play on this trope, Fievel realizes he can be a hero just the way he is.
124* LargeHam:
125** Cat R. Waul. It helps to be voiced by someone like Creator/JohnCleese.
126** There's also Creator/JonLovitz as the psychotic spider Chula. He's actually the hammiest character of all since he has an high pitched NoIndoorVoice and he's almost always hyperactive.
127* {{Leitmotif}}: A returning James Horner carries over musical themes from the first movie while composing new ones for this film's new characters. Leitmotif recipients include Wylie Burp, Cat R. Waul (and by extension his Gang), and Chula.
128* LeavingTheNestSong: The song "Way Out West" is sung as the mice leave overcrowded, crime-ridden, and cat-filled New York City to settle the western US. Fueled by Cat R. Waul's pie-in-the-sky propaganda, it's overblown and optimistic to ridiculous degrees...but it's not all that different from actual "Go West" propaganda of the era. Upon arrival, the mice immediately realize that the Old West isn't what was promised to them, but they remain hopeful and make a go of life there anyway.
129* LiteralMetaphor: Part of Waul's scheme is to "build a better mousetrap".
130* LockedOutOfTheLoop: While Miss Kitty ''is'' working for Cat R. Waul (as part of his saloon's entertainment), she ''doesn't'' know about his plans for Green River's new Mouse citizens. This ironically ends up contributing to the Catcus Gang's defeat in the climax; once Miss Kitty realizes what her employer's really up to, she warns Tanya and the mice scatter in time.
131* MadScientist: Cat R. Waul has one working for him.
132* MarshmallowHell: Whenever Cat R. Waul's human owner finds him she shrieks "Pussy poo!" and shoves his face between her very large breasts, much to Waul's intense dismay.
133* MissKitty: She even has the same name. Kitty leaves New York for an exciting future in the west, and ends up being one of the head matrons to what is essentially a brothel.
134* MouseWorld:
135** A regular mousetrap modified with a flyswatter head is [[spoiler: planned to be used kill an entire grandstand of people at once.]]
136** An abandoned Colt .45 revolver is treated as a field gun; mounted on a carriage with a pintel-mount for easy aiming. [[spoiler: So easy a child could use it, in fact, as Feivel uses it to launch the cats out of town by triggering their mousetrap.]]
137* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: While it doesn't actually ''change'' him, when Cat R. Waul hears Tanya singing "Dreams to Dream" for the first time, he looks sincerely moved.
138* NightmareFace: Tiger's version of the "Lazy Eye" in ''Fievel Goes West'' has him with eyes alternately popping and going back in, his tongue flailing, and him gibbering like a maniac.
139* NowThatsUsingYourTeeth: Tiger catches a thrown knife this way during his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of the villain cats, a la [[CallBack when he was learning to "fetch"]]. Lampshaded by Wylie: "[[IronicEcho Hmm, I never taught him that one!]]"
140* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: ''An American Tail: [Insert title here]''
141* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cat R. Waul, voiced by the extremely English Creator/JohnCleese, tries faking a Texas accent when operating his mouse marionette. HilarityEnsues.
142* OwlsAskWho: While lost in the desert, Tiger sees what he thinks is his girlfriend Kitty, and as he calls for her, she only asks "Who?" It's only when he comes to give her a kiss does he realize that it was actually an owl sitting on a cactus.
143* PainPoweredLeap: Cat R. Waul jumps straight through the ceiling after Fievel stabs him in the behind with a fork. It's also how Tiger catches the train -- briefly -- while being chased by a dog.
144* ParentalObliviousness: Fievel ''tries'' telling his parents Cat R. Waul's going to turn the mice of Green River into mouseburgers, but [[NotNowKiddo they keep him from explaining the situation]].
145* PatheticDroopingWeapon: When Tiger, Wylie Burp and Fievel return to Green River to rescue the mice population from being killed on a disguised mousetrap, they, of course, encounter resistance. After Tiger proves his prowess with a slingshot, he faces off with one of Cat R. Waul's Cactus Cat gang members, who produces a slingshot with '''''[[StealthPun six]]''''' [[StealthPun elastic bands]]. Somehow, Tiger's slingshot turns cartoonishly rubber and goes limp at the very sight of it, with Tiger himself giving a scared-out-of-his-wits sheepish grin.
146* PluckyComicRelief: Tiger. Tony Toponi takes over the job in the other sequels.
147* PoliticiansKissBabies: Cat R. Waul kisses Yasha to convince the mice that he's harmless. This is made more effective since Waul is a cat, and Yasha is a mouse who he easily could have eaten.
148* PopcornOnTheCob: During the scene in which the Native Americans are worshiping Tiger and feeding him, an ear of corn is raised over the fire, then turned into a bunch of popcorn which Tiger promptly catches in his mouth.
149* PorkyPigPronunciation: Tiger does his best to be tough and brave during the cat attack on New York, but as soon as Chula shows up, he goes, "It's a spy... A spee... A spid-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d... An arachnid!"
150* ProducePelting: Exploited. The neighbors throw tomatoes at Tanya for singing too loudly. Mama immediately scrapes them off the wall for supper, and Papa encourages her to sing more in the hopes that they'll switch to fruit for dessert.
151* ProjectileWebbing: While Waul is welcoming some mice to the town of Green River, Chula is told to issue water. Being a recalcitrant fellow, Chula hocks a loogie at a newlywed couple, which forms an instant web, trapping them inside an old boot. Waul flicks away the webbing and continues his AffablyEvil schmooze.
152* PunBasedCreature: When Tiger is flung from a train and lands in a lake, he encounters what he identifies as a "dogfish", which has a dog's face and starts barking at him. Later, he's caught by a fisherman along with some catfish, which, while looking like real catfish, can be heard meowing.
153* PutOnABus: Cat R. Waul is defeated by being put on a train, much like how Warren was shipped off to Hong Kong. Almost all the villains in the ''An American Tail'' series are always defeated non-lethally. The exception being the spy and the corrupt police chief in the third movie, who are implied to have drowned.
154* RageBreakingPoint: When Tiger sees Chula about to kill Miss Kitty, he gets enraged to the point of sending the cats on the mousetrap.
155* RecycledInSpace: Or in this case, "Recycled OUT WEST!"
156* RefugeInTheWest: The Mousekewitz family are offered an opportunity to travel to TheWildWest, namely Green River, which is a largely untamed wilderness, a wide-open sandbox of opportunities. The Mousekewitzes and many other mice leap at this chance.
157* RetiredGunfighter: Wylie Burp. It doesn't take much convincing for him to help, as he made one small speech about how he was over the hill and then changes his mind. [[RuleOfCute Fievel's pouty face works in mysterious ways.]]
158* RibbonCuttingCeremony: The opening ceremony for Cat R. Waul's saloon is a trap: cutting the ribbon would have triggered a giant mousetrap right onto the stands where the mice were sitting.
159* RightOutOfMyClothes: Cat R. Waul does a PainPoweredLeap out of his suit.
160* RuleOfFunny: Tiger repeatedly bumping into angry dogs even in some improbable places. Tiger dancing to "Putting on the Ritz" with a skeleton for a few seconds, Tiger turning into a poodle at the mention of a dog, Tiger deflating like a balloon and falling off a cliff to a long farting sound... ''Fievel Goes West'' had way more moments like these than the first movie. Most if not all has to do with Tiger.
161* RuleOfSymbolism: When Cat R. Waul asks the mice to help him develop Green River as part of his EvilPlan, his head is framed by the desert sun, resembling a halo and enforcing his efforts to cast himself as the mice's savior in the face of a water shortage (which, naturally, he himself caused).
162* ScaryScorpions: Fievel is really freaked out when he finds out he has entered a scorpion's den.
163* SeaOfSand: When Tiger falls off the train, he takes one look at the vast Southwest desert and bemoans his situation: "Lost and alone, in a million-acre catbox." The scene is mostly a sand plain, with towering rocks in the distance. It will later contain a spiny cactus, plus a DesertSkull part of a whole skeleton. Notably, in real life, the deserts of North America consist almost entirely of rock formations, rocky badlands and cactus-and-scrub brush -- some sand seas exist, but they're small and isolated.
164* SelfDeprecation: The filmmakers seemed to have noticed just [[HypeBacklash how sick everyone had gotten]] of "[[AwardBaitSong Somewhere Out There]]," as evidenced by the scene of Tanya getting [[ProducePelting fruit thrown at her by the neighbors]] as she sings it at the window.
165* SequelGoesForeign: It follows this (though technically still in the same country, there's a world of difference between New York and Green River).
166* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: This is how Cat R. Waul talks.
167-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' Chula, I want the subversive who tried to assassinate me found.\
168'''Chula:''' I just looove finding subversives! ...Hey boss, what's a subversive?\
169'''Cat R. Waul:''' ...Someone who doesn't have very long to live.
170* SexyDiscretionShot: When Tiger is reunited with Miss Kitty at the end of the film, he kisses her and both tumble to the ground, out of sight of the screen. This is followed by Miss Kitty saying, "Oooo, Tiger!" As Wylie looks on, he smirks and says, [[IronicEcho "I never taught him that one."]]
171* SheCleansUpNicely: Tanya after her makeover.
172* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Inverted. Tiger faces off with a masked gunslinger cat whose slingshot turns out to be bigger than his. Tiger's slingshot goes limp in response.
173* ShoutOut:
174** To ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', with "Miss Kitty".
175** When Miss Kitty leaves Tiger to go west, she tells him [[Film/{{Casablanca}} "We'll always have the Bronx" and "Here's lookin' at you, kid.]]
176** The ''Series/{{Rawhide}}'' theme plays when Fievel travels inside a tumbleweed.
177** Also, many of the storefronts and signs in (the human-sized) Green River have the names of crew members on them, including both of the film's directors and several of the artists responsible for the background layouts. In addition, right before Fievel dispatches the villains, you can see a nameplate on the rear of the giant mousetrap (facing upside-down) which reads "Made in Acton, London" -- which was the location of the animation studio where the film was produced.
178** Cat R. Waul screams "Revenge!" as he is driven out of town on the train, similar to his character in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2sUcVkm9E the Dirty Fork sketch]] in Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus.
179** Another one involves a mouse mentioning various destinations (one while boarding, the other before narrowly escaping being eaten by Cat R. Waul) while closing each phrase with "...and Green River", likely an homage to Creator/MelBlanc's famous [[Radio/TheJackBennyProgram Jack Benny Show]] {{Catchphrase}} of a train leaving for "...Anaheim, Azuza, and Cuc-amonga".
180** The Tiger-shaped rock in the desert pulls a [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Cheshire Cat]].
181** The scene where Tanya imagines her worn out dress into a beautiful gown in the mirror parodies {{WesternAnimation/Cinderella}}.
182** When Tiger is getting chased by all the dogs early on, he exclaims "Dogs! [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade I hate those guys!]]"
183* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Well, at sunset, but same idea.
184* SpannerInTheWorks: Fievel overhearing Cat R. Waul's plan starts the derailing of his long game. Fievel also surviving being stranded out in the desert and making his to Green River wasn't anticipated either.
185* StealthPun: The one Cactus Cat's slingshot that makes Tiger's slingshot go limp has '''six''' elastic bands. In other words, a '''Six-Shooter'''.[[note]]In-reference to the real-life pistol that shoots six bullets[[/note]]
186* StockFootage: Some celebrating mice at the end are actually reused mice from "There Are No Cats in America" from the first movie.
187* SurroundedByIdiots: After his goons get spooked by Team Fievel's Lazy Eye and scram, an exasperated Cat R. Waul calls them "Morons".
188* TookALevelInBadass: Tiger, during the finale. He shows a surprising amount of competence during the first part of the finale, and goes into a complete UnstoppableRage when he sees Miss Kitty in danger and [[OneManArmy proceeds to beat up every other cat in town]].
189* ToonPhysics:
190** What Fievel's hat apparently runs on in this film, what with turning into a cowboy hat when pulled inside-out.
191** Tiger himself runs on Toon physics more than any other character in the movie, even morphing into a dog at one point.
192* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailer didn't spoil itself so much, but the fact that it was included at the beginning of every VHS release of the first movie after 1991 meant that it revealed the ending of ''An American Tail'' before the movie even started.
193* TrainEscape: Tiger escapes a pack of dogs by hopping on the back of a train. That whole scene is very ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' in spirit.
194* TrainStationGoodbye: Almost happens, though Tiger is too late to say goodbye to Fievel and his family when they board the train from New York (thanks to being pursued by dogs) he does try to chase after it.
195* TrainingMontage: Tiger, the CowardlyLion of the series, has a montage while training to be a dog so he can help Wylie Burp and Fievel take on Cat R. Waul. The montage includes Tiger doing push-ups, walking through tires, beating up a Cat R. Waul dummy, and fetching a bone.
196* TranslationConvention: Averted with the Mousican chief. When he speaks to Tiger he's heard using his native tongue but there are not even subtitles. Makes you wonder what's he just saying...
197* UndersideRide: There's a train car for mice beneath the real train cars.
198* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Tanya's human neighbors throw fruit at her as she's trying to sing "Somewhere Out There". They're clearly more concerned about her keeping them up at night than the fact that there's a ''singing mouse'' living across the street.
199* UvulaEscapeRoute: After being dropped by a hawk, Fievel is almost swallowed by Tiger after falling into a bowl of water, but manages to grab his uvula before being swallowed.
200* VagueAge: Figuring out how old Fievel and Tanya are can be very confusing. Tanya, for example, suddenly looks much older than Fievel, while in the first movie, she looked around the same age as Fievel. And if we are to believe it's been a few years since the first movie, why is Yasha still a baby?
201* VillainousBreakdown: Cat R. Waul is very much calm and cool when the heroes arrive to take him down – he just calmly sics his men on them. But when the heroes expose his mousetrap for all to see, he loses it.
202-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ''(aiming not a slingshot but a real gun at the fleeing mice)'' FREEZE, YOU MISERABLE VERMIN!!! ''(shoots madly at the mice)''
203* VocalDissonance: As Fievel rides through the desert in a sage bush some wild animals sing the "''Series/{{Rawhide}}''" theme version of Film/TheBluesBrothers. A baby bird in particular sing the ''Ride'em in Rawhide'' part with Dan Aykroyd's voice.
204* VocalEvolution:
205** Fievel's voice was changing as his voice actor Phillip Glasser got older.
206** How about Creator/JonLovitz as Chula? Throughout the film, he seems to keep changing the type of voice he's trying to use.
207* WasntThatFun: Fievel chimes in "Let's go on that ride again!" after he and his family have a terrifying trip down a sewer waterfall in a discarded tuna can.
208* WatchingTheSunset: While everyone else celebrate their victory over Cat R. Waul, Wylie goes to the arch near the Mitten Buttes to view the sunset, and Fievel gives him company. The old sheriff gives Fievel his badge to thank him for pulling him out of the gutter and gives him a speech that inspires the young mouse to be his own kind of a hero instead of aspiring to be one like Wylie.[[note]]The PassingTheTorch analogue becomes especially poignant with the fact that Wylie was the last role of the veteran actor Creator/JimmyStewart before he passed away.[[/note]]
209-->'''Wylie Burp''': Just remember, Fievel: one man's sunset is another man's dawn. I don't know what's out there beyond those hills, but if you ride yonder, head up, eyes steady, heart open, I think one day you'll find that you're the hero you've been lookin' for.
210* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Creator/JonLovitz as a nasty, web-spitting (huh?) [[GiantSpider tarantula]].
211* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Tiger gets shocked out of his mind when he sees Chula, a spider. He also hates dogs. That all changes when Wylie trains to be like a dog. Tiger also snaps out of his arachnophobia when Chula threatens Miss Kitty.
212* WickedCultured: Cat R. Waul wears a top hat with a cane (though in the proper time period), speaks with a British accent, and adores high-class songs, making Tanya [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Cat_R._Waul_introduces_Tanya.JPG his own personal diva]].
213* TheWickedStage: Mentioned.
214-->'''Tanya Mousekewitz:''' Look, Mama, a singer... and an actor.\
215'''Mama Mousekewitz:''' Tanya, stop that! You shouldn't stare at people less fortunate than yourself.
216* XanatosGambit: Downplayed, but Cat R. Waul's PragmaticVillainy in having Chula toss Fievel from the train. If Fievel doesn't survive the fall, it looks like a tragic accident with none the wiser (especially his family; to them, it would just seem Fievel didn't learn ''anything'' from the first film and went off for some foolish nighttime exploring ''again''). If he ''does'' survive the fall, Fievel's ''still'' stranded out in the middle of the desert with no water, food, or transportation (to say nothing of being one little kid mouse against the local predators).
217** Of course, Cat R. Waul never anticipated the possibility Fievel ''might'' just actually survive against all odds and still make his way to Green River (not that it does him much good, since the Mice have all been taken in by Waul's PR campaign in the interim).
218* YoungGun: Fievel daydreams about being a Young Gun at the beginning, complete with his hero Wylie Burp telling him to 'get out while he still can', and Fievel blatantly disobeying him and shooting out a gang of villainous cats.
219* YourMom:
220-->'''Tiger:''' Haha! I made it! Ha ha! What a stupid dog! Nyah-na-na-nyah-nyah! Your mother was never housebroken! Ha ha ha! Toodleoo!

Top