An American Tail was the first of Don Bluth's collaborations with Steven Spielberg, and while I wouldn't consider it great, it's still a solid enough film. One of the best aspects (and one that will definitely catch the attention of history buffs) is how it depicted the immigration experience in 19th and early 20th century America, including the reasons for people leaving their homeland, the promises of a better life, and the bitter reality that it wasn't as spectacular as they were led to believe. And while they do show the human side of it, most of it is conveyed from the perspective of cartoony mice, which does create an effective metaphor that children can understand. (I do also like how they continued this theme in the first sequel with the Wild West movement.)
The main plot line, involving a young mouse boy named Fievel trying to find the family he was separated from, serves as a simple but effective hook to keep the audience engaged. The animation, as per usual with Don Bluth, is high quality, and also like most prime Bluth material, it does an effective job at playing with audiences' emotions like a fiddle, or more appropriately, like Papa Mousekewitz's violin. The way these elements, along with James Horner's gorgeous score, combine when Fievel finally reunites with his family at the end is just beautiful.
It definitely has more of its fair share of flaws and weak moments, including an overuse of the whole "just barely missed him" trope that can get tiresome after a while, and one of the single most forgettable, uninspired and underdeveloped villains in Don Bluth's filmography. I mean, say what you will about Fievel Goes West, but its baddie was a considerable improvement in every way. Plus, some of the plot elements could have been handled in a better or more satisfying manner. I actually read the novelization of An American Tail before seeing the movie version, and there are parts in the movie (like the sweatshop escape) that I do actually kinda wish were a little closer to the novelization. That said, there are definitely parts that the movie does better. (Comparing the feeble illustration of The Giant Mouse Of Minsk in the novelization with the frightening rotoscoped monstrosity in the movie is like comparing day and night!)
Overall, An American Tail isn't my favorite Don Bluth film, (that honor would go to The Secret Of NIMH,) but it does have enough good qualities to make it a charming enough feature that's worth a watch.
Not Bluth's Best, But...
An American Tail was the first of Don Bluth's collaborations with Steven Spielberg, and while I wouldn't consider it great, it's still a solid enough film. One of the best aspects (and one that will definitely catch the attention of history buffs) is how it depicted the immigration experience in 19th and early 20th century America, including the reasons for people leaving their homeland, the promises of a better life, and the bitter reality that it wasn't as spectacular as they were led to believe. And while they do show the human side of it, most of it is conveyed from the perspective of cartoony mice, which does create an effective metaphor that children can understand. (I do also like how they continued this theme in the first sequel with the Wild West movement.)
The main plot line, involving a young mouse boy named Fievel trying to find the family he was separated from, serves as a simple but effective hook to keep the audience engaged. The animation, as per usual with Don Bluth, is high quality, and also like most prime Bluth material, it does an effective job at playing with audiences' emotions like a fiddle, or more appropriately, like Papa Mousekewitz's violin. The way these elements, along with James Horner's gorgeous score, combine when Fievel finally reunites with his family at the end is just beautiful.
It definitely has more of its fair share of flaws and weak moments, including an overuse of the whole "just barely missed him" trope that can get tiresome after a while, and one of the single most forgettable, uninspired and underdeveloped villains in Don Bluth's filmography. I mean, say what you will about Fievel Goes West, but its baddie was a considerable improvement in every way. Plus, some of the plot elements could have been handled in a better or more satisfying manner. I actually read the novelization of An American Tail before seeing the movie version, and there are parts in the movie (like the sweatshop escape) that I do actually kinda wish were a little closer to the novelization. That said, there are definitely parts that the movie does better. (Comparing the feeble illustration of The Giant Mouse Of Minsk in the novelization with the frightening rotoscoped monstrosity in the movie is like comparing day and night!)
Overall, An American Tail isn't my favorite Don Bluth film, (that honor would go to The Secret Of NIMH,) but it does have enough good qualities to make it a charming enough feature that's worth a watch.