As a kid, An American Tail was a fun story about mice, living about a century in the past.
As an adult, and a student of history, I've come to appreciate AAT in a new light. The first film and the sequel (I haven't seen any of the direct to video movies) may be about animated, talking, rodents, but they do a very good job of capturing the experience of many people who emigrated to America in the 19th and early 20th century—and NOT the rosy, Hallmark-card version, either. Fievel and his family decide to emigrate to America after a brutal attack on their homeland, where they find that most of the promises about what America has to offer to new arrivals are empty. The second film follows on that theme: Fievel and his family are lured out West by the promise of open space and peace with the cats, but are instead tricked into forced labor.
These two movies reminded me a lot of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, but with more of a focus on enduring familial bonds than gross-out details and a happier ending. Put aside the fact that this is animated and the main characters are mice, and you have a very honest look and the kind of life that many American immigrants lived.
The two movies have some great voice acting cameos, to boot.
Aimed at kids, but a solid period peice.
As a kid, An American Tail was a fun story about mice, living about a century in the past.
As an adult, and a student of history, I've come to appreciate AAT in a new light. The first film and the sequel (I haven't seen any of the direct to video movies) may be about animated, talking, rodents, but they do a very good job of capturing the experience of many people who emigrated to America in the 19th and early 20th century—and NOT the rosy, Hallmark-card version, either. Fievel and his family decide to emigrate to America after a brutal attack on their homeland, where they find that most of the promises about what America has to offer to new arrivals are empty. The second film follows on that theme: Fievel and his family are lured out West by the promise of open space and peace with the cats, but are instead tricked into forced labor.
These two movies reminded me a lot of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, but with more of a focus on enduring familial bonds than gross-out details and a happier ending. Put aside the fact that this is animated and the main characters are mice, and you have a very honest look and the kind of life that many American immigrants lived.
The two movies have some great voice acting cameos, to boot.