FoW: An American Tail

Welcome to the March Film of the Week series! In honor of Zootopia, now in theaters this weekend, I decided to look at some of the classic anthropomorphic animals of animation history. We'll start with Don Bluth's An American Tail, one of the many anthropomorphic mice movies in the 1980s and 1990s.

The tale of the Russian-Jewish Mousekewitz family of mice immigrating to the land of opportunity takes on an Oliver Twistian edge when young Fievel gets himself lost in New York. Don Bluth, with movies like The Secret of NIMH and The Land Before Time, is known for having a dark edge in family animation. The film starts with an arson-and-cat attack; arson from the humans, whose story runs parallel (another common theme in anthropomorphic mice tales), accompanied by a horde of cats attacking any and all mouse homes. This sparks the decision to emigrate where there are, supposedly, "no cats!"

The scenes on the boat are both endearing and fun to watch. After Mr. Mousekewitz tells the 'story' of America, one steeped more in myth than fact, a fabulous number emerges. Although most of the lyrics don't stick with me, the melody and chorus do: "There are no cats in America! And the streets are made of cheese! There are no cats in America! So set your mind at ease!" It's a cute and hopeful number, filled with cameos from other immigrants from other parts of the world, who have somehow all heard the same mythology. As Fievel is lost and the Mousekewitz family arrives in the city, they immediately find out how wrong they are. I never forget the mother's line after cats attack the neighborhood: "There are no cats in America? Hmm?"

Following Fievel's story, after being waylaid by Warren T. Rat to work in a sweatshop and consequently escaping with Dodger Tony Toponi, ends up being in the vicinity of his family for most of the movie, resulting in a significant amount of frustration for the audience. The film's animation holds a similar tone to Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, with detailed backgrounds and well-rounded characters. Warren T. Rat, as a villain, is a clever but arrogant conman, actually a cat, and extorts money from the mice in exchange for protection he doesn't actually provide. For the most part, he's a slimeball and not much more. His design, like most of the characters, allows for bipedal movement, human clothing, and opposable thumbs. If anything the cats were more of an anthropomorphic feat, as mice have been anthropomorphic since the dawn of Looney Tunes.

An American Tail is a classic and traditional take on anthropomorphic animals, as one of many focusing on mice or cats in a still human world. Check out the trailer above, or here.

Stay tuned for a movie adventure, top animated animal protagonists, and a new Film of the Week!