An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| An American Tail: Fievel Goes West | |
|---|---|
 An American Tail: Fievel Goes West movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Phil Nibbelink Simon Wells |
| Produced by | Steven Spielberg Robert Watts |
| Written by | Flint Dille David Kirschner (creator) Charles Swenson (story) |
| Starring | Phillip Glasser James Stewart Erica Yohn Cathy Cavadini Nehemiah Persoff Dom DeLuise Amy Irving John Cleese Jon Lovitz |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Editing by | Nick Fletcher |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 22, 1991 |
| Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | An American Tail |
| Followed by | An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island |
| IMDb profile | |
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is an animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, presented by Universal Pictures and originally released to movie theatres in 1991. It is the sequel to An American Tail. Don Bluth, the original film's director, had no involvement with this film. Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells directed this film and were the two different directors of the two movies We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story and Balto. The film follows the story of a family of Jewish-Russian mice who emigrate to the Wild West. In the film, Fievel Mousekewitz is separated from his family as the train approaches the American Old West; the film chronicles Fievel and Sheriff Wylie Burp teaching Tiger how to act like a dog. Fievel Goes West is the sole theatrical sequel to 1986's An American Tail, although there were later two direct-to-video sequels, the first of which, An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, took place before this film.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Fievel and his family are finding that America isn't exactly "paved with cheese" as they once thought. They are poor and living in the slums of Brooklyn. Fievel spends his days dreaming about fighting side-by-side in the old west with Dog-Sheriff Wylie Burp, while his sister Tanya still dreams of stardom. Meanwhile Tiger the cat is upset when his girlfriend, the smart-aleck Miss Kitty wants "a cat that's more like a dog" and heads out West on a passing carriage(it should be noted several references to Casablanca occur here, including the famous line "Here's Looking at You, Kid"). Shortly after, the devious Cat R. Waul and his band of mouse-hungry felines (and a spider, Chula), attack the mouse ghetto under the instruction of "Plenty of violence...but no eating." Tiger falls into a trash can, while the mice are all driven into the sewer, including the Mousekewitz family. In the sewer, Cat R. Waul (via mouse-cowpoke marionette) is selling tickets to a town called Green River. All the mice seem interested, and everyone manages to get train tickets ("Way Out West").
The next day, Tiger finds a note in Fievel's house which says that Fievel and his family has moved out West. Before the train won't want to wait, Fievel, Tanya, Yasha, Mama, and Papa, and the other mice are getting on it. Desperate to catch up to his little buddy, Tiger braves dozens of dogs to catch Fievel's train. When the train that Fievel and the Mousekewitz family and the mice are on crosses the bridge over the river, Tiger suddenly falls off of the bridge and lands into the river. He manages to climb onto the caboose, only to be chased off again by another dog. That night, Fievel wanders into the livestock car, where he overhears the cats devising their plan...to get the mice to slave for the cats (they would have the mice unknowingly build a mousetrap for them), then to turn them into "mouse burgers." Cat R. Waul finds Fievel and releases him, practicing willpower of eating mice, only to command Chula the spider to throw him overboard, and Fievel lands in the desert. The Mousekewitzes are heartbroken over the loss of Fievel and aren't happy when they arrive at Green River. They settle by the water tower, which Chula plugs up. Cat R Waul then encourages the mice to help him build an empire underneath the town's saloon.
Meanwhile, Fievel is wandering aimlessly through the desert, as is Tiger, who has found his way out west as well. They see each other, but assume they are just imagined. Tiger is captured by mouse Indians and is seen roasting over a fire. But the Indian Chief sees a sign in a cliff that Tiger is meant to be their god. Fievel, in the meantime, is picked up by a hungry hawk and dropped over the mouse Indian village and reunited with Tiger. Tiger chooses to stay in the Indian village, but via tumbleweed, Fievel finally makes it to Green River and once again finds his Mousekewitz family that he is with. However, to his dismay, no one believes that Cat R Waul is plotting to eat the mice.
Fievel makes his way inside the saloon and discovers that the cat's "mouse burger" plot is all too true and it will happen next sundown. Again, Fievel is discovered by Cat R Waul and trapped in a bottle by Chula, who tries to cook him over a candle. Meanwhile, as Cat R Waul searches for entertainment for the saloon, he happens to hear Tanya, Fievel's older sister, singing while working, and he's enchanted by her sweet voice ("Dreams to Dream"). He sends Tanya to Miss Kitty, who's now a saloon-girl cat in Cat R Waul's saloon. She reveals that she didn't come out west by her own will, but at the request of Cat R Waul. Cat R Waul tells Miss Kitty to put Tanya on stage. Tanya, of course, had stage fright now that her dream is coming true. With a little encouragement from Miss Kitty, Tanya pulls off a great performance for the cats, who all had the same reaction as Cat R Waul when they heard her sing ("The Girl You Left Behind"). Fievel has escaped from Chula and tries to tell Tanya to run from the cats, but Tanya has become an admired saloon mouse and refuses to leave. Fievel, out of ideas, sadly leaves the saloon.
While walking out of town, Fievel stops to talk with an old hound sleeping outside the jail. Fievel discovers that the dog is the one and only Wylie Burp, but discouraged to find out he's an old hound with no energy left to go on. But Wylie changes his mind and tells Fievel to find a young dog to whom he can teach to fight alongside him. Fievel, instead, goes to Tiger in the Indian village. Tiger refuses to become a dog. But when Fievel reminds Tiger of Miss Kitty wanting a "cat that's more like a dog," Tiger volunteers. Tiger at first won't listen to Wylie's teaching, claiming "I...am a GOD!" But soon enough, Tiger is trained and becomes just like Wylie. The trio: Wylie, Tiger, and Fievel go back to Green River to fight the cats, who had scheduled to kill the mice via giant mouse trap at sunset.
At Green River, the mouse trap as been disguised as bleachers for a ceremony for the opening of the saloon, and all the mice have been hoarded on the mousetrap (save Tanya, who has been protected by Cat R. Waul and is instead sitting on a balcony with Miss Kitty above the scene). Tiger fires a slingshot at Cat R. Waul just as he is about to trigger the mousetrap. Tanya then realizes it is indeed a mousetrap and climbs onto it and warns the mice to run. Hesitant to "squash the diva," Cat R. Waul scares the mice off the mousetrap. The trio of heroes are systematically beating the cats until Miss Kitty is captured by Chula. Tiger then goes mad with his inner dog and does Chula and the rest of the cats in. Fievel then triggers the mousetrap, which sends the cats hurdling into the air and onto an eastbound train, never to be seen again by Tiger, Miss Kitty, Wylie, and the Mousekewitz family (including Fievel and Tanya). A woman on the train grabs Cat R. Waul and plans to keep him; whom is very unhappy about this; "forever and ever" as she dressed him up.
The mice have been saved and celebrate. Miss Kitty and Tiger get back together, Tanya had finally become a famous singer, and the water tower flows with water again, making Green River bloom with flowers. Fievel finds Wylie Burp away from the party. Just like in the beginning of the movie, where Fievel is handed a Sheriff badge in his dream, Wylie gives Fievel his own Sheriff badge and tells him that one man's sunset is another man's dawn.
[edit] Characters
- Fievel Mousekewitz (voiced by Phillip Glasser): A little mouse with a cowboy hat on his head.
- Tanya Mousekewitz (voiced by Cathy Cavadini): Fievel's sister.
- Mama & Papa Mousekewitz (voiced by Erica Yohn and Nehemiah Persoff): Fievel's parents
- Yasha Mousekewitz (not voiced): Fievel's baby sister.
- Tiger (voiced by Dom DeLuise): The only cat friend of the Jewish-Russian mouse family.
- Miss Kitty (voiced by Amy Irving): Tiger's girlfriend.
- Wylie Burp (voiced by James Stewart): The aging lawdog of Green River, and Fievel's idol.
- Cat R. Waul (voiced by John Cleese): Fievel's arch-nemesis.
- Chula the Tarantula (voiced by Jon Lovitz): Fievel's other arch-nemesis, and Cat R. Waul's sidekick.
[edit] Trivia
- Unusually, this film opened theatrically in the United States on the same day as another animated feature, Disney's Beauty and the Beast; both opened on November 22, 1991, and eventually, Beauty and the Beast grossed more gain more positive feedback than this film.
- The film contains James Stewart's last performance before his death.
- The Frankie Laine song Rawhide is played at the tumbleweed scene of this film.
- In addition to a new voice actress, the character of Tanya was heavily redesigned as well.
- In an all-too-brief shot during the Cat raid on the mice slums, Tony and Bridget are briefly seen careering into a sewer on a rollerskate with three children. This seems to suggest that Bridget and Tony had married by now and had had children.
[edit] Sequels and spinoffs
The sequel followed An American Tail and was followed by the television series Fievel's American Tails, and two direct-to-video sequels: An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island and An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster. Most viewers consider the first film to be the best in the series. Fievel later served as the mascot for Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, appearing in its production logo. There is also a Fievel-themed playground at Universal Studios Florida, featuring a large water slide and many over-sized objects such as books, glasses, cowboy boots, and more. It is the only such playground at any of NBC Universal's theme parks.
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack includes a James Horner song "Dreams to Dream", which was nominated for a Golden Globe award.
[edit] Soundtrack album track listing
- Dreams to Dream (Finale Version) - Linda Ronstadt
- American Tail Overture (Main Title)
- Cat Rumble
- Headin' Out West
- Way Out West
- Green River/Trek Through the Desert
- Dreams to Dream (Tanya's Version) - Cathy Cavadini
- Building A New Town
- Sacred Mountain
- Reminiscing
- The Girl You Left Behind - Cathy Cavadini
- In Training
- The Shoot-Out
- A New Land/The Future
