An American Tail
Created by
Original workAn American Tail (1986)
Owner
Years1986–1999
Films and television
Film(s)
Animated seriesFievel's American Tails (1992)
Direct-to-video
Games
Video game(s)
Audio
Original music"Somewhere Out There"
"Dreams to Dream"
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s)An American Tail Theatre

An American Tail is a franchise based on the 1986 animated feature film of the same name directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios/Amblin Entertainment.

The franchise follows the adventures of Fievel Mousekewitz, a Russian-Jewish mouse immigrant to the United States in 1885. The franchise opened up several attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida including "Fievel's Playland" and "An American Tail Show".[1]

Media

Films

An American Tail

An American Tail is the original 1986 film which follows Fievel and his family as they immigrate from Russia to the United States and how he subsequently gets lost and aims to reunite with them.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 western sequel to An American Tail. This film has been exhibited four times at the Jimmy Stewart Museum since 2015,[2] a dedication to the late James Stewart in his final role.

An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island

An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island is a 1998 direct-to-video prequel as it explores darker themes unlike the past films. This film contributes Elaine Bilstad's final appearance, releasing it posthumously in the United States in early 2000.[3]

An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster

An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster is a 1999 direct-to-video prequel, released in the United States in mid 2000.[4]

Video games

An American Tail: The Computer Adventures of Fievel and His Friends

An American Tail: The Computer Adventures of Fievel and His Friends is a 1993 Microsoft DOS point-and-click adventure game developed by Capstone Software and Manley & Associates, Inc., based on both of the first two An American Tail films.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1994 Super NES video game based on the film of the same name.

An American Tail Movie Book

An American Tail Movie Book is a 1998 Interactive storybook for Windows and Macintosh developed by Wayforward Technologies and published by Sound Source Interactive.

An American Tail: Fievel's Gold Rush

An American Tail: Fievel's Gold Rush is a 2002 platform game for Game Boy Advance developed by Hokus-Pokus. It received mediocre reviews and is only formatted for younger players.[5]

An American Tail

An American Tail is a 2007 platform game developed by Data Design Interactive and published by Blast! Entertainment based on the film of the same name. It was released exclusively in Europe.[6] The game consists of ten levels and four bonus levels. In each level the player must guide Fievel on a preset path from start to finish. The player can collect stars or pieces of cheese along the way. Gameplay takes different forms in different levels, such as running in a bubble, riding the back of Henri the pigeon, parachuting downwards and others.[7] The game was noted for being a "rip-off" of Nintendo's Super Monkey Ball series and received largely unfavorable reception.[8]

Music

"Somewhere Out There"

"Somewhere Out There" is the theme song of An American Tail, performed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.

"Dreams to Dream"

"Dreams to Dream" is the theme song of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, performed by Linda Ronstadt.

Other

Fievel's American Tails

Fievel's American Tails is a 1992 spin-off TV series and continuation of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. This series remained abandoned after the release of the direct-to-video sequels until NBCUniversal regained rights to the series in 2020 and is now available on Peacock.[9]

An American Tail Theatre

An American Tail Theatre was a live stage show based on An American Tail: Fievel Goes West at various Universal Parks & Resorts theme parks that ran from 1990 to 1992.

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

Characters Films Television series
An American Tail An American Tail:
Fievel Goes West 		An American Tail:
The Treasure of Manhattan Island 		An American Tail:
The Mystery of the Night Monster 		Fievel's American Tails
1986 1991 1998 1999 1992
Fievel Mousekewitz Phillip Glasser Thomas Dekker Phillip Glasser
Tanya Mousekewitz Amy Green Cathy Cavadini Lacey Chabert Cathy Cavadini
Betsy CathcartS
Papa Mousekewitz Nehemiah Persoff Lloyd Battista
Mama Mouskewitz Erica Yohn Jane Singer Susan Silo
Tiger Dom DeLuise
Tony Toponi Pat Musick Silent cameo Pat Musick
Bridget Cathianne Blore
Honest John Neil Ross
Henri Christopher Plummer Silent cameo
Warren T. Cat John Finnegan
Digit Will Ryan
Gussie Mausheimer Madeline Kahn
Wylie Burp James Stewart
Cat R. Waul John Cleese Gerrit Graham
T.R. Chula Jon Lovitz Dan Castellaneta
Miss Kitty Amy Irving Cynthia Ferrer
Cholena Elaine Bilstad
Leeza MillerS
Chief Wulisso David Carradine
Dr. Dithering René Auberjonois
Mr. Grasping Ron Perlman
Scuttlebutt John Kassir
Police Chief McBrusque Sherman Howard
Nellie Brie Susan Boyd
Madame Mousey Candi Milo
Reed Daley Robert Hays
Twitch John Mariano
Slug Jeff Bennett
Lone Woof John Garry
Sweet William Silent cameo Kenneth Mars

Crew

Film Directed by Producer Written by Composer Editor
An American Tail Don Bluth Don Bluth
Gary Goldman
John Pomeroy 		screenplay:
Judy Freudberg & Tony Geiss
story:
David Kirschner
Judy Freudberg & Tony Geiss 		James Horner Dan Molina
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Phil Nibbelink
Simon Wells 		Steven Spielberg
Robert Watts 		screenplay:
Flint Dille
story:
Charles Swenson
creator:
David Kirschner 		Nick Fletcher
An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island Larry Latham Len Uhley Patrick Griffin
Michael Tavera 		Danik Thomas
An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster Michael Tavera

Critical response

Title Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
An American Tail 71% (28 reviews)[10] 38% (7 reviews)[11]
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West 60% (15 reviews)[12] —
An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island — —
An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster — —

References

  1. ^ "Reviews – No One Puts You in the Movies Like We Do!". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 9. August 1993. p. 94.
  2. ^ "Sunday Matinee – "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West"". The Jimmy Stewart Museum. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Eileen (December 25, 1999). "'Mummy' Shoots Universal's Sales Over $1 Bil.; Retailers Win with Sight and Sound". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52.
  4. ^ Nichols, Peter M. (July 28, 2000). "Home Video; It's a Sequel? O.K., I'll Take It". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  5. ^ "Fievel and the Lost Treasure". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Cowan, Danny (July 9, 2007). "Release This!". Gamasutra. UBM. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Gamespy – An American Tail". Gamespy. IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "An American Tail (2007) — Backloggd". Backloggd.com.
  9. ^ "Watch Fievel's American Tails on Peacock".
  10. ^ "An American Tail". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "An American Tail". Metacritic. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "An American Tail 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
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