“An American Tail” is a Steven Spielberg film, directed by Don Bluth. I wanted to like it, I really did. Knowing that the main characters were Jewish-Russian mice, I thought, “What’s not to love?” I’ve always been intrigued with the Jewish-Russian culture, one of my favorite movies is “Fiddler on the Roof,” and I even got to go to Russia as a teenager. I was prepared to enjoy.
I didn’t get anything I’d hoped for.
To start with, these mice have to leave their homes because the Cossacks have raided their village in a pogram. Our main characters, the Mousekewitz family, decide to immigrate to America, because they believe there are no cats in the USA. Thinking they are taking their children to safety, they board the boat and come across the ocean. Fievel, the son, becomes separated from his family, and the film basically revolves around trying to find each other again.
As the mice try to set up a life for themselves in America, they discover that they were mistaken about the cat-less-ness of the country, and are put in danger. They take jobs in a sweatshop, and the immigrant mice from all over the world meet to discuss the horrible conditions they faced in their home countries. Mafia, pograms, assassinations – you name it, it’s discussed.
In the end, Fievel and his family are reunited, so I guess that’s a happy ending, but you really have to wait a long time for things to look up. This was not a children’s movie, even though children were the targets. Now, don’t get me wrong – I understand that this film was Spielberg’s way of teaching children about world history and the things the immigrants have had to go through. I love history and believe that everyone should be educated about it. However, this movie broached subjects that are too heavy for a young child to bear. I would much rather have seen this film marketed to a pre-teen audience, rather than a child audience. Even thinking about such a young child lost and on his own is rather upsetting.
The one sweet moment I found in the film is the song “Somewhere Out There,” which you can still hear on the radio from time to time. Fievel and his sister sing it one night when they are feeling lonely, and it brings them a measure of peace in a frightening world.
This film was rated G.
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