High Fievel

An American Tail (1986)

Rating: G

Runtime: 80 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 101 million (approximately)

Characters: Fievel Mousekewitz, Papa Mousekewitz, Mama Mousekewitz, Tanya Mousekewitz, Baby Mousekewitz, Henri, Tony Toponi, Bridget, Warren T. Rat, Digit, Tiger, Honest John, Gussie Mausheimer, Moe

Cool Stuff: Fievel’s hat

Cool Music: “Somewhere Out There”

Cool Quote: Fievel is cute, but he never says anything cool

Yay, an animated movie to review! The first 20 movies on my ’80s movie list were live action; this, after watching 52 Disney movies for my last blog tournament, and Space Jam for my first blog tournament ... so it’s nice to get back to some animation. Fievel Mousekewitz is pretty cute. He has big ears and cries for his Papa a lot. Toni Toponi is a street-tough mouse who helps Fievel (or Filly, as Tony calls him) look for his family. Warren T. Rat is the leader of the Mott Street Maulers (great name for a gang) and isn’t quite who he says he is.... The coolest thing in the movie, other than the song (we will get to that) is Fievel’s hat. It is obviously too big for his head, which makes him that much cuter. If only he didn’t misplace it all the time ... which worked out fine because it seemed to always find him.

Oh how I love the song “Somewhere Out There”. It is an ’80s love song at its finest. In the movie, Fievel and his sister Tanya sing this song “to each other” while staring at the moon, because you never know when the ones you love might be wishing on the same bright star or sleeping underneath the same big sky. Fievel says a lot of cute things in the movie, but there isn’t really a great quote from the movie. Though I did learn that there are no cats in America and to never say never.

So like I said, it is great to get back to an animated movie. Other than The Little Mermaid (last year’s Salty Chewbacca Cinderella Cinema Tournament Challenge champion), Disney movies from the ’80s were either okay (The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective) or bad (The Black Cauldron, Oliver & Company). Don Bluth does have another animated movie that I will be watching/reviewing for my blog (The Land Before Time), so it will be interesting to see which one advances further in my bracket.

Next movie to review: Lethal Weapon