Fievel Goes West

''An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (also known as ''An American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West'' or ''An American Tail II'') is a 1991 American-British animated Western comedy film directed by Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells (in their feature directorial debuts), with producer Steven Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment and animated by his Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. A sequel to 1986's ''An American Tail'', the film follows the story of the Mousekewitzes, a family of Russian-Jewish mice who emigrate to the Wild West. In it, Fievel is separated from his family as the train approaches the American Old West; the film chronicles him and Sheriff Wylie Burp teaching Tiger how to act like a dog.

''Fievel Goes West'' was the first production for the short-lived Amblimation, a studio Spielberg set up to keep the animators of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988) working. It is also the only Amblimation film to use cel animation, the last in the series to do so, and the last to be released in theaters. While the animation medium was transitioning to computers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Spielberg wanted almost all of the animation of ''Fievel Goes West'' to be hand-drawn, describing animation as "an arts-and-crafts business". He also wanted the animation to have a "live-action" feel. Phillip Glasser, Dom DeLuise, Nehemiah Persoff, and Erica Yohn reprise their roles from the first film for ''Fievel Goes West''. Tanya's original voice actor, Amy Green, was replaced by Cathy Cavadini, and new characters were voiced by John Cleese, Amy Irving, Jon Lovitz, and James Stewart in his final film role. James Horner returned as a composer and wrote the film's song "Dreams to Dream", which garnered a Golden Globe nomination.

Premiering at the Kennedy Center on November 17, 1991, ''An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' began its American theatrical run on November 22. This was the same day Walt Disney Pictures' ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991) was distributed, making it the third instance of two animated films being released on the same date. ''Fievel Goes West'' was promoted with a wide array of tie-ins and started in the top ten at the box office. The film grossed $22 million in the United States against a budget of $16 million. Some film journalists and executives attributed this to having to compete with the Disney film.

Upon its release, ''Fievel Goes West'' was panned for a lack of perceived innovation compared to other animated films of its time. However, it found success when it came to home video sales, quickly reaching the top of the video charts when released on tape in March 1992; at the time, the film held the record for shortest theater-to-home-video transfer and it has since gained a large cult following. In addition to garnering more home media releases, TV airings, and video game adaptations later on, the film has made numerous 2010s retrospective best-of lists from online publications, especially best Netflix-available Western films. ''Fievel Goes West'' was followed by a short-lived CBS series named ''Fievel's American Tails'' and two direct-to-video sequels and prequels: '' An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' (1998) and '' An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster'' (1999).

Plot

In 1890, five years after immigrating to the United States, the impoverished Mousekewitz family discovers that conditions are not as ideal as they had hoped, as they find themselves still struggling against the attacks of mouse-hungry cats. Fievel spends his days thinking about a bloodhound-sheriff named Wylie Burp, while Tanya dreams of becoming a singer. Meanwhile, Tiger's girlfriend, Miss Kitty, leaves him to find a new life out west, remarking that perhaps she is looking for "a cat that's more like a dog".

A British aristocratic cat named Cat R. Waul launches an attack on the mice, forcing them to flee into the sewers. There, they come across a cowboy mouse, who is in fact a marionette controlled by Cat R. Waul, who tricks the mice into moving to a better life out west. Tiger tries catching up with his friends, but is thrown off course by a group of dogs. While on the train, Fievel wanders into the livestock car, where he overhears the cats' intentions to turn the mice into "mouse burgers". After being discovered, Fievel tries to flee but Cat R. Waul has his hench-spider, T.R. Chula, strand Fievel in the middle of the desert. Devastated once again over his loss, his family arrives in Green River, Utah.

Upon arrival in Green River, Chula blocks up the water tower, drying up the river. Cat R. Waul approaches the mice and proposes to build a new saloon together, although intending to trick the mice into doing the bulk of the work and then eat them afterwards. Meanwhile, Fievel is wandering aimlessly through the desert, as is Tiger, who has found his way out west as well, and they pass each other. However, they each figure that the other is a mirage and continue on their separate ways. Tiger is captured by a local mouse native tribe and hailed as a god. Fievel is picked up by a hawk, dropped over the mouse native village and reunites with Tiger. Tiger chooses to stay in while Fievel catches a passing tumbleweed, which takes him to Green River. He reunites with his family, but they are oblivious to Cat R. Waul's plans. Entering the saloon, Fievel overhears the cats' plan yet again and is discovered once more by Cat R. Waul. Cat R. Waul tries eating Fievel, but is thwarted when he hears Tanya singing. He sends Tanya to Miss Kitty, who is now a saloon-girl cat and she reveals that she came at Cat R. Waul's request. He tells Miss Kitty to put her on stage and Tanya performs for the cats. Meanwhile, Fievel is chased by Chula and briefly taken prisoner, but flees.

Despondent, Fievel speaks with an elderly bloodhound sleeping outside the jail, discovering he is actually Wylie Burp. Fievel convinces him to help and train Tiger as a lawman and as a dog. Though initially reluctant, Tiger relents at the suggestion that a new persona might win back Miss Kitty. They return to Green River to fight the cats, who attempt to use a concealed giant mouse trap on the mice at sunset during the opening of Cat R. Waul's saloon. Tiger, Wylie and Fievel fight the cats, during which Miss Kitty and Tanya discover the trap. Tanya rushes to the mice and, using her singing abilities, helps them escape. Seeing this, Cat R. Waul uses a giant revolver as a makeshift cannon on the fleeing mice, but Wylie has Fievel intercept from Cat R. Waul's attacks. When Chula takes Miss Kitty hostage, however, an incensed Tiger rescues her and the heroes use the mouse trap as a catapult to send Cat R. Waul and his cats out of Green River. The cats fly into the air and land into a mailbag, which a passing train picks up and leaves.

Enamored by his new personality, Miss Kitty and Tiger are reunited. Tanya becomes a famous singer and the water tower flows with 1,000 gallons of water again, making Green River bloom with thousands of flowers. Fievel finds Wylie away from the party who hands him his sheriff badge. Fievel is unsure about taking it, but realizes that his journey is not over.

Cast

* Phillip Glasser as Fievel Mousekewitz
* Cathy Cavadini as Tanya Mousekewitz
* Dom DeLuise as Tiger
* Amy Irving as Miss Kitty
* James Stewart as Wylie Burp
* John Cleese as Cat R. Waul
* Jon Lovitz as T.R. Chula
* Nehemiah Persoff as Papa Mousekewitz
* Erica Yohn as Mama Mousekewitz
* Patrick Pinney as One Eye
* Jack Angel as Frenchy
* David Tate as additional voices

Production

Development

A sequel to Steven Spielberg's ''An American Tail'' (1986) under the working title ''An American Tail II'' was put into pre-production by David Kirschner in April 1988 after he finished producing '' Child's Play'' (1988); when announcing the project that same month, he summarized that Fievel will "fight the cat-tle barons. It's like a John Ford western with Jewish mice". Kirschner started pre-production as Spielberg was setting up filming for '' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989) in Europe. He was not involved in the production and post-production, and admitted in 1993 that he disliked ''Fievel Goes West'' as "entertainment without character". The screenplay was written by Flint Dille, who was led to the position by writing for Spielberg's ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' (1990–92).

Spielberg produced the live-action animated film ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), which was the top grossing motion picture of 1988. As a way to keep the movie's animators working, due to the closure of Richard Williams Animation, Spielberg formed Amblimation, a collaboration of Universal City Studios and Amblin Entertainment, whose offices were located in London. ''Fievel Goes West'' was its first production, and over 250 crew members from 15 different nations worked on the project starting May 1989. At the time, Amblimation was also developing '' We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' (1993), ''Balto'' (1995), and a screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Cats'' which never saw completion. In December 1988, Universal announced that they would release an animated film every eighteen months and begin production on ''An American Tail II'' in early 1989.

Don Bluth, who had partnered with Spielberg on both the original film and ''The Land Before Time'' (1988), was set to direct and have Sullivan Bluth Studios provide the animation; owing to creative differences, however, they parted ways. As Bluth explained, "the business deal wasn't such that it helped our company". With no Bluth in sight for the sequel, Spielberg instead relied on ex-Disney animator Phil Nibbelink and ex-Richard Williams storyboard artist Simon Wells, the great-grandson of science-fiction author H. G. Wells