An American Tail Movie Project

An American Tail (1986)

Director: Don Bluth

Performers:

Fievel Mousekewitz (Voice of Philip Glasser)

Papa Mousekewitz (Voice of Nehemia Persoff)

Mama Mouskewitz (Voice of Erica Yohn)

Tanya Mousekewitz (Voice of Amy Green)

Bridget (Voice of Cathianne Blore)

Digit (Voice of Will Ryan)

Gussie Mouseheimer (Voice of Madeline Kahn)

Henri the Pigeon (Voice of Christopher Plummer)

Honest John (Voice of Neil Ross)

Irish mouse on boat (Voice of Warren Hayes)

Italian mouse on boat (Voice of John Guarnieri)

Moe (Voice of Hal Smith)

Tiger (Voice of Dom DeLuise)

Tony Toponi (Voice of Pat Musick)

Warren T. Rat (Voice of John Finnegan)

Summary

Fievel Mousekewitz and his family (who are mice), who are from Russia run away from their homeland in the late 1800s, and board a boat headed for America to escape the Czarist rule of the Russian cats. Fievel, however, is separated from his family upon his arrival in New York Harbor. While he’s searching for his family throughout NYC, he discovers that there are cats in America too (his father said there weren't). Fievel meets a variety of friendly and hostile mice, and learns the ins and outs of NYC and how to survive as an immigrant. Eventually he makes friends with a cat named Tiger and together, along with others, Fievel finds his family and lives happily ever after.

This is an immigration movie geared towards kids to show and teach them about immigration to America. It shows them the reasons they (the Mousekewitz) left their homeland Russia to come to America. In their case it was to escape the Czarist rule of the cats, parallel to most immigrants who escaped their land due to religious and political persecution. Once aboard the ship to America, it showed the long and unpleasant trip to New York Harbor, where in this movie, Fievel gets separated from his family to inclimate weather. Once they arrive in New York Harbor, it shows children the happiness immigrants got when they saw the statue of liberty and the process through Ellis Island to become a citizen of America. The rest of the movie takes place in America where it shows “political machines”, such as Warren T. Rat, who really is a cat but takes advantage of new immigrants by dressing as a mouse and receiving the mice’s trust. With trust came their money and broken promises, just as “political machines” really did back then. The movie shows the immigrants hardships and poor living conditions in America with tenement housing and unsanitary conditions. This is a typical coming to America immigration movie, showing with