An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)

A family of Emigre mice decide to move out to the west, unaware that they are falling into a trap perpetrated by a smooth talking cat.

Directors:

Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells

Writers:

Flint Dille (screenplay), Charles Swenson (story)

Stars:

James Stewart, John Cleese, Amy Irving

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phillip Glasser	...	Fievel (voice)
James Stewart	...	Wylie (voice)
Erica Yohn	...	Mama (voice)
Cathy Cavadini	...	Tanya (voice)
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Papa (voice)
Dom DeLuise	...	Tiger (voice) (as Dom Deluise)
Amy Irving	...	Miss Kitty (voice)
John Cleese	...	Cat R. Waul (voice)
Jon Lovitz	...	Chula (voice)
Jack Angel	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Fausto Bara	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Vanna Bonta	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Philip L. Clarke	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Philip Clarke)
Jennifer Darling	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Annie Holliday	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

Some time after the Mousekewitz's have settled in America, they find that they are still having problems with the threat of cats. That makes them eager to try another home out in the west, where they are promised that mice and cats live in peace. Unfortunately, the one making this claim is an oily con artist named Cat R. Waul who is intent on his own sinister plan. Unaware of this, the Mousekewitz's begin their journey west, while their true cat friend, Tiger, follows intent on following his girlfriend gone in the same direction.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | character name in title | good versus evil | card game | cat | 

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Taglines:

Look out pardners, there's a new mouse in town!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Musical | Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fievel au Far West

Box Office

Gross USA:

$22,166,041

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,766,041

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Amblimation, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was released on the same day (November 22, 1991) as the Walt Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991).

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Goofs

When the mice are sitting in the audience/mouse trap, Tanya begins singing "The Star Spangled Banner". The movie takes place circa 1885, and although the words to the song were written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, the song was only used by the Navy in 1889, and didn't officially become the national anthem, and thereby most likely to be sung at public events, until 1931.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Fievel: And then, the hero Wylie Burp, squinted across the dusty street. Hopelessly, surrounded by the Cactus Cat gang, he stood his ground, refusing to back down.

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Crazy Credits

Instead of showing the traditional Amblin logo (the one of Elliot going on the bicycle and flying up to the moon) the logo says, "Amblimation" and Fievel is pushing it, then he stands next to it and his hat falls down over his eyes.

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Alternate Versions

In a televised airing of the movie on Universal Kids, the following scenes are edited: The scene when Fievel fights the Cactus Cat Gang in his fantasy, the scene goes from his voice over right to the bullet of the gun turning into the cap of his cap gun, therefore, leaving out the part where he takes down the gang by shooting them and Wylie Burp congratulating him. The scene where Cat R. Waul tries to find someone to entertain his gang of cats, and he lands on a fork springing him to where a couple is dining out and lands back on the stage, so the part where the fat lady is rubbing him into the cleavage of her bare breasts is cut out.

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Connections

Referenced in Making Out (2016)

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Soundtracks

Puttin' on the Ritz
(uncredited)
Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin
(the dancing buffalo bones sequence)

User Reviews

Cleese, Stewart, DeLuise, all good...

As far as animated movies go, this is one I enjoyed. The American Tail story takes on a classic western feel as Fievel and his family journey into the heart of the west. The real quality comes from John Cleese as the slimy conniving cat, and the late great James Stewart as Wylie Burp, the reserved town sheriff in the form of a bedraggled dog. A lot of the fun is the dynamic action humor of the last quarter. But, the big comedic boost for these movies is Dom DeLuise, who is just great as the overweight loveable cat. He's one of the reasons to see this.