An American Tail

This film shows the story of the life of a family of Jewish-Russian mice who emigrate to New York City, believing that there are no cats in America. Once there, they immediately discover that there are indeed cats in America and plenty of them, and begin living in a typical late 19th/early 20th century immigrant manner: working in a sweatshop, living in horrible conditions, and paying the cats tribute as an alternative to being eaten. The film follows Fievel Mousekewitz (his first name comes from that of Steven Spielberg’s grandfather), who is separated from his family as the boat approaches America; the movie chronicles Fievel’s search for his family, and his struggle against the Cats, including, their money hungry leader, Warren T. Rat.

An American Tail is an allegory for the terrible conditions immigrants to the United States faced at the turn of the century (the mice represent the Jewish immigrants, and the cats their Anti-Semitic tormentors) and the film is similar in this respect to Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus. It also illustrates the hope (of a new, better life) that America represented to these immigrants at that time.

The ethnic and even religious backgrounds of characters are made somewhat starker than is normal in animation. This is most true in the case of Fievel’s family, but it is also true with other characters. For example, characters discuss their lives “back home” in Ireland, Sicily, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. Later, a dead mouse is shown clutching a rosary and a cross.

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