An American Tail
3/4
Starring (voices): Philip Glasser, Nehemiah Persoff, Amy Green, Erica Yohn, John Finnegan
Rated G
The pairing of Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth, two of the best filmmakers of family entertainment in the 1980s seems like a match made in heaven. The truth is that its a little bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed "An American Tail," and I loved it as a kid. But compared to some of their other works, it's not as good as it should have been.
The Mousekewitz family, Papa (Persoff), Mama (Yohn), Tanya (Green) and Fievel (Glasser) are Russian-Jewish mice living in constant fear. Due to the political turmoil, and more importantly, the threat of cats, they have made the decision to emigrate to America...the land of the free and no cats. On the journey, the curious Fievel gets tossed overboard during a storm, and his family believes him to be dead. But little Fievel is not dead, and he arrives at America and begins to navigate the complex immigrant culture searching for his family.
Don Bluth is one of the most imaginative storytellers in the film world. He peppers the story with little details about what it was like for immigrants at the turn of the century, and includes a little bit of historical satire. That's a good thing, because the story is too bland for a feature film, even one as short as this. The script relies too much on close calls where Fievel almost runs into his family. There are plenty of other directions that it could have gone, but it stays safe.
The voices are effective. Philip Glasser is good as the spunky Fievel, making us believe in the young character. He's cute, but not irrepressibly so, and Glasser's vocal performance is strong enough that we're with him for the whole journey. Persoff makes for a good Papa, playing him with energy and melancholy. The other actors are good, but no one else has more than token time.
I'm giving this movie three stars instead of the two-and-a-half it probably deserves for a few reasons: one, nostalgia. I used to love this movie as a kid, and I have no doubt that other young ones will too. It would be a shame for me to deny them this pleasure simply because I outgrew it. Two, there are a lot of good things about it. The songs are moderately catchy (despite the fact that Glasser lacks a good singing voice) and the subplot involving the cats its is fun.
Look, a great film this isn't. But if you're looking for a movie to watch with your kids, this is a good pick.
Starring (voices): Philip Glasser, Nehemiah Persoff, Amy Green, Erica Yohn, John Finnegan
Rated G
The pairing of Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth, two of the best filmmakers of family entertainment in the 1980s seems like a match made in heaven. The truth is that its a little bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed "An American Tail," and I loved it as a kid. But compared to some of their other works, it's not as good as it should have been.
The Mousekewitz family, Papa (Persoff), Mama (Yohn), Tanya (Green) and Fievel (Glasser) are Russian-Jewish mice living in constant fear. Due to the political turmoil, and more importantly, the threat of cats, they have made the decision to emigrate to America...the land of the free and no cats. On the journey, the curious Fievel gets tossed overboard during a storm, and his family believes him to be dead. But little Fievel is not dead, and he arrives at America and begins to navigate the complex immigrant culture searching for his family.
Don Bluth is one of the most imaginative storytellers in the film world. He peppers the story with little details about what it was like for immigrants at the turn of the century, and includes a little bit of historical satire. That's a good thing, because the story is too bland for a feature film, even one as short as this. The script relies too much on close calls where Fievel almost runs into his family. There are plenty of other directions that it could have gone, but it stays safe.
The voices are effective. Philip Glasser is good as the spunky Fievel, making us believe in the young character. He's cute, but not irrepressibly so, and Glasser's vocal performance is strong enough that we're with him for the whole journey. Persoff makes for a good Papa, playing him with energy and melancholy. The other actors are good, but no one else has more than token time.
I'm giving this movie three stars instead of the two-and-a-half it probably deserves for a few reasons: one, nostalgia. I used to love this movie as a kid, and I have no doubt that other young ones will too. It would be a shame for me to deny them this pleasure simply because I outgrew it. Two, there are a lot of good things about it. The songs are moderately catchy (despite the fact that Glasser lacks a good singing voice) and the subplot involving the cats its is fun.
Look, a great film this isn't. But if you're looking for a movie to watch with your kids, this is a good pick.
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