Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 5, 2017

Some films and film series or franchises seem almost uncanny in how they remain relevant and perhaps even timeless decades after their release. Maybe it's not a surprise that a film series that deals with immigration and migration has become one of them. Beginning with 1986's An American Tail, which dealt with an immigrant mouse family moving to the United States in search of a better life, and its 1991 sequel An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, which sees the family questioning its move and looking for a better life away from its east coast city home to the promise (and heat) of the American West, the films offered both easy-access and humorously charming infusions of the history and culture while embodying the adversities and successes of immigrants into the United States and, in the sequel, the migration westward in search of an even better life. While both are decidedly children's fare, the films have much to offer beyond their entertainment value, if nothing else a fascinating microcosm of the world as it was, filled with an adventurous spirt and a counterbalancing funny bone that keeps the films light enough for the kids but serious enough for the adults, too.

Fievel (voiced by Phillip Glasser) and his immigrant family -- sister Tanya (voiced by Cathy Cavadini), father (voiced by Nehemiah Persoff), and mother (voiced by Erica Yohn) -- are beginning to question their move to America. While Fievel dreams of big of adventure in the wide-open American west, his sister's dream of singing is discouraged by her parents and met coldly by her neighbors. Father laments leaving the old country behind, where hard work and his violin both payed more dividends. When the cats attack and the family is nearly killed, they are led -- perhaps by fortune, perhaps by nefarious nudging -- to a gathering of mice hearing a pitch about the safety and prosperity of the American West, where cats don't bother mice but instead live in harmony with them. With that, the family packs its bags, hops a train, and sets out for a new life. But little do they know that the move is a ruse to slaughter all of the migrating mice. It'll take Fievel's passion, Tiger's (voiced by Dom DeLuise) growing courage, and Sheriff Wylie Burp's (voiced by Jimmy Stewart) experience to save the day.

Fievel Goes West might wind up a fairly cheery and funny little film, but it's unafraid of pushing boundaries and showcasing some emotionally dark elements and frightening moments along the way. Beyond even the cat-and-mouse antics, which often rise above the level of playful comedy and showcase real danger (at one point many mice are threatened to be squished, and in another in the same sequence a life-sized Old West six-shooter is brought into the mix) that gives the material added weight, the movie is tonally dark, particularly in its first act and even later as Fievel, at one point lost from his family and left seemingly to die in the barren desert, suffers from extreme dehydration and hallucinations. That's balanced out by Tiger, the fat, friendly cat who follows the family out West, who is also, more comically, suffering from the same problems, and at one point is nearly cooked for dinner. The film, like many more classic animated features, still manages to strike that balance of dark but narratively purposeful tone with light and amiable humor.

The film finds added success beyond its tone and story, featuring an A-list voice cast and impressive visuals. Veterans Jimmy Stewart and Dom DeLuise are the film's unquestioned heart and soul, respectively, the former brining life to an aged hero who helps Fievel mature and find courage through the film's final act and the latter adding just the right mix of spirit and comic relief to the film. Theirs are two of the film's finest characters and, arguably along with Fievel, the critical cogs that make it work as well as it does. The movie is richly textured as well. There's a stark contrast between the cold, black, blue, and gray city exteriors and the burning-hot earthy shades that give shape to the West. Both areas, and its title geographical point in particular, make wonderful use of little odds and ends that bring the mouse world closer to home, organically integrated with the "people world" around it. It's not simply boxes and sardine cans but a treasure trove of detail that serves as either key plot elements or just well designed background details that bring the movie to enjoyably complex and believable life.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West follows up on Universal's poorly received presentation of the original with another problematic image. Most noticeably, the presentation suffers from a steady barrage of speckles, pops, and scratches. Grain appears wildly uneven as well, frozen across backgrounds, clumpy in spots, and sometimes finding a pleasing organic middle ground. A number of softer shots are scattered throughout. Lines are occasionally jagged and contrast sometimes fluctuates with movement, but some of this appears inherent to the source rather than a fault of the print or transfer itself. The movie looks decent for the most part, at least at-a-glance, and it's certainly a step up from those well-worn standard definition copies and television presentations of yore. Colors are adequately lively, particularly early on as bright oranges, reds, and blues contrast against the dreary big city blacks, blues, and grays. Image clarity holds firm and detailing is solid, generally. The movie looks terrible at times, good at others, but usually falls into no-man's land in between the extremes for the duration.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West migrates onto Blu-ray with an enjoyable, though certainly imperfect, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation frequently takes advantage of the channels at its disposal. While clarity is never top-rated, effort almost always is. Width and depth come easy, enhancing various scenes and elements, whether music, action, or ambience. There's a fun whiplash effect across the stage as the film's title appears on-screen. Examples of dialogue reverberation are apparent, too, such as during the "sales pitch" in the sewer early in the picture. Fireworks explode through the stage midway through with hefty oomph though certainly not transparently lifelike definition. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized form its comfortable front-center position.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West contains no supplemental content. No top menu is included. Subtitles may be turned on or off in-film via a crude pop-up menu.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a fun little sequel that may lack the more serious nature of the first but that still explores a timely issue (timely in the film's time period, when it was made, today, and certainly in the future) while injecting it with plenty of fun along the way. Even at its most tonally dark, the movie maintains an appreciable levity that carries it through and makes it a fun Family film that's withstood the test of time. Universal's Blu-ray is disappointingly featureless and disappointingly a struggle in the video department. Audio, however, is fine. Recommended.