Customer Reviews

American Tail [VHS]

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How do you feel when you learn that one of your favorite films is to be released on DVD?

Of course, you feel very happy.

And what is your reaction when you finally got it? Well, there can be two:

1) This is great! A remastered version presented in widescreen! And all is just like I remember it, only better! And look at all those special features!

2) What... what is this?!

My reaction with An American Tail DVD was #2. Because what I got was a #2 job.

Here is a short and easy-to-follow guide for every studio out there, that is planning to release a movie on DVD:

1. Do not make unnecessary changes.
2. Do not make unnecessary edits.
3. If it was a theatrical feature, present it in widescreen.

Do you think Universal followed those easy steps?

Nope.

Here is an incomplete list of changes (without spoilers):

-New "humorous" sound effects were added to scenes where originally there weren't any. It's not funny.
-New voices were added to scenes without dialog (or any noise, for that matter).
-The alley mice's voices were re-dubbed. Why???
-The cover art was changes from a beautiful theatrical poster by Drew Struzan, only to be replaced with... something MUCH less appealing.

As I said, this small list of changes is incomplete. There is more.

It should be mentioned that there is also no widescreen. Enjoy your fullscreen! And do not forget to also enjoy the complete lack of any real special features to speak of!


An American Tail is a film that combines the talents of Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth. It was the first animated feature ever to out-compete Disney. It won several awards, including a Grammy for "best song". It was screened at the Jewish Film Festival in Atlanta in February 2011 to celebrate its 25 year anniversary. It was a film that grossed $84,000,000 worldwide (a record for animation at that time).


And THIS is how you treat such a film, Universal?! I cannot hear you, Universal!~!

Since I have already written a review back in spring of 2001 that touches on the brilliance of this animated treasure, this review will focus primarily on the newly released DVD of the film.

I for one, was certainly thrilled to learn that Universal was finally giving Fievel the coveted DVD treatment, and anticipated its release on the format each day since. Yes, features are scarce, and yes, the film is presented in full frame only, but the way I see it, having An American Tail on DVD at all is a milestone for me, since it is a title I have yearned for since the early days of the format. Do not get me wrong, I am a VERY strong supporter of original aspect ratio on home video, but An American Tail is not exactly a film that cries out for the anamorphic widescreen treatment. In this case, its omission does not really detract from the experience. But then again, maybe I am being slightly biased about this film, having seen it once as child, loved it, and becoming hooked on it ever since.

As far as the picture quality is concerned, aside from the image being full frame, I was actually rather impressed. I was not expecting the image to be quite so crisp and clear. There were a few more speckles of film dirt then I thought should have been there, but for a film nearing twenty years old, it was still a good deal better than I was expecting. Clarity was most definitely improved over the VHS versions, and colors were strong and nice-looking.

The sound is also pretty great. I listened to the DTS 5.1 soundtrack on my surround system, and it is, without a doubt, the best I have ever heard this film. However, those of you who have seen American Tail numerous times over (as I have) are bound to notice changes in some of the dialogue as compared to past video releases. In teh opening titles, for example, as we approach the Mousewitz home, laughter is now heard inside the humans' cottage where, on the VHS release, all that can be heard is James Horner's soundtrack. Also, new or never-before-heard of dialogue have been spliced into the film throughtout. Th emost noteable instances of this are during the scenes when Fievel is trapped in a birdcage, crying, just before he meets Tiger. Also, when the cats are being anchored up onto the ship headed for Hong Kong, Warren T. now utters an additional line from offscreen, which I will leave you to discover. Anyone who has seen the film a good many times is bound to notice these changes.

While this altered/re-dubbed dialogue does not neccesarily hurt the film, it is still fair to question why these changes were needed. Perhaps Universal felt the need to offer something new to DVD buyers who would be purchasing this film again? There is no sense in correcting something that was never broken to begin with. Be that as it may, the changes do not take away from one's enjoyment of the film, or certainly not mine, at least.

Bottom line, American Tail lovers who are not particularly picky about aspect ratio should find this DVD well worth acquring . Like I said, I am big on widescreen myself, but in this case, found the movie too irresistable to turn down, especially at its low list price. Full frame and re-recorded dialogue aside, An American Tail is still the classic that it was nearly 20 years ago. So buy it before you are stuck trying to find an out-of-print copy "somwhere out there."

From director Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH) this beautiful animated film comes a "tail" like no other. This story is about a little mouse named Fievel taking a "once in a lifetime" journey to America from Russia to escape the cats. They think by going to America there are no cats and can have a better life for their families. Upon their travels poor little Fievel becomes seperated from his family while arriving in New York.

During his adventures he meets up with wonderful characters such as: Tiger (Dom DeLuise), Tony Toponi, Bridget, Honest John, Gussie Mausheimer (Madeline Kahn), Digit, Henri (Christopher Plummer) & more!

This film also had some wonderful feature and ground breaking award winning songs such as:

There Are No Cats in America
Never Say Never
Somewhere Out There
Somewhere Out There - James Ingram & Linda Ronstadt
Duo

Before Disney's beautiful Pixar films came to the big screen, there was the breathtakingly beautiful and realistic animation by Don Bluth and Steven Spielberg productions. It may be a little out dated for most, but it's truly a classic animated film with wonderful song's & colorful characters told in an original story.

The DVD: Is very sweet as well it has sing-a-long song's, cute triva games for the kids, and more!

"Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight," there must be a better non-Disney-animated film. NAAAAAAAAH! An American Tail is animator and director Don Bluth's best work to date. The story of a young Russian mouse being swept out to sea while on a voyage with his family to America still holds up very well, even (GASP!) 15 years after the film's theatrical debut. (Wow, I'm getting old!) Fortunately the young mouse, whose name is Fievel, washes up alive and well on New York Harbor. From there, he sets off on a journey to find his family. But it may be more difficult than he anticipated once he comes across the "two-faced" villain Warren T. Rat (voiced to perfection by John Finnegan) and the city's many other dangers that could threaten his quest.

As stated before, An American Tail is very nicely animated, and the incredible soundtrack, composed by James Horner, gives the movie a timeless quality that is one of the reasons why it stands the test of time. Each character is also perfectly voiced. Just to name a few of these talents, Philip Glasser is the voice of Fievel, Dom DeLuise is Tiger the cat, Amy Green is Fievel's sister, Tanya, and as mentioned before, John Finnegan is Warren T. Rat. The songs are also brilliantly performed, the best of which is the classic "Somewhere Out There," beautifully sung during the film by Fievel and Tanya, and again during the end credits by Linda Ronstadt.

All in all, An American Tail is an enduring and heartwarming film that will be embraced by everyone who's young at heart. And so it is to these people that I highly recommend this film. And if you enjoy it, I also recommend viewing the sequel, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. It's every bit as good.

This is a wonderful movie. I'm a huge Don Bluth fan. This is a story reliving the history of our country through a young Russian mouse. It's a beautiful story with fabulous music and beloved characters. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll awe in wonder as the mice rally together to defeat the cats. (May not be an ideal movie for a cat-lover.) Definitely worth watching.

While in Acapulco, I went into a large U.S.-based store and found a wealth of favorite movies in Spanish at great prices. My husband first was introduced to this wonderful story as "Un Cuento Americano" (An American Tale - the pun doesn't work in Spanish) and it quickly became one of his favorites to watch and share with friends.

The translation is fantastic! As a sometime translator, I am very picky about how such work is done. Music and comedy are both notoriously difficult to translate well, but somehow these good folks accomplished the task with style, even finding substitute vocabuWary for a certain chaWacteWs speech impediment. Likewise, the singers and speakers for the Spanish version are well cast; so often the voices for dubbed versions lack the charm of the originals, but here they've done quite well. ¡Pruébala -- Te gustará a ti también!

For those who think An American Tail is just a kids movie, they are most definately wrong. I was proven wrong when we watched it in my Sophomore History class, and it caught my full attention in the first five minutes.
Don Bluth creates an animation masterpiece that rivals some of Disney's best films, and James Horner provides us with a heartwarming score.
The story revolves around little Fievel Mousekewitz, a Russian immigrant who comes to America near the turn of the century (1885). He gets sent overboard the steamboat during a storm, and he sets off alone in New York, determined to find the family he lost.
With unforgettable characters, catchy songs; including the award-winning 'Somewhere Out There', An American Tail will capture your mind and heart and will be enjoyed for years to come.

It's amazing that Steven Spielberg doesn't get more recognition for producing one of the greatest animation movies of all time. Although the story is very simple, it rings true on so many different levels. The contrast of the Mousekowitzes with actual human turn of the century immigration experiences is poignantly done. A cartoon where you really care about characters. Great for the kids.

AAT is one of the best animated movies from the 1980's, and also a Don Bluth masterpiece.
Many animated movies is getting too blended with CGI, and it failed like in Pocahontas, but AAT is nicely animated without any use of a computer.

I saw this long long ago in my childhood then throw the years had forgotten about it completely. Recently I remembered the name when I saw it on HBO so I decided to watch it. This film created more emotion for me than most oscar quality movies. Maybe it's the animals, they're just so cute, especially Fievel. But anyway, I loved it so much and it brought back so many memories that I watched it at least 5 other times on HBO that week. I had to own this movie, being as it jumped up to at least my 2nd favorite, 1st favorite in terms of animated movies.

Through internet research I found out that the DVD version of American Tail had added sound effects and a few voice overs. I found a list of all of them and was dissappointed that I couldn't have the original version on DVD, I mean HBO showed it, why can't it be on DVD. Well anyway, I bought it here on VHS so I could have the original version. I also will buy it on DVD someday, even though the effects can be annoying sometimes and I feel they take away from the movie. The bullies in the end said different things and places where there was supposed to be silence or background music now has sound effects and people talking. There was only one thing added that was actually quite funny and didn't sound like someone just talking over the movie. Warren T Rat says "I wonder how you say 'trust me' in Chinese". The rest can get very annoying, but most I can deal with. Children probably won't know the difference or care and the animation and original character voices was not touched. THANK GOODNESS.

The VHS came in it's original shrink wrap wrapping and is from a 1990 release. I almost don't want to open it because it is quite interesting. Cost $17.96 at Walmart back then. There's even a $5 rebate offer if you purchase American Tail and Fievel Goes West that expires 9/30/92.

Anyway, DVD or VHS (or even Laserdisk) this is definitely a great film. Some may say it's really depressing. I'd agree it's sad and dark, but I feel it makes it more beautiful and heartwarming. If you love this film check out Secret Of NIHM. That's also a Don Bluth film and extremely good. Many say better than American Tail, but that's all opinion both are amazing.