onsdag 30. september 2026

"An American Tail" - The Second Don Bluth Animated Feature Starring a Mouse That Was Successful

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies. 

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

 
 
 
 
I wanted to outshine the Statue of Liberty :)

 
  

I`m trying to stand like this to 
be taller :)
Mice and rodents has always been perfect to animation. For the sake of being cute, accessible and easy to make. After all, we`ll have to remember that the one who started it all (pardon my intended pun) for Walt Disney was a tiny, little rodent that became representative of his company. But the 1980`s was a peculiar time which had many animated movies starring mice. Sure, it was somewhat preceded with 1977`s The Rescuers. But it was expanded in the 1980`s. The first one was The Secret of NIMH, which wasn`t financially successful domestically, but gained it`s fanbase. But the year of 1986 actually had two movies that starred those cute and tiny rodents. 
Yes, this saloon is gun-free :)
The first one was Disney`s The Great Mouse Detective. Which perhaps haven`t been regarded highly by Disney Historians, but still managed to make it`s small impact on Disney`s history. But the second movie was essentially one that managed to outgross Disney`s own rodent movie. And that was also from Disney`s nemesis, the same people who were behind NIMH, Don Bluth. If you`ve followed the career of Don Bluth, he left Disney as he felt that they didn`t took enough risks. But he still managed to make his own impact on animation, as his movies were outgrossing Disney`s in the 1980`s. And one of these contenders were An American Tail. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
General Information About An American Tail
 
Yes, this coin is heavy, but it
will make me rich. So it`s 
worth carrying it :)
Released November 21th 1986, An American Tail
 was the second full-length feature directed by Don Bluth. It was produced by Bluth, John Pomeroy and Gary Goldman. It was Universal's third animated film. Steven Spielberg was the executive producer. James Horner (Titanic, Balto) composed score (his first score for an animated film) and wrote the songs with Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (who`ve written for Dolly Parton). David Steinberg was the assistant director. David Goetz (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tangled) was an background artist. 
Snow White kissed me :)
Ralph and Dick Zondag (Pocahontas, Dinosaur), T. Daniel Hofstedt (Aladdin,
Mulan) and Michael Cedeno (Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas) were the animators.
Don Paul (Aladdin, Pocahontas) was the special effect animator. David Bossert (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin) was special effects assistant. Tim Allen (Aladdin, The Lion King) Eric Daniels (Tarzan, Treasure Planet) and Brian Primental (A Goofy Movie Tarzan) were the clean-up inbetweeners. The music was recorded in Abbey Road Studios in London. While Tail received mixed reviews, it still was a commercial success, Grossing $85 million worldwide on a $9 million budget. And it sold 75 million VHS tapes.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
The Plot and Elements of An American Tail
 
Yes, I thought your mustache
was curtains :)
As for the plot of An American Tail, it`s a story about a journey to a new
paradise. And yes, it is something that actually could reflected as what happened with American immigrants. It`s also remarkable how this movie would precede Anastasia with a Russian setting and even with some similar designs. But Tail is also a story about a protagonist who gets separated from his family and must reuinite with them. It`s also a story about the feud between cats (who in this movie comes across as feriocious and grand monsters) and mice. But it`s also includes a brief friendship between those adversaries. Between Fivel and Tiger, who`s the only nice cat. 
We`re the drooling cats :) 
Don`t ask us why :)
And who also has his own need and mission. And yes, while it may be a shallow comparision, their friendship does somewhat resemble that of Mowgli and Baloo in The Jungle Book. An American Tail  is also a musical. But it`s designs does highly resemble Bluth`s previous features. And sure, since An American Tail is essentially another rodent movie, it`s superfluous to compare it to it`s predecessors. Cause it`s different from them (as the lead is a child and the story isn`t about a rescue mission). But still also take cues from them. As it has animals and humans co-existing, like in The Rescuers and The Secret of NIMH.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
The Ratings and Controversy
 
As for the overall legacy of An American Tail, it was a movie that was popular at it`s time. And as for it`s final reception, it has a 6.9. on Imdb, 76% on Rottentomatoes and 71% on Popcornmeter. And it has 41K followers on Facebook. And at the time of its domestic release, it became the highest-grossing animated feature, even for a non-Disney movie. And when it was released on Home Video, it made some critics change their minds on the film  However, Tail didn`t escape controversy. Art Spiegelman accused Spielberg of plagiarism, as the Jews are depicted as mice in the film. Just as in Spiegelman's Maus, a metaphor he adopted from Nazi propaganda. 
Instead of pursuing copyright litigation, he tried beat its release date by splitting Maus to two volumes and publish the first before he even finished the second. But at least some praised the decision, as Time's Richard Schickel was pleased by Fievel was Jewish. Charles Solomon criticized how Fievel`s dad didn't move like of an old Russian Jew. And compared the cats and mice conflict as a metaphor for religious persecution. The Post criticized the depiction, but Des Moines Register supported it, as he it equates cats with Nazis and Cossacks. But McDonalds were urged to take back Christmas stockings with Fievel's face during, for being a Jewish character in a Christmas stocking.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 

Franchise
 
And it ain`t going to be 
cheap :)
An American Tail was popular enough to warrant a franchise.
The theatrical sequel Fievel Goes West was released five years later it`s predecessor (1991). And followed Fievel and his family from New York to the Wild West (having John Cleese and Jimmy Stewart in his very last role as Wylie Burp). Directed by Phil Nibbelink and Simon Wells and produced by Spielberg. While it was a modest success theatrically ($40,766,041 Worldwide), it found it`s success on VHS (at the time, it haed the record for shortest theater-to-home-video transfer). 
Those pictures are from our 
playground :)
A 13-episode TV series called Fievel's American Tails aired on the CBS network between September and December 1992. Where both Wylie Burp and Tony Toponi were written off (the former for James Stewart's retirement and the latter as Pat Musick raised her daughter Mae Whitman). Two direct-to-video films were also later produced by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment: The Treasure of Manhattan Island in 1998 (the first in the series not produced by Amblin Entertainment) and The Mystery of the Night Monster in 1999. And yes, there were plans to do some TV specials, but they never appeared.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Behind the Scenes Information
 
They drew me when I was
having my hiccup :)
Originally An American Tail was conceived as a TV special. But Spielberg felt it had potential as a feature film. And asked Bluth to make something like NIMH. The crew back groaned about making another mouse picture. But it was Spielberg's first animated feature, and it took time for him to learn that adding a two-minute scene would take months of work. Jerry Golds3mith's urged Spielberg NIMH for it`s quality. But Spielberg didn`t make many changes in the script or the storyboards. Production on Tail began in December 1984. Originally the film was about of an all-animal world, like Disney's Robin Hood. But Bluth suggested featuring an animal world hidden from the human world. Emmy Award-winning writers Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss (Sesame Street) wrote the script. Bluth had never written a script, as he was used to the Disney tradition to write as they animated it, before a script was completed. But Bluth`s proved to be an huge task.  
You`ll grow into this hat
someday :)

When the script was complete, it was long and was heavily 
edited. Bluth was uncertain with Fievel`s name, as he thought it was too foreign-sounding. But Spielberg disagreed. Fivel was named after his maternal grandfather, Philip Posner. Spielberg won, but a compromise was reached by Tony refer to Fievel as "Filly". Spielberg cut some material that was too intense for children. Nehemiah Persoff was chosen as Papa Mousekewitz cause he had a similar role as Barbra Streisand's father in Yentl. How John Finnegan won the part of Warren T. Rat by reciting Shakespeare's Hamlet in a Brooklyn taxi driver`s voice, had the writers make Warren a pretentious illiterate who misquoted Shakespeare. The style of the characters was like Disney`s style from the 1940s, where the characters looked softer and cuddlier. Which was made to make it different. Which the critics praised. 
I`m screaming because I`m
freezing without my pants :)
While it was proposed to move the entire production to Ireland, Spielberg balked at the idea of an American setting being made overseas. But he allowed the film to be painted in Ireland for financial reasons. Bluth and his crew discovered that a video printer increased their productivity. They could videotape an action, then print out small black and white thermal images from the tape for reference. They also built models and photographed them. Manty outside parties also requested changes to the movie. But it halted the production, and Bluth felt that he lost freedom of control. As the deadline came, pressure grew among the crew, as production was slower. The songwriters had written the score later than desired, as they were given four weeks. But it also affected the story (for baby Yasha's disappearance after the boat trip). Union difficulties also plagued production, as Bluth had agreed with $6.5 million (which later grew to $9 million). 
These are the different stages
of becoming tabby :)

They had to freeze the salaries for a year and a half. But Bluth felt it was worth the sacrifice to work with Spielberg on a major project. But they couldn`t be members of the union, as the rates required the price to be high. But the new Sullivan Bluth studios were non-union, and many workers tried to withdraw from the union. Why is why Bluth relocated to Ireland at last. Tail began a trend of shorter time schedules, tighter budgets and high security (requested by Spielberg). At first Tom Bahler was brought (who worked with Quincy Jones and recorded We Are The World). While the songwriters didn't think they had a hit, Spielberg thought that Somewhere Out There could be one. Which it became and won two Grammys. Goldsmith was considered to compose the score, but declined to other works. The crew gave the impression that it would be the greatest animated film in history. Unlike NIMH, Tail debuted in over 1200 theaters. The success of Tail came as a surprise to Bluth, as he and his crew were busy moving to Ireland at the time.


 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Epilogue
 
At the end, An American Tail is a noteworthy and remembered addition to the World of Animation. Released in a time where animation was different and where it was Hand Drawn, it made it`s own small impact. As for my own personal opinion, I remember seeing it theatrically when I was a toddler. And frankly not liking it. Frankly, I found the movie unappealing and off-putting, as it didn`t click with me. And frankly, I never liked Bluth`s work as a child, as I found his material to be on par with Tail. But watching it again for the sake of this entry, it`s essentially a mixed bag for me. 
While it is better than I remembered and does have it`s genuine endearing moments, it`s also awfully and blatantly juvenile. The screenplay is poorly structured and scattered. And frankly the movie feels too sloppy and uneven as a whole. So yeah, I liked it, but at the same time it could`ve been better. At the end, it`s hard to believe that it`s now been 40 years old since it was released. But considering that this entry was meant to synergize with it`s 40th Anniversary, there`s nothing left than to wish An American Tail Happy 40th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more. 
 
 
 
  
 
Yes, the rope to my bag is my tail ;)

 
 
  
 
Lagt inn av kl. Ingen kommentarer:

mandag 31. august 2026

"Elena of Avalor" - The Second Disney Junior Property That Was About a Princess and Disney`s First Latina Princess

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies. 

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. Isf so, I apologize

 
 
 
I know that this picture doesn`t look like an adventure. But it will be. I promise ;)
 
 


 
We were instructed to reflect a
bird point of view :)
During the last decade, Disney were truly all about Princesses more than they ever were. It shouldn`t be a surprise, since it`s been the bread and butter of the company and how it was the one who started it all (pardon my intended pun) with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But during last decade, Disney were milking that trademark for what it was worth. And that was due to one specific thing: The Princess Franchise. Since the franchise was such a success, it made Disney not only milking that property more than ever. But also introducing more Princesses to their lineup. And also making characters who weren`t technically royal to be royals (*cough, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, cough*). 
This is the instruction of how 
to make an angel jaguar :) It`s
not an easy task :)
But despite how there were many different opinions about the lineup and how Disney were both promoting and shunning away from the franchise (proven with the renaming of Tangled
and not including Moana in the franchise at first), the truth is that is was a little overexposed during the 2010`s. So it became a little contrived. However, regarding how Disney made non-Royal races as royals, it was not only proven with aforementioned Tiana, but also with another character: Elena of Avalor.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
General Information About Elena of Avalor 
 
Yes, this scepter is 
heavier than it looks :)
Released in July 22th 2016, Elena of Avalor was made from the same creator of Sofia the First, Craig Gerber. Just like Sofia, Elena was a Disney Junior show that was created to a toddler/pre-school audience. It premiered on Disney Channel, before it was moved to Disney Junior on July 14, 2018. The show aired 77 episodes through three seasons, ending August 23, 2020. But it also had a TV movie, Elena and the Secret of Avalor. Which showed the origins, airing November 20, 2016. And yes, it introduced a Latina Princess in a fictional Latina Kingdom (right before Encanto came). Yvette Nicole Brown and Tyler Posey were among the cast.
Forgive us for making
a messy front page:)
The second season had guest stars as Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez, Steve Buscemi,
Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), John Leguizamo, Stephanie Beatriz (Encanto), Sofia Carson and (Descendants). The finale concluded with a prime-time one-hour special. As for the reception, it received generally positive reviews, as Elena was praised to be an excellent role model. And it actually had many viewers during it`s prime (4.2 million). President of Disney Junior, Nancy Kanter, wanted to choose one Latino culture. But later on changed tacks and decided to have a melting pot, with different references. Despite how it was daunting for the creators of the show. Elena had cultural advisors and story editor Silvia Olivas drew inspiration from her family and upbringing.













The Plot of Elena of Avalor

Yes, I`m (Shuriki) jealous of
your angel wings :)
As for the plot of Elena of Avalor, it revolves around Elena Castillo Flores. Who`s been freed from the Amulet of Avalor by Princess Sofia. And saved her magical kingdom of Avalor from the evil sorceress Shuriki. As she had been trapped in the amulet for 41 years, while Shuriki ruled the kingdom. Elena must learn to rule as its princess. For being only 16, she follows the guidance of a Grand Council. As her grandparents, cousin Chancellor Esteban and her friend, Naomi Turner. Elena also looks to her little sister, Isabel, wizard Mateo, the Royal Guard lieutenant Gabe, a spirit animal named Zuzo and some magical flying creatures called Jaquins (a mix between a jaguar and a macaw) for guidance and support. 
Yes, we`re divine carnivores,
so that`s why we`re posing 
like this :)
In the first season, Elena adjusts to her life as crown princess, while learning to master her scepter. At the end of the season, Elena learns from Quita Moz of the Sunbird Oracles that she will facing a darkness and if she fails, she`ll never become queen. In the second season, Elena prepares for her test, while facing Victor and Carla Delgado, who`ve teamed up with Shuriki, who has her powers restored. She also befriends the Sirenas of Nueva Vista, and enlists their help to defeat Shuriki. In the third season, Esteban has been on Shuriki's takeover of the kingdom more than 41 years ago, and is banished from the kingdom. While Elena gets new emotion-based powers after falling into a crystal well in Takaina. She prepares for her coronation as queen, learning to control her emotion magic, and facing down the Delgados' wicked matriarch, Ash. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The Trademarks of Elena of Avalor and Comparisons to Sofia the First 
 
We`re the triceps girls :)

In many ways, Elena of Avalor is filled with the trademarks that we expect from a Disney Princess and from the Revival era: a Princess who`s energetic and adorkable, who sings, has animal sidekicks and also a family. But it`s remarkable how it gives her a little sister (something that could`ve been seen as a cue from Frozen). And while Gabe could`ve been perceived as a love interest, surprisingly enough he wasn`t (since we live in a time where Disney doesn`t give a love interest to a Princess anymore), preceeding Moana. And it introduces an interracial friendship between Elena and Naomi. And yes, in the true Princess mold, Elena has a song in every episode. 
This is what happens when 
you have nothing to do all 
day :)
But since Elena was released at the heels of Sofia the First, a comparison is both superfluous and inevitable. But unlike Sofia, Elena was about an adult Princes. And unlike Sofia, Elena had a song in every episode. But unlike Sofia, Elena never featured any cameos from the official Princesses and was never a vehicle for it. And it`s contradictory how despite how both Sofia and Elena were catered to milk the Princess brand, they still were never included in official lineup. Cause unlike Sofia, Elena could`ve been included for the lone sake of being an adult (just look at Merida from Brave). But as for the popularity, the truth is that Sofia was the more popular show and more viewers than Elena. 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 
 
 

 
Elena`s Ethnicity
 
Since Elena of Avalor was made to milk the Princess franchise, it`s easy to call it calculated (no offense). But yes, the most headscratching thing about her is how Disney catered her to be Disney`s first Latina Princess. While there were rumors that Sofia would be Disney`s first latina Princess (which was something that was misquoted), Elena truly filled the bill. But Gerber saw the pleas for a Latina Disney princess while working on Sofia. Which is always an issue that is made for scrutiny. And while there`s nothing wrong to make a Latina character royal, it`s still contrived to make one, anyways (and please don`t take my remark the wrong way, cause I don`t mean my it in an offensive and racist way). But at least with Elena they made a fictional, Latino Kingdom, as opposed to in Frog. Where Tiana was royally married to a Prince, who also came from a fictional kingdom. But oh well. 

However, regarding the criticisms around this issue, Melissa Lozada-Oliva from The Guardian feared that Disney would generalize and "flatten" Latino diversity. Noting that Elena's character isn't indigenous or Afro-Latina, but a thin, light-brown Latina princess from Avalor instead. And despite how she`s influenced by Mayan and Chilean culture, her race and ethnicity is based in Disney fantasy. And comparing her own identity to Elena`s. Media and cultural studies scholar Diana Leon-Boys wrote in her 2023 book, Elena, Princesa of the Periphery: Disney's Flexible Latina Girl said the events were a hollow and flexible representation of Latinidad. But if there was one episode that was scrutinized, it was Festival of Lights. Which included Latina Jewish princess Rebekah. Sarah Aroeste from Kveller praised the inclusion, but also argued that Disney could`ve gone further and made her a full-Sephardic Jewish character. Adam Eliath of the J. The Jewish News of Northern California called the episode a missed opportunity. Irene Katz Connelly of The Forward both praised and criticized the episode for it`s progression and regression.
 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Epilogue
 
At the end, 
Elena of Avalor is another entry in Disney`s evergrowing jungle of properties and franchises. And sure, it`s needless to say that it was created to milk the Princess brand. But that being said, it`s not a bad way of milking the brand. As for my own personal opinion about the show, I found it cute and endearing enough, despite how there was very little outstanding about it. While it`s obvious made for an preschool audience, the show is still endearing enough for those who likes those types of series. 
And Elena is nicely designed, as she looks somewhat as a Latina version of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. So it`s an honorary and decent show on it`s own right and deserves to get credit for it`s ambition and exectuion when Disney were truly almost all about Princesses. But while that being said, since this entry was meant to synergize it`s 10th Anniversary, there`s nothing else to wish Elena of Avalor Happy 10th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more.

 
 
 
 
 
Yes people, beware of my scepter :) The light is lethal ;) Believe it or not :)
 
 
 
 
 
References:
Lagt inn av kl. Ingen kommentarer:
Abonner på: Innlegg (Atom)