![]() ![]() However, it isn't all that difficult to discern between softness, age and other issues and eyesores that trace back to a faulty master. An American Tail is a softer film, with several quote-unquote problems inherent to its age and original animation cels. First, though, it's important to separate the source from the encode. Universal's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is a disappointment, pure and simple. ![]() if, that is, the lackluster quality of the Blu-ray edition's video presentation doesn't scare you away. The iconic sequence featuring "Somewhere Out There," performed across the city between Fievel and his older sister, Tanya (Amy Green), is worth the price of admission alone. No, there really isn't anything fresh or new to be unearthed here, but An American Tail tells a simple story, gloomy though it may be, and tells it well. Yet there's more soul and poignance to Fievel's search for his family than Disney animation managed to muster in the 1980s, and more palpable heartache and isolation as well. Bluth's Tail does have its share of issues, most of which will be more damning for those who aren't prone to childhood nostalgia. That's by no means an indictment of The Little Mermaid or its ilk, or a suggestion that An American Tail somehow surpasses the greats of the Disney Renaissance, The Land Before Time or The Secret of NIMH (which remains a personal favorite). And while such contrast and tragic subject matter may not make for a child's favorite film, it does provide a more powerful cinematic experience that lingers on the mind long after lighter fairy tale fare begins to fade. Tremendous tribulation gives way to more potent elation. Pain makes the triumph that much sweeter. Darkness makes the light that much brighter. But it's Bluth's bleakest scenes that are so permanently burnt into my mind's eye. The Little Mermaid and other beloved Disney classics are certainly memorable, even masterpieces in some cases. I would argue, though, that truth in animation resonates more deeply than beauty, whimsy and joy. The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail and The Land Before Time refuse to pull the punches even modern animation so typically pull, and occasionally border on nightmarish. Roger Ebert wrote, "few are likely to be entertained by such a tragic, gloomy story." Adding, "Fievel is made to undergo such hardships in this movie that the children in the audience may despair long before the happy ending." But Bluth has always been dismissed in some circles as too dark and unflinching a storyteller for family adventures. There, young Fievel (Phillip Glasser) is lost and has to search for his parents (Nehemiah Persoff and Erica Yohn) and older sister (Amy Green) through the streets of New York, meeting unexpected friends every step of the way.Īn American Tail has been unduly criticized since its release. ![]() In 1885, a family of immigrant mice, the Mousekewitzes, make the arduous journey from Russia to the United States. And although Bluth's renaissance would sadly fizzle as Disney's renaissance began, the importance of his '80s animated canon shouldn't be overlooked or forgotten. Released just one year after Disney's poorly received The Black Cauldron (1985) nearly burned down the house that Walt built, Bluth's Tail was an enormous box office success and, later, a home video darling that demonstrated the continuing viability of feature animation. It was The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988) that, in large part, paved the way for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and the many others that would follow, with An American Tail proving particularly instrumental in the broader industry renaissance. The irony, of course, being that Bluth's scorn inadvertently led to Disney's salvation. It was actually one of Disney's greatest losses - the 1979 exodus of sixteen animators, chief among them Don Bluth - that would, some ten years later, allow The Little Mermaid and its successors to revive Disney Animation and forge a new era. The Disney Renaissance was more a culmination of outside influences and successes than a pure, in-house renaissance. The fabled Disney Renaissance is often credited for rejuvenating the American animation industry throughout the 1990s, single-handedly saving both Disney and feature animation as a whole. Somewhere out there is a Blu-ray that breathes new life into Bluth's charming film. ![]()
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