An American Tail

The An American Tail franchise began with the 1986 animated film directed by Don Bluth, produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios in association with Amblin Entertainment. It follows Fievel Mousekewitz, a young Russian-Jewish mouse who emigrates to the United States in 1885 with his family, seeking freedom from cat persecution. The original film was released by Universal Pictures on November 21, 1986, and grossed $84 million worldwide on a $9 million budget, making it the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at that time.

Bluth, a former Disney animator who left the studio in 1979, directed the first two films and established the franchise's visual style with large expressive eyes and detailed animation. The voice cast included Phillip Glasser as Fievel, Dom DeLuise as Tiger, Erica Yohn as Mama Mousekewitz, and Nehemiah Persoff as Papa Mousekewitz. The success led to a 1991 sequel, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, also directed by Bluth and produced by Steven Spielberg, which grossed approximately $40 million worldwide.

The franchise expanded into a television series, Fievel's American Tails, which aired 13 episodes on CBS from 1992 to 1993. Theme park attractions included Fievel's Playland at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida, as well as a live stage show. After Bluth and Spielberg's involvement ended, Universal released two direct-to-video sequels: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998) and The Mystery of the Night Monster (1999), both directed by Larry Latham. All four films were collected in a DVD combo pack in 2017, and a 4K Ultra HD remaster of the original film was released in 2023. The franchise remains available on streaming platforms including Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.[edit]