Jacob Martin (formally known as The Movie King)’s review published on Letterboxd:
I've cancelled my Essential Movie Catchup series in order to start my Essentials series early. I'll need to give more thought into want I'm going to do with this series, but it should be ready by the first week of July. As for the rest of the family movies I had planned, I still watch them for the heck of it.
An American Tail, Don Bluth's second feature film after the phenomenal and still sadly underrated The Secret of NIMH, was a film I remember seeing once as a kid but sadly have not seen in mature eyes.
It's fantastic, like I expected.
Like with his other great film, Bluth uses his expertise in animation, emotional storytelling, spectacular music (well, at least the score). and pushing the boundaries of what animation what doing at the time to create a spectacular work.
An American Tail is an ode to all the immigrants willing to live the American Dream and to find a fresh start from the persecution in their home country, their struggles and the crappy conditions in their new home, and their dedication to overcoming all obstacles. It's also a gut-wrenching story about a shipwrecked kid mouse trying to find his family, and when your movie is made by both Bluth and King of Gut-Wrenching Sentiments Steven Spielberg, you know it's going to succeed.
It's one emotional roller coaster up until the very end, much like his short film The Small One, where the end reaches its high crescendo and just spills out all its tears into a heartwarming, satisfying conclusion.
Aside from some discount Disney songs (for some reason, Bluth and songs don't really stand out to me, though "Somewhere Out There" is fantastic), it's the animation, the storytelling, the characters, the message, and it's love for the American Dream really stood out to me, making An American Tail one of Bluth's best, best films.
Also, ocean waves look like Satan. That's a first......
96/100