An American Tail

How NOT to release a great movie on DVD.
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...

A Slighly Altered "Tail"
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...

A Beautiful Classic Animated Film ...
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...

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