Fievel au Far West

For whatever reason, The American Tail films were two of the films I was brought up on. I still own both of them on video and still watch them from time to time. In most ways, this sequel is worse than the original. The brief story of Feivel being separated and lost from his family again is really underplayed in comparison to the first one, which revolved purely around this plot. In Feivel Goes West it's almost as though the family are a bit blasé about losing their only son. It's also hard to top the musical score of the first one. There is a repeat singing of "Somewhere Out There" that is rudely cut short but without the whole song, it doesn't have the same warming effect. The feature song of this film, "Dreams to Dream" is very beautiful, however it and the other songs of FGW can't match up to those of AAT.

Despite these flaws, there is quite a lot more to enjoy in this film. If you're a fan of westerns as I am, you will enjoy an animated take on the theme, particularly the very enjoyably cartoonist showdown at the end. Secondly, the voice cast of FGW is far superior to that of AAT. Not content with Dom DeLuise as the loveable cat Tiger, they add to that cast for the sequel the likes of John Cleese, Amy Irving, Jon Lovitz and none other than the great James Stewart himself playing the sheriff of a one-horse western town. They're all impeccably cast and pull off a wonderful job.

All this said and done, is the sequel better or worse? I have to say I think it's completely equal. Still the same level of childish fun and heartwarming moments, wonderful voice talents and great musical score. Definitely worth showing your kids. ***1/2 / *****