These are the main characters of the four An American Tail movies and the series Fievel's American Tails.
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The Mousekewitz Family
Fievel Mousekewitz
Voiced by: Phillip Glasser ("An American Tail", "Fievel Goes West", "Fievel's American Tails"), Thomas Dekker ("The Treasure of Manhattan Island", "Mystery of the Night Monster")
Fievel is the main character of the series. He's a fearless child, but his youthful curiosity often gets him into a lot of trouble, and he gets separated from his family on multiple occasions.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: In Tanya's point of view in the sequels. Her personality is different in every movie, so she gets along well with her brother in the first film, but sees him as a nuisance mostly in the direct to video sequels, and mostly ignores him in "Fievel Goes West". To be fair, he does tease her every so often, including about her dream of being a singer, so he's more than earned it to her.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: In the Fievel's American Tails episode "Babysitting Blues", Yasha gives Fievel a little taste of what he put his own parents through in the first two movies.
- Break the Cutie: In the first film, the poor child has all of his hopes shattered, and vows to become a Street Urchin. Luckily he found his family and got better.
- Cheerful Child: In Fievel Goes West he is more cheerful than in the first movie, due to circumstances.
- Cute Oversized Sleeves: He wears a ratty old hand-me-down coat with sleeves too long for him. Together with the oversized hat his father gives him in the beginning of the movie, it gives him the look of a young, innocent ragamuffin.
- Despair Event Horizon: Just after the climax of the first movie, he truly believes his parents have either stopped looking for him, or are dead. He ends up with other abandoned children, crying silently and saying "this is my home now."
- Depending on the Writer: In the first movie he's more prone to moments of sadness and despair, but becomes much more of a Cheerful Child in the sequel. This might be justified by how much darker the circumstances were in the first film. But his bravery falls to levels that are nearly Out of Character in the Mystery Of The Night Monster movie, considering how almost fearless he is in the other three.
- Flanderization: Like everyone in Fievel's American Tails. In the show his fascination with cowboys becomes one of his sole defining characteristics.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Not a technical example in An American Tail, but close enough. He certainly believes himself to be this during the depths of his Despair Event Horizon.
- Iconic Item: His hat. He's been shown wearing it and using it as a keepsake in all of his appearances.
- Improbable Infant Survival: He's been able to walk away from how many cat attacks, completely unhurt?
- Innocent Blue Eyes: In Fievel Goes West. In most of his other appearances he has black eyes.
- Kid Hero: For a kid, he's been through a lot of adventures. In just the first two movies, he took out two cat Corrupt Corporate Executives, albeit with some assistance.
- Leitmotif: Tanya even calls the song that Papa plays on his violin "Fievel's Song!"
- Mascot: Of Amblimation and of the Universal Studios theme parks for a while. He can still be seen dancing around with Woody Woodpecker and hugging small children occasionally at Universal Studios.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Averted. He'd have it if his parents paid more attention to Yasha. Being the only boy probably helps too.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: He and his sister had American accents before even moving to the country.
- What's even more bizarre is in the first track of the "Fievel and Friends" album, he DOES mention having an accent. Yet again the song also Bowdlerises their reason for immigration being starvation rather than their home being destroyed so the album is likely non-canon anyway.
- Odd Friendship: With Tiger. A mouse and a cat being friends is considered odd in their universe.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Goes through this without his parents ever actually dying, since they got separated on the boat ride over.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: A small and adorable child mouse.
- Signature Headgear: His large (for him) blue hat. Which somehow turns into a white cowboy hat in Fievel Goes West.
- Snooping Little Kid: On both Warren and Cat R. Waul. Gets him into lots of trouble.
- Spanner in the Works: His penchant for happenstance and getting drifted into places he shouldn't often leads to him being the one who exposes and ruins the villains' plans that would have otherwise gone unsuspected. Most blatantly in the first film, where getting separated from his family leads to several chance meetings that culminate in the mice of New York exposing and overthrowing Warren T. Cat's undercover scam.
- Tagalong Kid: Always manages to involve himself in even the most dangerous situations in the sequels (a shoot-out with Cat R. Waul's gang, an underground expedition for buried treasure, a search for a supposed monster that's eating mice), and no one ever stops him from tagging along.
- Tuckerization: He was named after Steven Spielberg's grandfather.
- Vague Age: Stated to be seven in the novelization of the first film, but his age is more debatable in the sequels.
- Vocal Evolution: While Phillip Glasser voiced him, his voice became increasingly lower and older sounding.
- Young Gun: In his day dreams, he is a gunslinger. He becomes something like this in Fievel Goes West, albeit with slingshots instead of guns.
Tanya Mousekewitz
Voiced by: Amy Green ("An American Tail"), Betsy Cathcart (when singing "Somewhere out There") Cathy Cavadini ("Fievel Goes West", "Fievel's American Tails"), Lacey Chabert ("The Treasure of Manhattan Island", "Mystery of the Night Monster")
Tanya is Fievel's older sister. Tanya is a dreamer, much like her brother. Her personality is explored mainly in Fievel Goes West, where we learn she wants to be a famous singer and actress. Her personality varies from movie to movie, however, as does her appearance.
- Age-Inappropriate Dress: After her makeover in Fievel Goes West
- All Love Is Unrequited: Falls in love with newspaper editor Reed Daley in The Mystery of the Night Monster, only to have him ignore her for the most part and fall in love with reporter Nellie Brie.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: More in the DTV sequels, though she may or may not be a teen in those.
- Cute Bruiser: Punches out one of the bad guys in The Treasure of Manhattan Island.
- Depending on the Artist: She looks different in every single appearance.
- Divergent Character Evolution: Tanya looks a lot like Fievel in the first movie, but not so much in the sequels, especially not Fievel Goes West.
- Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Wears a feather on her head after her makeover in Fievel Goes West.
- Furry Female Mane: She has a full head of human-like brown hair in a ponytail in Fievel Goes West. Averted in all the other movies, though.
- Glass-Shattering Sound: Has the power to break glass with her voice.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: Her stage outfit in Fievel Goes West is quite appropriate for the time period as a Wild West rose.
- Gut Feeling: Spends most of the first movie having a gut feeling that her brother Fievel is still alive. Of course, she's right.
- I Am Not Pretty: Tanya says this of herself in Fievel Goes West before Ms. Kitty gives her a makeover. She seems to get over it by movie's end when she washes her makeup off.
- "I Want" Song: "Dreams to Dream", her
Signature Song, is one of these. In the end, all she wants is to be a world-famous singer. - Just the Way You Are: This is the moral of Tanya Mousekewitz's subplot in Fievel Goes West. She gets a makeover so she can sing at Waul's saloon, but after discovering Waul is actually evil and tried to kill every mouse in Green River, she remembers what her friend Miss Kitty told her, that the real woman is what's underneath the mask, and she washes her make-up off.
- Little Miss Snarker: Not so much in the first or second films, but moreso in the DTV movies.
- Naturalized Name: Her name gets changed to "Tilly" at immigration much to her confusion. This is never mentioned again as everyone else, even born-Americans call her by her real name.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Like Fievel, she always has an American accent, even though she was born in Russia.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: She gets this kind of effect in Fievel Goes West after a makeover from Miss Kitty. Even the cats in the saloon take notice.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Mama and Papa agree to let Fievel go on the treasure-hunting expedition in The Treasure of Manhattan Island, but when Tanya wants to go they flat-out refuse. Tanya then complains that her brother always gets to go on adventures while she's stuck at home doing laundry.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She does not resemble her father much.
- Vague Age: A more confusing case than Fievel. The novelization of the first film states her age as eight, but in Fievel Goes West she appears to be a teenager, while Fievel looks no older than twelve, and their baby sister Yasha still looks no older than two.
- You Don't Look Like You: Her differing appearances in every installment.
- You Will Be Spared: In Fievel Goes West, Cat R. Waul, impressed by Tanya’s singing, places her under Miss Kitty’s tutelage to become a diva, intending to spare her from being eaten along with the other mice. Tanya exploits this during the climax by placing herself on the giant mousetrap, causing Waul to hesitate long enough for the other mice to escape.Cat R. Waul: STOP! You’ll crush the diva!
Yasha Mousekewitz
Voiced by: Cathy Cavadini ("Fievel Goes West", "Fievel's American Tails")
Fievel's baby sister. She's never a huge part of the plot, and often is inserted just to look cute. The animators even forgot about her halfway through the first movie.
- A Day in the Limelight: Sadly, she does not stand out nearly as much as her older brother and sister in the movies, but gets her one spotlight in Fievel's American Tails episode "Babysitting Blues", where she escapes the house when Fievel is stuck babysitting her.
- Living Prop: Seriously, in the third movie Tanya carries her through an angry mob and slides down a water spout with her, and she's still sleeping when Tanya finally hands her to her mother.
- Suddenly Voiced: By Cathy Cavadini in Fievel's American Tails
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In the first movie, she disappears half-way through.
Mama and Papa Mousekewitz
Mama Voiced by: Erica Yohn; Susan Silo ("Fievel's American Tails"); Jane Singer ("Mystery of the Night Monster")
Papa Voiced by: Nehemiah Persoff; Lloyd Battista ("Fievel's American Tails")
Fievel's parents. Papa likes to tell tall tales and wholeheartedly believes that there are no cats in America at the beginning of the first film. Mama, however, is much more down to Earth and isn't afraid to tell Papa when she thinks his stories are nothing but fairy tales.
- Actor Allusion: Nehemiah Persoff was cast in the role based on playing a similar character in Yentl.
- Character Development: Papa becomes much more stern and father like in the TV series.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mama does seem to enjoy being one every once in a while.
- Grass is Greener: Papa is never satisfied with where they're living.
- Jewish Complaining: Mostly from Papa, at the beginning of both the 2nd and 3rd movies.
- Jewish Mother: While Mama Mousekewitz is a less extreme example, she does display a few of the common stereotypes from time to time. Also a literal Jewish mother.
- Manly Tears: From Papa in the first movie, over Fievel's supposed death.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Papa bears no small resemblance to Tevye (only mouseified).
- No Name Given: They even refer to each other only as "Mama" and "Papa".
- Parental Obliviousness: So, so many examples. They mean well, but they may be candidates for one the most irresponsible sets of parents ever portrayed in animation. In their defense though, they really should keep Fievel on a leash or something.
- They refuse to believe that Fievel is still alive in the first movie until the evidence is staring them in the face.
- They also won't listen to Fievel when he warns them about Cat R. Waul's evil plans in the second movie. Though to be fair, Fievel had also just told them that he'd run into a tribe of Indians where Tiger was worshiped as a god, so they believed that Fievel was delirious from heat stroke.
- Not only that but they don't seem to have a problem letting their son go out on dangerous adventures in the sequels. But God forbid Tanya join him on any.
- Speaking of which, they don't seem to mind the underage Tanya getting a job as a saloon singer at a bar full of cats either.
- Their parenting skills Take a Level in Dumbass in Fievel's American Tails, where in "A Case of the Hiccups" they allow Fievel to take candy from a stranger and give it to everyone in town, in "Babysitting Blues" they actually trust young Fievel to babysit Yasha (and she almost gets eaten by cats several times), and in "Little Mouse on the Prairie" they actually force Fievel to take Tanya and Yasha with him on a dangerous journey into the desert where they all get lost and almost die. As if they weren't used to Fievel getting lost whenever he sets foot outside by now.
- In The Mystery of the Night Monster, their idea of helping Fievel get over the recurring nightmares he keeps having about the alleged "night monster" is to have him join reporter Nellie Brie so he can hear eyewitness accounts of said monster attacking homes and "devouring" mice. Yeah, that's going to help him sleep better at night. They actually made a joke of that later.
- The Storyteller: Papa, who tells stories to his children regularly.
- Unnamed Parent: Somewhat averted. Papa is named Bernard (which isn't even Russian) in an episode of Fievel's American Tails. But his name isn't used outside that instance (and was probably invented for that episode).
Characters Debuting in An American Tail
Tiger
Voiced by: Dom De Luise (English), Alain Dorval (European French, films)
The only nice cat Fievel meets, and one of his best friends. He's a bit cowardly but he can be brave when he wants to. He's also a vegetarian, so he never eats mice. Fievel Goes West is where he saw the most character development.
- Berserk Button: When anyone messes with Miss Kitty.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He may be a little goofy most of the time, but he’s fiercely loyal to the ones he loves. In the second movie, he thrashes Cat R. Waul’s gang when Tiger’s girlfriend Miss Kitty is threatened. This is significant because he initially struggled with Wily Burp’s training. Yet when his girlfriend is in danger, he does everything perfectly, including catching and throwing back a knife with his mouth, something Wily never even taught him.
- Big Eater: Thankfully for the mice he mostly only stuffs his face with fruits and vegetables.
- The Big Guy: By the Final Battle of Fievel Goes West, he's become the powerhouse of the trio including himself, Fievel and Wylie Burp.
- Bootstrapped Leitmotif: "A Duo" becomes one for him in Fievel Goes West.
- Buffoonish Tomcat: His defining character trait is being the comic-relief (especially in Fievel Goes West) and Tiger provides the page image, [Also see Plucky Comic Relief below]; An pretty slow-witted, very goofy, and slapstick-prone but a kindhearted and Big Fun cat.
- Butt-Monkey: Mainly in "Fievel Goes West". The scene where he is constantly chased by dogs showcases this.
- Cats Are Mean: Completely Averted. Don Bluth created him as a direct aversion to this trope on purpose so at least one cat would be "nice" and good-natured.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He is this whenever he has this oddball nature was rather done humorously or just him having some comedic remarks like having some mild Non-Sequitures like at the beginning of Fievel Goes West for example.
- Cowardly Lion: His personality almost seems based on the original Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. Unfortunately, this trait gets Flanderized in the TV show to the point where he leaves his friends in danger to save himself.
- Cowardly Sidekick: In the first movie and Fievel Goes West.
- Deuteragonist: In Fievel Goes West. His character arc is secondary only to Fievel's, learning to stand up for what he believes in even being afraid.
- Expy: As mentioned above, he's basically an animated version of the Cowardly Lion. He has similar features and mannerisms, especially in his first scene.
- Fat Best Friend: An bloated Gentle Giant that is Fievel's best friend.
- Fat Idiot: While he is this when buffoonish, this is most egregiously in Fievel's American Tails because of how he was flanderized into a Dirty Coward.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: While not an utterly simple-minded cat overall, he's just very goofy, naive and still friendly at the same time because of having no mean, malicious bone in his body even when acting frivolously or disliking mean characters.
- Gentle Giant: Giant compared to the mice he usually hangs around. During some scenes, like when playing poker in the first film, though not some others, he's significantly bigger than other cats.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Always wears a t-shirt only and with no pants.
- Heel–Face Turn: A pretty quick one at that. One wonders what he was doing with the Mott Street Maulers in the first place.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Bears a resemblance to his voice actor Dom De Luise.
- Lovable Coward: A literal scaredy-cat that can be perfectly capable of acting ferocious, but it's just acting, for better or worse.
- Minion with an F in Evil: He's introduced in the first film as a member of Warren T. "Rat" 's Mott Street Maulers, but he never likes them or fits in, and quickly switches sides after becoming friends with Fievel.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He'd prefer to make friends with the mice rather than eat them. Too bad no other cats are willing to listen to him.
- Odd Friendship: With Fievel.
- Plucky Comic Relief: (See Buffoonish Tomcat above) His sole purpose of being the comic-relief as he is the frequent butt of slapstick jokes, the one who takes the most physical abuse for comical effect, and is sometimes comedic when he isn't just subjected into slapstick situations.
- Take This Job and Shove It: His parting words after getting fired from Warren T. Cat's gang for letting Fievel escape are "Good! I'm glad. I never liked you! And besides, your music STINKS!"
- Tenor Boy: Thanks to his voice actor Dom DeLuise.
- Token Good Teammate: Of the cats in the first film, before quickly joining up with Fievel and his friends.
- Took a Level in Badass: In a way of the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass category in Fievel Goes West, he starts out as a goofy, slow-witted, accident-prone, bumbling, and cowardly Cloudcuckoolander, when he meets Wylie Burp as he gives Tiger a proper training montage on how to be like a dog in order to defeat Cat R. Waul in Fievel Goes West; Tiger starts becoming more motivated, confident, self-possessed, and a lot more heroic (if still a tad goofy and bumbling in some instances due to his habitual buffoonery). But Tiger takes another level instantly when he sees Miss Kitty put in danger, taking out most of Cat R. Waul's gang all by himself and he doesn't play around this time.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: Though he was never very bright, he was dumbed down to the point of being a Dirty Coward who's Too Dumb to Live in Fievel's American Tails, with all of the character development he made in Fievel Goes West gone.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: He admits to enjoying an occasional fish, so that would make him a pescetarian. But he prefers broccoli a lot more.
Tony Toponi
Voiced by: Pat Musick
A streetwise orphan that Fievel befriends in the first film while imprisoned in a sweat shop. After Fievel frees everyone Tony takes it upon himself to help Fievel find his family. He's largely absent from Fievel Goes West except for some blink-and-you-miss-it cameos, but he comes back in full main character status in the direct to video sequels.
- Alliterative Name: Tony Toponi.
- The Artful Dodger: As a streetwise orphan, Tony is a stand-out example of this trope.
- Big Brother Instinct: Tony takes an immediate liking to Fievel when they meet in the sweatshop and does everything he can to take care of the child, albeit getting a little sidetracked by Bridget.
- Bilingual Bonus: Topo is Italian for mouse, hence his surname, Toponi.
- Brats with Slingshots: Older than most examples, but he uses his slingshot to shoot off Warren T. Rat's fake nose, exposing him as a cat in disguise.
- Demoted to Extra: In Fievel Goes West, but brought back to the forefront in the other sequels.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Fievel being a child and Tony being either in his teens or early 20's.
- Love at First Sight: With Bridget in the first movie, and with Cholena in the third movie.
- Meaningful Name: "Topo" is Italian for "mouse".
- The Nicknamer: Tony immediately thinks up a new name for Fievel once learning his name, apparently finding it too foreign-sounding."Fievel? Oooh, that name's gotta go! I'll tell ya what — Filly!"
- Vague Age: Probably one of the best examples in the series. His voice is
unchanged, which would imply that he's only in his early teens. But he suddenly has a baby with Bridget in the second movie, which only seems to take place a year or two after the first. Then he acts considerably more childish in the third and seconds films, with neither Bridget or the baby in sight, as well as spending most of his time with Fievel.
Bridget
Voiced by: Cathianne Blore
Bridget is an Irish mouse-rights activist who Tony meets and falls in love with. She tries to use her ties with the mouse politicians in New York to help find Fievel's family.
- Big Sister Instinct: Much like Tony, she takes a quick shine to Fievel, and takes it upon herself to watch over him, and help him as best she can.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears in the DTV sequels, never to be mentioned again.
- Demoted to Extra: In Fievel Goes West
- Fiery Redhead: Gentler than some examples, but she definitely has passion for speaking out against cats.
- Granola Girl: Of the late 1800's variety.
- Immigrant Patriotism: She's quick to espouse the benefits of living in America, particularly the right to free speech.
- Laugh of Love: Gives one to Tony when she met him for the first time.
- No Full Name Given: She's not the only character in the series without a surname, but it's odd considering that most of the mice in the first film have one.
- The One Who Wears Shoes: In a couple scenes (also a continuity error - she's barefoot in other scenes).
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Her Irish accent comes and goes if you listen.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Her parents were killed by Cats two years prior to the events of the film. Her activism for mice is her way of coping and finding meaning after their deaths.
- Parasol of Prettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her. She giggles and hides her blush behind it when he approaches her with a flower.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead
- Teen Pregnancy: She has a baby with Tony in the sequel two years after the events of the first film.
- True Blue Femininity
Warren T. Rat
Voiced by: John P. Finnegan
A crooked rat with a stranglehold on the mice of New York. He is greedy, selling poor little children like Fievel into sweatshops in exchange for their salary, and running a protection racket on the mice offering them protection from the cats in exchange for money. In reality, he is Warren T. Cat, the ringleader of the Mott Street Maulers, using his disguise to keep the mice under their forces while making some cons on the side.
- Animals Not to Scale: At least, while in costume.
- Ass in a Lion Skin: Is actually a cat dressed as a rat.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist the first film.
- Dreadful Musician: Warren plays a very cringe-worthy rendition of "Beautiful Dreamer" on his violin during the sewer scene. He claims it's because "his nose keeps getting in the way". Granted, this may be justified as he is wearing a fake rat nose.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Likes to smoke cigars and blow smoke rings. At one point the smoke comes out of his cigar in the shape of a dollar sign.
- Graceful Loser: Takes being sent to Hong Kong well, considering he knows there are mice there, meaning he can start his business back up.Warren: Hey, I wonder how you say "Trust me" in Chinese...
- Leitmotif: Has a sleazy jazz piece that accomponies his few appearances. Sadly, it was left off of the soundtrack.
- Long Bus Trip: Or in Warren's case, a long boat trip, as he's shipped off to Hong Kong and never returns in the sequels.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Enough to fool the mice at any rate.
- Punny Name: Sounds like "warranty".
- Put on a Bus: He and his gang are driven onto a boat bound for Hong Kong, never to be seen again.
- To Shakespeare
- Twinkle Smile: Thanks to a gold tooth.
- Villain Ball: He double crosses Fievel to a sweatshop, unable to resist a quick con. Had he just returned him to his family like he promised, there's a high likeliness that the elaborate chain of events that led to Fievel blowing his cover and inspiring the mice who would overthrow his operation wouldn't have happened.
- Villainous Gold Tooth: He sells poor little children like Fievel into sweatshops in exchange for their salary and runs a protection racket on the mice, and has a gold tooth.
- Wicked Cultured: Is both this and the below, because while he does fumble once or twice he successfully quotes Shakespeare. Few care to know the words that follow 'Opportunity knocks but once' after all.
- Wicked Pretentious: Warren T. Rat pretends to be more cultured than he is by attempting to play the violin, while blaming the mistakes on the fake nose.Random Cat Minion: "When da boss plays, it's culture."
- You Dirty Rat!: Warren T. Rat would seem like your typical negative portrayal of a rat until we find out he's not a rat at all but a cat.
- Your Size May Vary: Taken to the extreme with Warren T. Rat, who at one point is dwarfed by the fat rat at the sweatshop, and later is shown the same size as the rest of the cats in his gang.
Digit
Voiced by: Will Ryan
Dubbed by: Roger Carel (French)
A tiny roach who works for Warren as an accountant. He is generally dissatisfied with his job, but seems to be too afraid to quit. He emits sparks from his antennae when excited.
- Four-Legged Insect: He is an insect with four legs instead of six.
- Furry Confusion: Realistic, scary roaches appear later in the film that don't look a thing like Digit. Nor do they wear clothes or speak, for that matter.
- Graceful Loser: Similar to Warren, when deported to Hong Kong, he decides to cut his losses, and merrily sets on learning to calculate in Chinese.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Much more cartoony than anyone else; he's the only character in the film to do a Wild Take.
- The Unintelligible: Some of his sped-up dialogue can be hard to understand.
Gussie Mausheimer
Voiced by: Madeline Kahn, Perrette Pradier (European French)
A rich uptown mouse who is committed to ridding New York of its cat menace, and finally gets an idea on how to accomplish this from one of Fievel's fairy tales.
- Big Good: Considering that one of the big conflicts of the first movie was cats attacking mice, and considering that she's the one who orchestrated bringing everyone together and signalled when to release the secret weapon, she more or less functions as one for the first film.
- Boob-Based Gag: There's a gag in which a feather on her hat falls onto her breasts, and when a drunken Honest John goes to pick it up, Gussie slaps him with her fan.
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: "Wewease....ze secwet...WEAPON!!"
- Grand Dame: She's wealthy and has an air of sophistication about her, and an idea of how things should be: she freaks out at the sight of a dead mouse on a table, and has to have it explained to her that this is how irish mice have their funerals.
- Upper-Class Twit: A more benevolent example. Despite being the Big Good for the film, Gussie does have somewhat of an elitist attitude and at the aforementioned funeral, a line of dialogue suggests that her prime motivation is more out of self-interest since Warren T. Rat's gang doesn't make distinctions regarding which mice they attack be they rich or poor.
Henri
Voiced by: Christopher Plummer
A French pigeon who encourages Fievel to seek his family when he washes up on Ellis Island.
- The Cameo: Makes a cameo during a montage in The Treasure of Manhattan Island when Fievel and his friends are showing Cholena around New York.
- Deadpan Snarker: Henri delivers this line when he sees Fievel for the first time. "Now they (immigrate) are coming by bottle"
- Feather Fingers: They look like real wings most of the time, but then he does things like hold up a coin with his feathers.
- Herald: He's the character that more or less sets Fievel off on his adventure.
- Pep-Talk Song: "Never Say Never"
Honest Jon
Voiced by: Neil Ross
A chubby politician who has a tendency to be drunk. He aided the other mice in the plan to get rid out of the Mott Street Maulers.
- Alcohol Hic: When we're first introduced to him, he's drunk as a skunk, and hiccuping periodically.
- The Alcoholic: Has a tendency to drink a lot.
- Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: After spending five minutes trying to stop the premature release of the mice' Secret Weapon, he hears the boat whistle sound and realizes it's time to release it for real.Random Mouse: Make up your mind!
- The Determinator: When the Secret Weapon is released too early, he puts all his weight into ensuring it is stopped, and rallies the panicking mice to secure it before their opportunity to stop the cats is lost.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite being a Sleazy Politician who collects ghost votes, he's geniunely a good mouse.
- Oh, Crap!: When the cats show up too early and the mice release the Secret Weapon in a panic, Honest Jon also panics and alerts everyone to stop it before it's too late. He does this again when it is time to release and the weapon is now trapped in its riggings.
- Only Sane Man: When the mice release the Secret Weapon the moment the cats arrive, he's the one to know it's too early and tries to stop it.
- Windbag Politician
The Cossack Cats
A group of vicious cats that come in the wake of human Cossacks. While the human Cossacks terrorize Jewish people of a shtetl during a pogrom, the cats do the same on the shtetl's mice. They are responsible for the Mousekewitz family moving to America.
- Cats Are Mean: They're the introduction to this trope in the series; the Mousekewitz family is too scared to even say the word "cat" in case it makes them appear.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: They wear similar outfits to their human counterparts, but only on the upper part of their body.
- Karma Houdini: They receive no comeuppance for attacking the mice and burning their homes down.
- Knight of Cerebus: The New York and Wild West cats are menacing but comedic thugs who rely on eccentric scams to get the mice under their grasp. By contrast, the Cossack cats are much more feral and sinister, with the mice unable to fully repel them.
- Phlegmings: They drool with their teeth and tongues out upon arriving in the shtetl, no doubt salivating at the carnage they're up to inflict on the mice.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Although their role is brief, it is their actions that cause the Mousekewitz family and other mice to move to America.
- Starter Villain: They are the first group of villains introduced in the film.
- Stock Sound Effects: Their monster-like growls were lifted from Dragon in The Secret of NIMH, with one of them coming from the Balrog in 1978's The Lord of the Rings.
Moe
Voiced by: Hal Smith
A fat rat who runs the sweatshop Fievel is sold to by Warren T.
- Animals Not to Scale: He dwarfs Warren T., while the latter’s in his disguise.
- Bad Boss: None of his workers are allowed to leave the sweatshop and He treats them like slaves.
- Cigar Chomper:
- Fat Bastard: He is a fat, cruel, ruthless, treacherous, and sinister rat
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Likes to smoke cigars.
- Mean Boss:
- Would Hurt a Child: He throws Fievel like a bowling ball, horrifying the other workers.
The Orphan Alley Bullies
A group of homeless mice who mock Fievel after finding him sleeping in their spot, telling Fievel he will never be able to find his family and that he should forget them because they don't care about him.
According to storyboards, their names are Roc (the fat one with black hair), Pee Wee (the gray one in the orange hat), and Noodles (the bald one with glasses).
- Early-Bird Cameo: Noodles is seen earlier at Moe's Sweatshop.
- Fat Bastard: Roc
- Final Boss: They are the last group of villains who appear in the film.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Noodles.
- Freudian Excuse: Their rancourous attitudes are implied to have stemmed by their own failures to find their families. One outright told Fievel that he gave up looking for his family years ago.
- Gang of Bullies / Terrible Trio: All three of them do nothing but pick on Fievel.
- Hate Sink: The fact that they mock Fievel, briefly convince him to give up looking for his family, make him throw a tantrum and lose hope, push him into a mud puddle, throw straw at him so he can make a bed, reduce him to tears, and them getting away scot-free, makes it easy to despise them with a fiery passion.
- Jerkasses: They are complete heartless jerks to Fievel. Although, if you stop to think about it…
- Karma Houdini: They receive no comeuppance for mocking Fievel, telling Fievel he will never be able to find his family and that he should forget them, shoving him into a puddle, throwing hay at him, and making him cry. Though they are presumed to be scared away by Gussie and Tiger when they tried to take Fievel away from his family, or they had already left by then.
- Kick the Dog / Kids Are Cruel: They convince Fievel that he'll never find his family, and then shove him into a puddle and throw hay at him so he can make a bed.
- Lack of Empathy: They never show any sympathy to Fievel. If anything they just taunt him for looking for his family.
- Lean and Mean: Pee Wee & Noodles
- More Hateable Minor Villains: They only serve as easy targets for audience's hate once Warren T. is gone.
- No Sympathy: See Lack of Empathy above.
- Shadow Archetypes: They are likely an allegory of what Fievel would have become if he had already thrown in the towel.
- Villainy-Free Villains: Other than ganging up Fievel and making him give up hope on finding his family, they don't do anything truly evil.
- Vocal Dissonance: For some reason, in the DVD version, Roc and Pee Wee are dubbed by adults, and it shows. Noodles retains his kid-like voice, though.
- What Happened To The Mice: They are not there when Fievel is reunited with his family. It's not clear if they moved elsewhere or got scared off by Tiger's approach.
Characters From Fievel Goes West
Wylie Burp
Voiced by: Jimmy Stewart
A retired law dog that Fievel idolizes before he moves out west. He then teams up with Fievel and trains Tiger to take his place.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Oddly absent from Fievel's American Tails.
- Death Glare: The Laaaaaazy EYE.
- Hurricane of Puns: When Fievel asks for help against the cats, Burp goes on a long, dog-themed triad to explain how far he is beyond his prime.Burp: Let this sleeping dog lie, son. Doggone it, I'm dog tired. I'm tired of leading a dog's life and fighting like cats and dogs against cats and dogs and young pups dogging my trail trying to become top dog. I'm going to the dogs in a dog-eat-dog world, son.
- The Mentor: Quite an sarcastic one when it comes to being Tiger's mentor in gunslinging and teaching how to behave like a dog to fight against Cat R. Waul's gang.
- Passing the Torch: He trains Tiger to be his replacement.
- Policeman Dog: He's a retired lawman (or, well, lawdog) who used to be responsible for keeping law on the lawless frontier, although by the time the movie starts he is old and tired.
- Retired Badass: It's implied in the film that he was the best at being sheriff when he was younger and ever since he gotten older, he long retired from being sheriff. But when he comes out of retirement one final time, he shows that he still has it in him.
- Shout-Out: His name and profession is a reference to legendary and controversial lawman Wyatt Earp.
Miss Kitty
Voiced by: Amy Irving ("Fievel Goes West"); Cynthia Ferrer ("Fievel's American Tails")
Tiger's ex girlfriend who leaves him to go west and have real adventures. Ends up as head matron to Cat R. Waul's saloon, and shows Tanya the glamor of stardom.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Has a rather husky figure as far as female love interests go, but she still is a strong attractive character.
- Big Sister Mentor: Became one for Tanya.
- City Mouse: But quickly turns into a...
- Fiery Redhead: Downplayed. She doesn't have a bad temper, but she clearly doesn't take crap from either Tiger or Cat R. Waul.
- Fluffy Fashion Feathers: She wears a feather in her hair while working in the saloon.
- Furry Female Mane: A really glaring example. Her red hair stands out against her gray-white fur like a sore thumb.
- Miss Kitty: Not the trope namer, but still fits the trope.
- Put on a Bus: She vanishes from the rest of the series.
- The Bus Came Back: For one episode of Fievel's American Tails, though she was off model and had a different voice.
- The Bus Came Back: For one episode of Fievel's American Tails, though she was off model and had
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She broke up with kind-hearted Tiger to go west and have real adventures, but ends up stuck working for Waul in a rundown saloon. The only thing that keeps her going is her memories and remaining love for Tiger who she longs to reunite with.
Cat R. Waul
Voiced by: John Cleese ("Fievel Goes West"), Gerrit Graham ("Fievel's American Tails")
An evil British cat who schemes to eat all the mice of Green River by luring them there with the promise that out west, cats are nice to mice. He's also Wicked Cultured and planned to spare Tanya from the fate of the other mice because he liked her singing voice.
- Affably Evil: Is always incredibly polite and amiable to the mice, even to Fievel when he is about to eat him.
- All According to Plan: "Jolly, jolly good. Now for my part."
- Badass Cape: More fashionable than badass but he certainly tries to make it look intimidating.
- Big Bad: The ringleader of the Green River cats.
- The Chessmaster: Everything Cat R. Waul does is one large scheme to eventually get him and his followers their "mouse burgers". It all starts by staging an attack on the mice, then using a puppet to lead them to the west.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: While just as exploitive and deceptive as his predecessor, Waul goes about his plot much differently than how Warren T. Rat did.
- Warren's overall goal was to line his pockets and stay in power over the mouse populace of New York by having them pay him to dissuade the Mott Street Maulers from killing the mice, only to let the Maulers devour a mouse every once in a while to maintain his Protection Racket. Waul, on the other hand, had the more short-term goal of luring the mice away from New York with promises of a better life out West in order to dupe them into help building a saloon for his fellow felines and then turn them into mouse burgers when they had fulfilled their purpose.
- In order to get the mice to trust him, Warren disguised himself as a rat to present himself as a liaison between the cats and the mice when he was really the leader of the Mott Street Maulers while Waul presented himself as a sophisticated gentlecat who was above the instinctual urges of his species.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Or, a cat named Cat.
- Evil Brit: As the head of the Green River cats, it comes as no surprise.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: More noticeable than other examples due to how fashionable his outfit is and how often he accidentally loses his clothes when suddenly in the presence of humans.
- Herald: Which is interesting since he's also the Big Bad. It's all part of his scheme.
- Leitmotif: Has a jazzy theme, heard best at the beginning of "Cat Rumble
." - Love at First Note: Love is perhaps too strong a word, but Cat R. Waul is undeniably entranced by Tanya's voice to the point of tears. He sets her up as his personal diva under Miss Kitty's tutelage and even sabotages his own plan when she is in danger of being caught in it.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: His voice, his clothes, his refusal to downright inability to eat a meal without fine music to enjoy it with...
- Marshmallow Hell: From his human owner, he gets this early on in the movie, and again at the end.
- Pragmatic Villainy: After being discovered by Fievel, Cat R. Waul debates with himself on whether or not to simply eat the boy, but sends him on his way for fear of drawing the parents' attention. He then orders Chula to Make It Look Like an Accident (and he's also justifiably confident Fievel will die stranded out in the desert).
- Punny Name: A play on 'caterwaul'.
- Saloon Owner: His official position isn't really made clear but he does care enough to want a singer who matches the saloon's opulence.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Not nearly as bad as most examples but his words still fly over the heads of his minions.
- Slasher Smile: Just look at his image.
- Stiff Upper Lip: Never says the phrase but whenever he suffers from an embarrassing mishap that would leave most villains fuming, he just regains his composure and immediately attempts to exact justice.
- Villainous Breakdown: Starts gradually when Fievel, Tiger and Wylie start getting the upper hand in the final battle, and peaks when Tanya fully exposes his plan.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Somehow convinces the New York mice that he's a great guy who would never in his life eat mice. Even more impressive, he continues to convince the mice of this week after week in the TV series.
- Wicked Cultured: Though this seems to come to him naturally, he goes out of his way to cultivate it even more.
T.R. Chula
Voiced by: Jon Lovitz ("Fievel Goes West"), Dan Castellaneta ("Fievel's American Tails")
Cat R. Waul's tarantula sidekick who gleefully obeys Waul's orders, and has fun doing it too.
- Bumbling Sidekick: Becomes one to Waul in Fievel's American Tails.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Digit from the first film. Like Digit, Chula is the Big Bad's insectile sidekick — but the similarities end there. Digit was Warren T. Rat's financial brains, unintelligble, and not physically violent. Chula, by contrast, is crude, vulgar, and has no problems getting his spider legs dirty.
- The Dragon: Among Cat R. Waul's gang, Chula is his most skilled minion.
- Evil Laugh: When the prospect of causing harm comes up, Chula's always giddy and giving a signature "Eeehehehehe!"
- Giant Spider: Or more accurately, a normal-sized spider who's a giant compared to the mice.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: While hunting Fievel, T.R. sings his own rendition of "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider".T.R.: The inky-dinky spider caught a mouse in his web. The inky-dinky spider bit off the mouse's head!
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Cat R. Waul orders Chula to give Fievel "the Flying Ah" to Chula's delight. Chula grab's Fievel's leg from below and throws him off the train into the desert.
- Punny Name: Sounds like 'tarantula', which is what he is.
- Super Spit: T.R. Chula produces his webbing by spitting it.
- Took a Level in Badass: Double subverted, getting more Ax-Crazy as the film goes on, becoming a bumbling sidekick in Fievel's American Tails.
- Truth in Television: Much like the cats he works for, he's totally hellbent on getting a taste of rodent meat. Certain species of real-life tarantulas can hunt and devour mice.◊
- Villainous Gold Tooth: He reveals his gold tooth with every Slasher Smile.
Sweet William
Voiced by: Kenneth Mars
Originally just a random member of Waul's gang, he becomes a bigger threat in Fievel's American Tails.
- Arm Cannon: His "mouse slapper" device that he orders from a catalog in one episode, an arm cannon that shoots nets at the mice. Rather Steampunk if you consider the time period and setting.
- Ascended Extra: Only appears as a background character in Fievel Goes West, but is the main villain in some episodes of Fievel's American Tails.
- Dragon Ascendant: In the movie, he's just a random goon in Cat R. Waul's gang, but in the tv series, he strikes it out on his own, leading a Terrible Trio with two other of Waul's former henchmen, and he has no calms about beating the shit out of his old boss should Waul anger and/or inconvenience him, to the point that Waul is utterly terrified of him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In "Babysitter Blues" when Yasha escapes Fievel and wanders into Sweet William's lair, the usually evil cat can't bring himself to eat such a cute little creature, and later saves her from Cat R. Waul.
Characters From The Treasure of Manhattan Island
Cholena
Voiced by: Elaine Bilstad (speaking), Leeza Miller (singing)
Cholena is the daughter of the Chief of an underground tribe of Native American mice, who fled underground with the arrival of European settlers in Manhattan. Fievel befriends her and brings her up to the surface in an effort to prove that European mice aren't bad.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Tony has a crush on her, but she doesn't seem interested.
- Award-Bait Song: "Anywhere in Your Dreams", a duet she sings with Fievel and The Treasure of Manhattan Island's answer to "Dreams to Dream".
- Braids, Beads and Buckskins: Her attire follows this trope.
- The Chief's Daughter: She is the daughter of the Chief of the Lenape mice.
- Fur Is Skin: Her fur, as well as that of everyone else in her tribe, even matches the general skin tone of most human Native Americans.
- Indian Maiden: An attempt at a more culturally sensitive example of this trope.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She is dwarfed by her father and looks nothing like him.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Has this kind of relationship with Tony.
Mr. Grasping
Voiced by: Ron Perlman
Left to right: Toplofty, Grasping and O'Bloat
One of three corrupt owners (the other two are listed below) of a cheese factory, who turn it into a sweatshop and later stir the workers into a crusade against the Native American mice living beneath the city.
- Arch-Enemy: To Papa Mousekewitz, as he sees him as a threat to keeping their workers in line.
- Big Bad: Of An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, along with Toplofty and O' Bloat. He would seem to be the leader of the other two.
- Karma Houdini: The worst thing that happens to them in the end is being forced to give their employees a better treatment.
- Meaningful Name: Grasping for power.
- Too Important to Walk: Gets carried around on a sofa by wage slaves with his two associates.
- The Unfought: Though they interact with Tony and Papa Mousekewitz, he and his two partners never actually appear on screen together with either Fievel or Cholena, despite plotting to kidnap the latter, and instead have Chief McBrusque and Scuttlebutt take on the heroes in the climax.
Toplofty
Voiced by: Tony Jay
- Beard of Evil: Has a walrus moustache and a goatee.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Along with Grasping and O'Bloat.
- Evil Brit: As provided by Tony Jay.
- Fat Bastard: The most portly of the three factory owners.
- Meaningful Name: Presumably has a lofty view of himself and is lifted atop people's heads.
O'Bloat
Voiced by: Richard Karron
- Alcohol Hic: He is shown to be eating cheese in any scene he and his associates appear in.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Along with Grasping and Toplofty.
- Ironic Name: His name is O'Bloat, but he is actually skinny.
- Stupid Evil: He's the stereotypical "dumb one" of the bunch.
Chief McBrusque
Voiced by: Sherman Howard
A crooked cop who is on the payroll of the three villains, doing their dirty work and enjoying every minute of it.
- Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Played straight in The Treasure of Manhattan Island.
- Dirty Cop: He accepts payment from Grasping, O'Bloat, and Toplofty, to beat their factory workers when they step out of line, as well as engaging in police brutality for his own sadistic pleasure.
- Disney Villain Death: After a brief fight, Fievel blows up the tunnels, and Chief McBrusque and Scuttlebutt actually die by falling deep underground and being drowned by a flood of water.
- Jerkass: Goes far from it as the film goes on.
- Police Brutality: He embodies the whole trope. When he and Scuttlebutt first meet, he's sure it's their first meeting because Scuttlebutt doesn't have any broken body parts.
- Torches and Pitchforks: He does this later on in the film with order from the factory owners.
Dr. Dithering
Voiced by: René Auberjonois
An archeologist from the Museum of Natural History that Tony worked for once, who deciphers the map Fievel and Tony find and accompanies their expedition for the 'treasure' under Manhattan that appears on the map.
- Flat Character: He exists to fill a place in the narrative, but his personality isn't much explored.
- The Professor: This is his profession, as an archaeologist.
Scuttlebutt
Voiced by: John Kassir
Dr. Dithering's hired assistant, who as it turns out, was also secretly under the employment of Grasping, Toplofty and O'Bloat.
- Dirty Coward: Actually he's a good example of the contrast between a Dirty Coward and a Lovable Coward (Tiger) appearing in the same work.
- Disney Villain Death: Dies along with Chief McBrusque in the climax when they fall into a deep hole in the underground and get drowned in a flood of water.
- The Mole: Is thought to have been the assistant of Dr. Dithering. In actuality, he is a spy working for the corrupt factory owners.
- You Dirty Rat!: Tony's excuse to the Chief of the Native American mice after Scuttlebutt is caught stealing from them is "Well, he's a rat, ya know."
- Scuttlebutt takes this harshly, as he goes straight for Tony at the end and smacks him into a wall.
Characters From Mystery of the Night Monster
Nellie Brie
Voiced by: Susan Boyd
Nellie Brie is a no-nonsense, down to Earth reporter with a mind for facts. She's also one of the craftiest reporters New York's mice have ever known, and her work for the Daily Nibbler is legendary. She's constantly at odds with her editor, who believes more in selling newspapers than bringing people facts.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Reed Daley.
- Cool Big Sis: To Fievel in The Mystery of the Night Monster. She helps him deal with his fears while her boss forces her to babysit him.
- Expy:
- She's been compared to Sawyer from Cats Don't Dance in both appearance and personality, but it's unknown if it was just a coincidence.
- Also, her voice is based on Katharine Hepburn's.
- Intrepid Reporter: She's the one investigating The Mystery of the Night Monster. One of her plans to do so involved infiltrating a restricted area.
- Master of Disguise: She does a lot of undercover reporting which involves her wearing a cunning disguise. Fievel and Tanya first meet her as she's wearing a police uniform and a fake beard.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: She's based on Nellie Bly, a newspaper reporter from the late 1800's. Even down to her appearance.◊
- Tsundere: With Reed Daley, who acts the same way right back at her.
Reed Daley
Voiced by: Robert Hays
He is the editor of the Daily Nibbler, a fast-talking and charismatic boss who's constantly at odds with Nellie Brie over whether her ideas for reports will sell newspapers.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Though he's always giving Nellie a hard time, it's revealed later on that he secretly harbors feelings for her.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Nellie Brie.
- The Nicknamer: He nicknames Fievel "Rembrandt" after catching Fievel doodling a picture of him with overly-large ears. He then hires Fievel to draw people's depictions of the Night Monster (mostly just to annoy Nellie).
- Oblivious to Love: Though Tanya has a deep crush on him, he never even notices.
- Punny Name: Reed Daley, read daily, get it?
- Tsundere: Rare male example, though he and Nellie both act this way to each other.
Madame Mousey
Voiced by: Candi Milo
Madame Mousey (pronounced 'Moo-say') is a small french poodle, who fled her owner to cause some trouble on her own. She has a very short-fused temper, and starts her own gang of cats in the sewer.
- Berserk Button: Mispronouncing her name, commenting on her size and confusing her species (a toy poodle) with a rat all drive her berserk.
- Big Bad: Of An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: After her plan was foiled, she is apprehended by the dog council and given a punishment worse than prison: she is returned to her smothering owner.
- Dog Stereotype: The spoiled poodle.
- Fortune Teller: Though her methods are, shall we say, somewhat suspicious.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Well, she did build the mechanical 'Manhattan Monster'.
- The Napoleon: To quote her Villain Song; "If Napoleon were a her with fur, he would be me!"
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: In the movie, she constantly slips between a French accent and a Brooklyn accent whenever angry, implying that her French accent is fake.
- Phony Psychic: Her psychic act is all a ploy to spread fear over the Night Monster.
- Pretentious Pronunciation: She insists that her last name is "Moo-say." Pronouncing it the way it's spelled triggers her Berserk Button.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is, by far, the only female villain in the American Tail franchise.
