History Headscratchers / AnAmericanTail

** More likely, they just didn't see the point. To even be "working" in the sweatshop they must have no family, no money, no place to go. Why run away and risk ending up on the streets starving, when they could stay where there's garanteed food and shelter?

I'd assume that's the reason. This is all from the mice's point of view.

* Why are the cats in the beginning so terrifying and why do they roar like lions? Is that what they sound like to the mice?

* Why are the cats in the beginning so terrifying and why do they roar like lions? Is that what their purring sounds like to the mice?

! ''Fievel Goes West''
* Why didn't Fievel follow the train tracks after going overboard?
** Because he's a little kid and doesn't think things through very well.
** Fievel actually does follow them, at first. He later becomes dehydrated and hallucinates his family out in the desert, and he wanders away from the tracks.
* How do the Native American mice have all that food in the middle of a desert?
** There are numerous animals and vegetation that are capable of surviving in the desert, and there are trade routes between those who live out in the desert and those who live closer to oases.
* How did NONE of the mice realize they were building an enormous, fully functional, and completely undisguised mouse trap?
** Maybe they all just never pay attention?
** [[TooDumbToLive Same reason]] Cat R. Waul has no trouble tricking them ''again'' in quite a few episodes of ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* Cat R. Waul was planning to spare Tanya because she's his "diva." Did it ever cross his mind that she might not be that enthusiastic about performing after witnessing him murder her entire family?
* Something that's always annoyed me: Fievel's dad in the second film telling him to effectively forget about Tiger because "he's still a cat." But then when they get to Green River, he instantly just accepts cats can be good too? Why?
** They weren't under the impression that the cats in Green River were good until after they got there, right?
** The villain used a puppet to pitch the idea of cats and mice in Green River getting along. Admittedly the father's line there (now that I really think about it) comes later on in the film. But that doesn't quite explain why they weren't too bothered about uprooting for a promised land, again.
*** Again, TruthInTelevision: Plenty of immigrants actually did head west because, again, they were told there was opportunity there. It was actually a bit closer to truthful, since even if they would still face social stigmas for being Irish/Jewish/Polish/whatnot, there was a semi-decent chance to make enough money or be invaluable enough that the social stigma didn't matter.
* Wait, those humans throwing tomatoes and eggs could hear Tanya singing?

* In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' how in the heck are the Native Americans growing crops in an underground cave where there's no sunlight? Where do they get the huge fruits and vegetables we see them feeding Tiger?

!"The Treasure of Manhattan Island"

!"The Treasure of Manhattan Island

** On a somewhat related note, in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' how in the heck are the Native Americans growing crops in an underground cave where there's no sunlight? Where do they get the huge fruits and vegetables we see them feeding Tiger?

** How high they were up was probably a discouragement, and Feivel's idea was crazy. Crazy enough to work.

* Why was Tony Toponi almost completely left out of the second film? This alone makes me dislike it a bit.
** Tony's there. When the mice are moving in, he and Bridget are moving into an old boot with a little baby. He just wasn't essential the the current plot, so they didn't recognize him. Though they do put Bridget (and the baby) on a bus for the midquels.

* What is the point of the scene in the second movie where the human lady shoves the cat in her cleavage while shouting "pussy"? Like, is that supposed to be funny? It just seems so random and out of place, especially in a kids' movie.
** It's not random, it's setting up the ending. Once Cat R. Waul has been defeated, he ends up on a train with the same woman, impying his karmic punishment is becoming her unwilling pet.

* It's not random, it's setting up the ending. Once Cat R. Waul has been defeated, he ends up on a train with the same woman, impying his karmic punishment is becoming her unwilling pet.

*** There are numerous animals and vegetation that are capable of surviving in the desert, and there are trade routes between those who live out in the desert and those who live closer to oases.

* How do the Native Americans that appear in ''Fievel Goes West'' have all that food in the middle of a desert?
** On a somewhat related note, in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''...how in the heck are the Native Americans growing crops in an underground cave where there's no sunlight? Where do they get the huge fruits and vegetables we see them feeding Tiger?
*** As to the first question, there are numerous animals and vegetation that are capable of surviving in the desert, and there are trade routes between those who live out in the desert and those who live closer to oases.
* How did NONE of the mice realize they were building an enormous, fully functional, and completely undisguised mouse trap?
** Maybe they all just never pay attention?
** [[TooDumbToLive Same reason]] Cat R. Waul has no trouble tricking them ''again'' in quite a few episodes of ''Fievel's American Tails''.

*** Yup. "The streets are paved with cheese" was a reference to an actual belief, that America was so ridiculously rich that they paved the streets with gold.
* Watching this movie as a kid, it really bugged me when, every five minutes, Fievel and his family would be moments away from reuniting without realizing it. It's a real MindScrew for a seven year old child.
** As a young child, I saw it as [[YouCantFightFate unfortunate coincidences]] keeping them ''barely'' apart until Fievel fulfilled his destined prerogative or the movie was close enough to feature-length. RuleOfDrama (the poignancy of repeatedly missing them ForWantOfANail, and the TruthInTelevision of him missing them InSpiteOfANail) and seeing that his family was making their way okay, I think, justified the near-misses.
* When the cats capture Fievel in the first film, why do they put him in a cage instead of just killing him?
** Maybe they were planning on sending him back to the sweat shop.
** OffscreenVillainy. We never see a mouse actually get eaten by a cat in the entire series, it's only implied that it happens (though Fievel gets ''almost'' eaten).

* I get that humans can't understand the talking animals but do they not notice that they wear clothes?
** They probably do, but in this universe there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about animals wearing clothes. The humans would just think of it as normal; maybe they'd notice it more if they saw an animal that ''didn't'' wear clothes. "Hey, look at that mouse, Bill, not a stitch of clothing on him! Times must be hard."
* What is the point of the scene in the second movie where the human lady shoves the cat in her cleavage while shouting "pussy"? Like, is that supposed to be funny? It just seems so random and out of place, especially in a kids' movie.
* Something that's always annoyed me: Fievel's dad in the second film telling him to effectively forget about Tiger because 'He was still a cat.' despite acknowledging that he was good - But they're going to Green River where apparently cats are good, too. Why?
** They weren't under the impression that the cats in Green River were good until after they got there, right?
** The villain used a puppet to pitch the idea of cats and mice in Green River getting along. Admittedly the father's line there (now that I really think about it) comes later on in the film. But that doesn't quite explain why they weren't too bothered about uprooting for a promised land, again.
*** Again, TruthInTelevision: Plenty of immigrants actually did head west because, again, they were told there was opportunity there. It was actually a bit closer to truthful, since even if they would still face social stigmas for being Irish/Jewish/Polish/whatnot, there was a semi-decent chance to make enough money or be invaluable enough that the social stigma didn't matter.
* Why didn't Fievil follow the train tracks in the second film after going overboard?
** Because he's a little kid and doesn't think things through very well.
* In the first film, why did all the other sweatshop workers never think of tying their sheets together into a rope and going out the window before? Why did they need a little kid to tell them they could do that when at least one of them is clearly an adult (the one with a deep voice and a beard)? And what made them think Fievel was crazy and it wouldn't work?
** How high they were up was probably a discouragement, and Feivel's idea was crazy. Crazy enough to work.

** Tony's there. When the mice are moving in, he and Bridget are moving into an old boot with a little baby. He just wasn't essential the the current plot, so they didn't recognize him. Though they do put Bridget(and the baby) on a bus for the midquels.
* Why is Tanya so arrogant in the last two films? In the first ones she was more close and lovely to Fievel.
** She's growing older, and is entering the age where she begins thinking of herself as "grown-up" and "done with childish things." And so the younger Fievel, who is still playing around, comes across much more as an AnnoyingYoungerSibling in her eyes, hence she has less patience with him. It's not an uncommon phase for older siblings to go through.

* Why is Tanya so arrogant in the last two films? In the first ones she was more close and lovely to Fievel.

* Why is Tanya so arrogant in the last two films? I the first ones she was more close and lovely to Fievel.

** Tony's there. When the mice are moving in, he and Bridget are moving into an old boot with a little baby. He just wasn't essential the the current plot, so they didn't recognize him. Though they do put Bridget(and the baby) on a bus for the midquels.

* Why was Tony Toponi almost completely left out of the second film? This alone makes me dislike it a bit.

** How high they were up was probably a discouragement, and Feivel's idea was crazy. Crazy enough to work.