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* BeastFable: They're not just mice. They're immigrants.
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* BeastFable: They're not just mice. They're Russo-Jewish immigrants.
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* AmericanDream: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed at length]] in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' though it is arguably a major theme in all of the movies...except maybe [[BLAMEpisode the fourth one.]]
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* AmericanDream: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed at length]] in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' though it is arguably a major theme in all of the movies...except maybe [[BLAMEpisode [[BizarroEpisode the fourth one.]]
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* BLAMEpisode: The fourth movie, ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'', really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. While the third movie at least made a few allusions to the first movie, the fourth one is just kind of all by itself canonically. At worst it seems like a recycled plot for a ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' movie.
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* BLAMEpisode: BizarroEpisode: The fourth movie, ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'', really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. While the third movie at least made a few allusions to the first movie, the fourth one is just kind of all by itself canonically. At worst it seems like a recycled plot for a ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' movie.
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Deleted line(s) 37 (click to see context) :
* BodyScreenFillUp: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhf2LLYmJ4 AN ENTIRE VIDEO WORTH]]
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* BodyScreenFillUp: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhf2LLYmJ4 AN ENTIRE VIDEO WORTH]]
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* BodyScreenFillUp: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBhf2LLYmJ4 AN ENTIRE VIDEO WORTH]]
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Fridge sinkhole.
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* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yasha Mousekewitz, the baby who inexplicably disappears midway through the movie. (She comes back in the sequels however.)
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such a dangerous situation as the one at the pier]].
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such a dangerous situation as the one at the pier]].
to:
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yasha Mousekewitz, the baby who inexplicably disappears midway through the movie. (She comes back in the sequels however.)
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such) One could say that she's being watched by a dangerous situation as the one nanny at the pier]].time of the climax in the original film.
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such
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Namespace Fixed
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
to:
A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, Creator/StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
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* TheBigRottenApple: The films aren't afraid to show New York's dark side, reflecting 'Gilded Age' New York. The first film shows a dirty New York run by cat gangs and filled with homeless orphans, ''Fievel Goes West'' portrays it as dirty, polluted, noisy and dangerous, and ''The Treasure of Manhattan'' even highlights PoliceBrutality, sweatshops and racism.
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* TheBigRottenApple: The films aren't afraid to show New York's dark side, reflecting 'Gilded Age' New York. The first film shows a dirty New York run by cat gangs and filled with homeless orphans, ''Fievel Goes West'' portrays it as dirty, polluted, noisy and dangerous, and ''The Treasure of Manhattan'' even highlights PoliceBrutality, sweatshops and racism.
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* RetCon: In ''The Treasure of Manhatten Island'', Fievel ''dreamed'' the entirety of ''Fievel Goes West''.
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* RetCon: {{Retcon}}: In ''The Treasure of Manhatten Island'', Fievel ''dreamed'' the entirety of ''Fievel Goes West''.
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Blue Eyes is being split into different tropes (Creepy Blue Eyes,Innocent Blue Eyes, Occult Blue Eyes and Icy Blue Eyes) as per this thread
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as well
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as wellDeleted line(s) 223 (click to see context) :
* BlueEyes: Fievel is actually given an eye color in ''Fievel Goes West''. In most of his other appearances he has the typical black pupil CartoonyEyes.
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* TheBigRottenApple: The films aren't afraid to show New York's dark side, reflecting 'Gilded Age' New York. The first film shows a dirty New York run by cat gangs and filled with homeless orphans, ''Fievel Goes West'' portrays it as dirty, polluted, noisy and dangerous, and ''The Treasure of Manhattan'' even highlights PoliceBrutality, sweatshops and racism.
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Namespace, yo!
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* DisneyAcidSequence: "We're a Duo", Fievel and Tiger's ode to ThePowerOfFriendship, vaguely resembles one of the music videos from Music/{{Michael Jackson}}'s "Off the Wall" album.
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* DisneyAcidSequence: "We're a Duo", Fievel and Tiger's ode to ThePowerOfFriendship, vaguely resembles one of the music videos from Music/{{Michael Jackson}}'s Music/MichaelJackson's "Off the Wall" album.
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* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.
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* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.''Film/BlazingSaddles''.
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Changed line(s) 326 (click to see context) from:
* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vain of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. The fourth movie mostly kept the same designs, but with less shading and movement from the characters. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), luckily.
to:
* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vain of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. The fourth movie mostly kept the same designs, but with less shading and movement from the characters. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), WangFilmProductions and {{Saerom}}), luckily.
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* ABoyAGirlAndABabyFamily: The Mousekewitz's.
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* SequelGoesForeign: It pretty much follows this (though technically still in the same country there's a world of difference between New York and Green River).
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namespace
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A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
to:
A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
cats]].
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* ArmedWithCanon: ''Fievel Goes West'', the LighterAndSofter first sequel which DonBluth wasn't involved with, seemed to take a few shots at the first movie (such as Tanya getting tomatoes thrown at her for singing "Somewhere Out There", and New York turning out to be a CrapsackWorld), and in general carried itself as if LighterAndSofter equaled better. Then the third movie came along, with yet another different team of writers. Fievel wasn't out west anymore, but in New York, and the writers decided to throw in a WhamLine about Fievel having a dream where he moved out west, implying that the second movie is now CanonDiscontinuity. They then proceeded to erase the LoveInterest of Tony Toponi from the first film and pair him with their new character (which didn't even work in-story).
to:
* ArmedWithCanon: ''Fievel Goes West'', the LighterAndSofter first sequel which DonBluth wasn't involved with, seemed to take a few shots at the first movie (such as Tanya getting tomatoes thrown at her for singing "Somewhere Out There", and New York turning out to be a CrapsackWorld), and in general carried itself as if LighterAndSofter equaled better. Then the third movie came along, with yet another different team of writers. Fievel wasn't out west anymore, but in New York, and the writers decided to throw in a WhamLine about Fievel having a dream where he moved out west, implying that the second movie is now CanonDiscontinuity. They then proceeded to erase the LoveInterest of Tony Toponi from the first film and pair him with their new character (which didn't even work in-story).
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* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: The cat characters.
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* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: The cat characters.
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* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" is definitely one of the best-known examples, and probably the TropeCodifier.
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* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" is definitely one of the best-known examples, and probably the TropeCodifier.
Changed line(s) 98 (click to see context) from:
* ContrivedCoincidence: Fievel gets washed overboard in a raging storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of drowning, he somehow ends up inside a floating glass bottle, which ''somehow'' ends up washing ashore right onto Ellis Island, which coincidentally is of course near New York, where Fievel's family was headed. Luck and the ocean currents were definitely on little Fievel's side, apparently.
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* ContrivedCoincidence: Fievel gets washed overboard in a raging storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of drowning, he somehow ends up inside a floating glass bottle, which ''somehow'' ends up washing ashore right onto Ellis Island, which coincidentally is of course near New York, where Fievel's family was headed. Luck and the ocean currents were definitely on little Fievel's side, apparently.
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* MysteriousMiddleInitial: Warren T. Rat, and in the sequel, Cat R. Waul (JohnCleese). Though the middle initials in both names are there to create a pun.
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* MysteriousMiddleInitial: Warren T. Rat, and in the sequel, Cat R. Waul (JohnCleese).(Creator/JohnCleese). Though the middle initials in both names are there to create a pun.
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* ParasolOfPrettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her.
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* ParasolOfPrettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her.
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* YouExclamation: Warren says this when he notices Fievel spying on him through his mirror.
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* YouExclamation: Warren says this when he notices Fievel spying on him through his mirror.
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* BabiesEverAfter: Tony and Bridget's ''Fievel Goes West'' cameos where they're seen with a baby.
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* BabiesEverAfter: Tony and Bridget's ''Fievel Goes West'' cameos where they're seen with a baby.
Changed line(s) 217 (click to see context) from:
* BeYourself: It's what both Fievel and Tanya learn by the end of ''Fievel Goes West'', and it's shown that they've learned it more through action than words; i.e. Tanya washing her make-up off and Fievel turning his hat right-side-in so it's blue again and not a cowboy hat.
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* BeYourself: It's what both Fievel and Tanya learn by the end of ''Fievel Goes West'', and it's shown that they've learned it more through action than words; i.e. Tanya washing her make-up off and Fievel turning his hat right-side-in so it's blue again and not a cowboy hat.
Changed line(s) 222 (click to see context) from:
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Native Americans in both ''Fievel Goes West'' and ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' stick to this dress code. .
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* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Native Americans in both ''Fievel Goes West'' and ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' stick to this dress code. .
Changed line(s) 238 (click to see context) from:
* EarlyBirdCameo: Cat R. Waul shows up for a brief few seconds in the day dream Fievel has at the beginning of the movie.
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* EarlyBirdCameo: Cat R. Waul shows up for a brief few seconds in the day dream Fievel has at the beginning of the movie.
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-->'''Miss Kitty:''' You put a mouse on that stage and your saloon's gonna be as empty as Death Valley on a cold day in June when the snow don't fall.
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-->'''Miss Kitty:''' You put a mouse on that stage and your saloon's gonna be as empty as Death Valley on a cold day in June when the snow don't fall.
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* LongLostUncleAesop: Fievel's Aunt Sophie from Russia in one episode of ''Fievel's American Tails''.
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* LongLostUncleAesop: Fievel's Aunt Sophie from Russia in one episode of ''Fievel's American Tails''.
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* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cat R. Waul, voiced by the extremely English JohnCleese, tries to fake a Texas accent when operating his mouse marionette, but despite the liberal use of "y'all" it's... less than convincing.
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* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cat R. Waul, voiced by the extremely English JohnCleese, Creator/JohnCleese, tries to fake a Texas accent when operating his mouse marionette, but despite the liberal use of "y'all" it's... less than convincing.
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* SheCleansUpNicely: Tanya after her makeover.
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* SheCleansUpNicely: Tanya after her makeover.
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* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life, non G-Rated-version of this scenario would likely play out.
to:
* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life, non G-Rated-version of this scenario would likely play out.
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* TranslationConvention: Averted with the Mousican chief. When he speaks to Tiger he's heard using his native tongue but there are not even subtitles. Makes you wonder what's he just saying...
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* TranslationConvention: Averted with the Mousican chief. When he speaks to Tiger he's heard using his native tongue but there are not even subtitles. Makes you wonder what's he just saying...
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* CorruptCorporateExecutive: All three of the corrupt factory owners.
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* CorruptCorporateExecutive: All three of the corrupt factory owners.
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* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Scuttlebutt and Chief [=McBrusque=] actually die, by falling into a deep underground chasm and being drowned by a flood of water.]]
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* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Scuttlebutt and Chief [=McBrusque=] actually die, by falling into a deep underground chasm and being drowned by a flood of water.]] ]]
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* EdibleAmmunition: The underground Native Americans fend of the NYPD with nothing but berries and seeds. The police aren't depicted carrying guns, which helps.
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* EdibleAmmunition: The underground Native Americans fend of the NYPD with nothing but berries and seeds. The police aren't depicted carrying guns, which helps.
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* InTheLocalTongue: Cholena gives Tony (who'd been hitting on her) the nickname "Poolaook", which he is later disappointed to find out means "turkey".
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* InTheLocalTongue: Cholena gives Tony (who'd been hitting on her) the nickname "Poolaook", which he is later disappointed to find out means "turkey".
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* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely.
to:
* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely.
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Changed line(s) 303 (click to see context) from:
* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life version of this scenario would likely play out.
to:
* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life version life, non G-Rated-version of this scenario would likely play out.
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Changed line(s) 322 (click to see context) from:
* AnimationBump: The third movie, which was done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, has surprisingly better animation than you'd think for a direct-to-video production. The same can't be said for ''Mystery of the Night Monster''.
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* AnimationBump: The third movie, which was done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, has surprisingly better animation than you'd think for a direct-to-video production. The same can't be said for ''Mystery of the Night Monster''.Monster'' (handled by Tama Productions).
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* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vanes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. That's because the third movie was done by TMSEntertainment, the same studio that did Animaniacs, and [[AnimationBump the animation is top notch]], however the same can't be said about the 4th movie which was shipped off to Tama Productions. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), luckily.
to:
* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vanes vain of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. That's because the third The fourth movie was done by TMSEntertainment, mostly kept the same studio that did Animaniacs, designs, but with less shading and [[AnimationBump movement from the animation is top notch]], however the same can't be said about the 4th movie which was shipped off to Tama Productions. characters. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), luckily.
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* AnimationBump: The third movie, which is done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, and as always with TMS, the animation is top notch.
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* AnimationBump: The third movie, which is was done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, and as always with TMS, the has surprisingly better animation is top notch.than you'd think for a direct-to-video production. The same can't be said for ''Mystery of the Night Monster''.
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* WickedCultured: Warren tries to come off as this by playing the violin and quoting Shakespeare. He's not very good at either of those things, though.
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* DenserAndWackier: Or at least wackier than the original movie.
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Mice _are_ mammals
Deleted line(s) 55 (click to see context) :
* NonMammalMammaries: Throughout the series, the female mice have breasts.
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* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.
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* JamesHorner: His first award-winning score.
Deleted line(s) 238 (click to see context) :
* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.
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Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[TheLandBeforeTime Let's just be glad the number of movies made never reached double digits]].]]
to:
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[TheLandBeforeTime Let's just be glad the number of movies made never reached double digits]].]]
digits]].
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Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[ItGotWorse Let's just be glad the number of movies made]] [[TheLandBeforeTime never reached double digits]].]]
to:
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[ItGotWorse [[TheLandBeforeTime Let's just be glad the number of movies made]] [[TheLandBeforeTime made never reached double digits]].]]
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YMMV sinkhole
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* ArtEvolution: [[{{YMMV}} And in its sequels, devolution]]. [[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs26/f/2008/132/4/5/The_Real_Tanya__by_Skyline19.jpg Take this, for instance.]]
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* ArtEvolution: [[{{YMMV}} And in its sequels, devolution]].devolution. [[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs26/f/2008/132/4/5/The_Real_Tanya__by_Skyline19.jpg Take this, for instance.]]
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* TookALevelInBadass: Tiger, during the finale. He shows a surprising amount of competence during the first part of the finale, and goes into a complete UnstopableRage when he sees Miss Kitty in danger and [[OneManArmy proceeds to beat up every other cat in town]].
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* TookALevelInBadass: Tiger, during the finale. He shows a surprising amount of competence during the first part of the finale, and goes into a complete UnstopableRage UnstoppableRage when he sees Miss Kitty in danger and [[OneManArmy proceeds to beat up every other cat in town]].
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** It's also how Tiger catches the train-briefly-while being chased by a dog.
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* FreezeFrameBonus: Just as Cat R. Waul is picking Tanya up in his paws while she sings "Dreams to Dream", one of the animators snuck in a lewd drawing for a single frame, where she has her mouth open.
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* ShrineToTheFallen: Fievel's parents make a shrine to him in their new home because they think he's dead.
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* GrassIsGreener: [[WebOriginal/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries In America!]]
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* GrassIsGreener: [[WebOriginal/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries In America!]]
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* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely. [[YourMilageMayVary Opinions differ]] on how meaningful the writers meant the line to be.
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* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely. [[YourMilageMayVary Opinions differ]] on how meaningful the writers meant the line to be.
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[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/american_tail_ver2.jpg]]
A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
Believing in the American dream they head to NewYorkCity by boat because "[[CrowdSong there are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese.]]" The hero, a little mouse named Fievel, is washed overboard in a storm, and his search for his family, who [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat believe he is dead]] and therefore [[GaveUpTooSoon aren't looking for him]], forms the bulk of the film. Once arriving in America, all mice immediately discover that there are indeed cats in America. They begin living in a typical late 19th century immigrant manner: working in a sweatshop, living in horrible conditions, being extorted by gangs and living in constant fear of being eaten.[[hottip:* : Okay, that last one is specific to immigrant ''mice'', but you get the picture.]]
Such is the plot of the most popular animated film of the 1980s that doesn't involve a [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid singing crab]]. It was a surprise hit at the box office in 1986, and it became the highest grossing animated film of all time, much to Disney's sheer horror. It would keep this title until the debut of the ''next'' DonBluth film, ''TheLandBeforeTime''. One important thing to come of all this was that the film displayed that animation could still be profitable at a time when the industry was in a slump, and caused Disney to step up its game in face of the competition. So in a way, this very film triggered a chain reaction that brought about TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation.
Tellingly, more people remember the song "[[AwardBaitSong Somewhere Out There]]" than, say, the immigrant struggle aspect.
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[ItGotWorse Let's just be glad the number of movies made]] [[TheLandBeforeTime never reached double digits]].]]
----
!!Series provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Series-Wide]]
* AllAnimationIsDisney: This is not helped by the fact that ''An American Tail'' and its sequels were regular showings on Toon Disney, or the fantastic AwardBaitSong similar to the ones that Disney became so well-known for in subsequent years.
* AmericanDream
* AmericanTitle
* AnimalJingoism: Cats vs mice; though its used as a metaphor.
* AreWeThereYet: Fievel asks this on the boat ride to America in the first movie, and on the train ride out west in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* ArmedWithCanon: ''Fievel Goes West'', the LighterAndSofter first sequel which DonBluth wasn't involved with, seemed to take a few shots at the first movie (such as Tanya getting tomatoes thrown at her for singing "Somewhere Out There", and New York turning out to be a CrapsackWorld), and in general carried itself as if LighterAndSofter equaled better. Then the third movie came along, with yet another different team of writers. Fievel wasn't out west anymore, but in New York, and the writers decided to throw in a WhamLine about Fievel having a dream where he moved out west, implying that the second movie is now CanonDiscontinuity. They then proceeded to erase the LoveInterest of Tony Toponi from the first film and pair him with their new character (which didn't even work in-story).
* ArtEvolution: [[{{YMMV}} And in its sequels, devolution]]. [[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs26/f/2008/132/4/5/The_Real_Tanya__by_Skyline19.jpg Take this, for instance.]]
* TheArtfulDodger: Tony Toponi, a streetwise orphan mouse.
* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" in the first movie. They tried to do it again in the sequels, "Dreams to Dream" from ''Fievel Goes West'' being the only other remotely successful attempt, as it also received a Linda Ronstadt cover.
* BarefootCartoonAnimals: Most of the mouse characters.
* BeastFable: They're not just mice. They're immigrants.
* BigApplesauce
* BigBrotherInstinct: Fievel, most notably in the first 5 minutes of the first movie.
* BlessedAreTheCheesemakers: This is MouseWorld after all.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Of the "PredatorsAreMean" and "they could become vegan if they really wanted" varieties.
** To be fair, at least some of the cats do ''human-like'' evil things to the mice such as [[spoiler:terrorizing them into paying a protection racket]] or selling them to sweatshop labor factories rather then eating them.
* CatsAreMean: As stated elsewhere, DonBluth is probably a dog person. Although Tiger is a nice guy.
** Don Bluth said once in an interview that "We knew that if we were going to say "all cats are bad," we wanted to have at least one "good" one...and that's Tiger."
* CrowdSong: Three: "There Are No Cats in America", from the first movie, "Way Out West" from the second, and "We Live in Manhattan" from the third.
* DependingOnTheArtist: The art style varied greatly in the sequels. The only two movies in the series with nearly the same animation style are the direct-to-video sequels (there are only subtle differences between the two since the third film was a co-production with Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMSEntertainment) while the fourth one was shipped off to by TamaProductions). Even then, Tanya ''still'' somehow managed to look completely different in both movies (she's the character who goes through the most extreme design changes from movie to movie).
* ExpressiveEars: Fievel's ears seem to move around the most, going down when he's sad and up when he's alert or listening for his Papa. At least when his hat doesn't get in the way.
* FourFingeredHands
* HairDecorations: In the first movie and for the rest of the series. Especially in the first movie for Tanya, who without her babushka looks like she could be Fievel's twin sister. Bridget provides a rare example of this trope being played on a older (teen-aged?) character. And later in the series Yasha sports a large pink bow.
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: The cat characters.
* HistoricalFiction
* HumanoidFemaleAnimal: Bridget is the best example in the first movie (even having flesh-colored, very human-looking hands), the sequels do it more though. Female characters tend to have much smaller hands and feet in the series.
* InformedJudaism: Fievel's Jewishness is barely touched upon really. If you weren't paying attention you might not even know that they are celebrating Hanukkah at the beginning of the first movie, or notice the Yiddish text on the briefly-seen memorial the family has for Fievel when they think he's dead. And their Jewish heritage is all but buried in the sequels.
** Of course, that may just sadly be a case of TruthInTelevision, as emigrating in those days more often caused families to forget their old culture.
** On the plus side, Papa is basically the mouse equivalent of [[FiddlerOnTheRoof Tevye]].
* TheKidsAreAmerican: Mama and Papa have Russian accents, while Fievel and Tanya don't. This might be more believable if they didn't already have the American accents ''before'' moving to America.
* LimitedWardrobe: Applies to most of the characters. Fievel's always got his red sweatshirt, blue pants and iconic hat. Granted, he turns it inside out and it becomes a cowboy hat (somehow) in ''Fievel Goes West'' and he wears a yellow neckerchief. Averted entirely with Tanya.
* MouseWorld: A world which even has its own equivalent of human legends; the "Giant Mouse of Minsk" is an obvious allusion to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem_of_Prague Golem of Prague]].
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Tiger
* NiceMice
* NonMammalMammaries: Throughout the series, the female mice have breasts.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: See FakeRussian in the Trivia tab.
* OddFriendship: Fievel and Tiger.
* PantyShot: Tanya has a tendency to show off her white bloomers - though arguably in an innocent manner (except in her saloon getup in ''Fievel Goes West'', where they seem to serve as a G-rated substitute for the more revealing garments worn by real-life saloon girls).
* PunBasedTitle: "Tale". "Tail". Get it?
** Most of the overseas translations weren't able to incorporate this trope, but the German version, ''Feivel Der Mauswanderer'', pulled it off (the word for emigrant is "auswanderer", so add an 'm' and it becomes a cute mouse pun).
* PunnyName: The villains Warren T. Rat (warranty) and Cat R. Waul (caterwaul). The fourth film had Reed Daley (read daily), a newspaper editor.
** Then of course there's the mouse puns throughout the series. Mousekewitz, for example, is based on the real Russian-Jewish surname Moskowitz (seen at the start of the first movie).
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* SettingOffSong: "Never Say Never" and "Way Out West."
* SpeciesCodedForYourConvenience: Mice are good; cats are generally evil with a few exceptions.
* SpeciesSurname: Though they get creative with it. Mousekewitz, Toponi, etc.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Fievel's name is listed as 'Feivel' in the beginning credits of the first movie, which is the correct yiddish spelling. The spelling was changed to 'Fievel' to avoid confusing American audiences who might otherwise pronounce it as 'Fay-vel', but in other countries where the movie was released the 'Feivel' spelling was left intact.
* StockAnimalDiet: Mice eating cheese, cats eating mice.
* UnnamedParent: Fievel's parents are known only as "Mama" and "Papa".
** An episode of ''Fievel's American Tails'' in which Fievel's Aunt Sophie comes to visit gives Papa the name Bernard. That's ''if'' you count anything from the TV series as canon, because it even contradicts ''Fievel Goes West'' at times...
* WeirdnessCensor: Not once do the humans ever find it odd that they're surrounded by talking, clothed mice and cats. Not to mention no one notices the Giant Mouse of Minsk either. This continues in all other sequels and adaptations, stretched to even more ridiculous heights in all three sequels.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: An American Tail]]
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Complete with the hideout of the Mott Street Maulers (containing a piano, tables, and other odd things that don't belong in a sewer), a big room with discarded bird cages, and a weird...bug-eating..reptile...thing...
** [[JustifiedTrope This is 1885 we're talking about.]] Sewers in New York were that big because they needed to be large enough for maintenance people to move around down there.
** Also justified in that the characters are mice and cats so everything is bigger than what a person would experience.
* AccidentalKiss: Tony accidentally kisses Bridget as they stare at each other thanks to an accidental push by Fievel.
* AlcoholHic: Honest John.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Statue of Liberty's golden yellow color in the film wasn't just artistic license; when the statue was first built it really was that color. It slowly rusted to its current green color over subsequent decades.
* AnachronismStew: A group of children are shown reciting the Pledge of Allegiance which wouldn't be invented until 1892, and they add 'Under God', which wouldn't be added until 1951. And they have their hands over their hearts (due to UnfortunateImplications they couldn't have had them using the original salute, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute which was the original form of the Nazi salute]]). The majority of the movie takes place in 1886-ish.
* [[AnImmigrantsTale An Immigrant's Tail]]
* AssInALionSkin: Warren T. Rat [[spoiler: (actually a cat himself) dresses as a rat to fool the mice into buying into his protection racket against the cats.]]
* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" is definitely one of the best-known examples, and probably the TropeCodifier.
* BedsheetLadder: Fievel uses this to escape a sweatshop, freeing the rest of the workers as well.
* BeneathTheEarth: The Mott Street Maulers' hideout.
* BigShadowLittleCreature: Done while Fievel is aimlessly wandering through the city. Fievel's shadow takes up a whole wall.
* {{Birdcaged}}: Warren's gang puts Fievel in a bird cage when they capture him, but Tiger lets him out.
* BratsWithSlingshots: Tony Toponi, [[spoiler: when he shoots Warren's disguise off.]]
* BreakTheCutie
* CatStereotype: Tiger (orange) is the one good cat. In the first sequel his love interest is light grey.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yasha Mousekewitz, the baby who inexplicably disappears midway through the movie. (She comes back in the sequels however.)
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such a dangerous situation as the one at the pier]].
* [[CityOfGold City of Cheese]]: What America must be like.
* ContrivedCoincidence: Fievel gets washed overboard in a raging storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of drowning, he somehow ends up inside a floating glass bottle, which ''somehow'' ends up washing ashore right onto Ellis Island, which coincidentally is of course near New York, where Fievel's family was headed. Luck and the ocean currents were definitely on little Fievel's side, apparently.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover of the DVD release features Tanya as she appears in the sequel ''Fievel Goes West''. Probably because [[FanserviceCover she's prettier to look at.]]
* CrapsackWorld: Russia and New York are essentially portrayed as this. New York gets worse in the sequel.
* CueTheRain: As Fievel, all alone, curls up in Orphan Alley to cry, it starts to rain.
* CutSong: Fievel was supposed to have another song in the sweatshop.
* DigitalDestruction: The DVD release was horribly tampered with, as is discussed on [[http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=991 this forum]]. Background music and sound effects were changed or added, new voice-overs were inserted, and the orphans who bully Fievel near the end have different voices (though at least the added/alternate dialogue was from the original recording sessions, even for the orphans - if you look at the lip sync of the animation, you can see that their mouth movements match the voices on the DVD version. It still doesn't excuse it, though).
* DisneyAcidSequence: "We're a Duo", Fievel and Tiger's ode to ThePowerOfFriendship, vaguely resembles one of the music videos from Music/{{Michael Jackson}}'s "Off the Wall" album.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Well, sort of.
* DistantDuet: "Somewhere Out There" is probably the TropeCodifier for this too.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Tony, the instant he catches a glimpse of Bridget.
* DreadfulMusician: Warren T. Rat 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". [[spoiler: Granted, this may be justified as he ''is'' wearing a fake rat nose.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: Tony gets one when Fievel is first sold into a sweatshop, and later as the sweatshop employees are in bed one of the orphans who shows up much later in the movie can be seen.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Fievel doesn't get his happy ending until he all but gives up on life.]]
** Pretty much applies to all the mice. They only get peace when they take the initiative to actually drive the cats away. [[spoiler:Using a giant mouse engine. Fortunately, [[{{Batman}} cats are a superstitious and cowardly lot.]]]]
* EekAMouse: One of the few times a human even notices the mice is when Fievel gets stuck in a woman's phonograph player, and she shrieks and throws things at him.
* FailedASpotCheck: Fievel and his family keep missing each other when they're nearby. Perhaps the most frustrating time is when Fievel is at the podium at a rally that all the mice in New York are at, and his sister Tanya can't see him because someone's hat is in the way.
* FantasticRacism: The mice represent the disenfranchised races of the world, and the cats represent their oppressors. In Fievel's Russian hometown, the cats are antisemitic Cossack raiders. In Sicily, they're gangsters. And in Ireland, they're the British.
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Warren T., the main villain, smokes a cigar. So does [[VoteEarlyVoteOften Honest John]].
* GorgeousPeriodDress: On the more wealthy female characters.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The mice manage to stop the Giant Mouse of Minsk robot from being released early... only to have to release it immediately after it stops.
* GravityIsAHarshSeamstress: After being hurled out a window by a [[EekAMouse frightened lady]], Fievel falls through a sock hanging on a clothesline that had a hole at the end, and then grabs onto a hanging head scarf, using it to parachute the rest of the way down.
* GutFeeling: "I just have this feeling - like Fievel's alive!"
* GrassIsGreener: [[WebOriginal/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries In America!]]
* GrayRainOfDepression: When Fievel cries during the scene when he's at Orphan Alley.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Though Fievel is not literally an orphan he plays the part well enough. Bridget and Tony are also this, to some extent.
* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Tiger, a VegetarianCarnivore, is the only nice cat in the film. He befriends Fievel after confessing that his favorite food is broccoli.
* HopeSpot: Fievel has these several times throughout the movie, only to have his hopes of finding his family dashed to pieces again and again.
* HumongousMecha: The Giant Mouse Of Minsk is only about the size of a motorcycle, but that's still pretty damn big when you're a mouse or cat.
** That's somewhat debatable, even in comparison to the mice and the cats it looked to be about seven to eight feet tall at the very least.
* ImpossibleShadowPuppets: Papa is somehow able to pull off a convincing Giant Mouse of Minsk with his hands at the beginning of the film.
* InfantImmortality: Applies to the sheer amount of cat attacks Fievel's been able to walk away from unharmed.
* InkSuitActor: Tiger bears a resemblance to his voice actor, Dom De Luise.
* ItGotWorse: The mice from various countries, fleeing oppression in their homelands at the hands of cats, in the belief that in America prosperity is plentiful and cats are scarce. Needless to say, their troubles don't end upon reaching the docks.
* IWantSong
* IWillFindYou
* JamesHorner: His first award-winning score.
* KickTheDog: We know Warren is evil after he sells Fievel into a sweatshop for 50 cents.
* KidsAreCruel: The kids Fievel meets in Orphan Alley 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.
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: Warren's solution to dealing with the mice after he's exposed as a cat. He sets the museum on fire.]]
* LivingStatue: Apparently the Statue of Liberty is one. It winks at Fievel at the end.
* LongBusTrip: Or in Warren's case, a long ship trip, as he's shipped off to Hong Kong and never returns in the sequels.
** Well... Warren and his gang realized that Hong Kong would have millions of mice waiting for them, so they actually ''liked'' the idea of being sent there. Could that be interpreted as a weird case of KarmaHoudini?
*** You DO know what happens to cats there, right?
*** Not to mention the only guarantee that there are lots of mice in Hong Kong is Warren's word, which on top of being less than trustworthy was also worded an IronicEcho of the thoroughly-disproved "There are no cats in America" statement: "There are plenty of mice in Hong Kong."
* LostAtSea: Fievel gets washed overboard, and floats to New York in a bottle.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Tony and Bridget instantly falling in love.
* MaleFrontalNudity: During the two scenes in which Fievel is bathing. [[NonhumansLackAttributes You don't see anything of course.]] Though we're treated to an extended shot of Fievel's bare little behind as he bends over to look into a storm drain with his pants falling down.
* ManlyTears: Papa sheds them.
* MelancholyMoon
* MissedHimByThatMuch: Over, and over, and over. The movie even provides the page picture.
* MoodWhiplash: Just the song "There are No Cats in America", in which each character gives the tragic story of what the cats did to them in their individual homelands...but...[[EarWorm but there are nooo cats in America!]]
* MouthCam
* MysteriousMiddleInitial: Warren T. Rat, and in the sequel, Cat R. Waul (JohnCleese). Though the middle initials in both names are there to create a pun.
** Most viewers probably assumed that the "T" stood for "the."
** Perhaps a pun on the word "warranty" that he is definitely a rat. Ha, irony!
* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: Fievel introduces himself to Henri the pigeon as "Fievel, Fievel Mousekewitz." He introduces himself this way a few times in the sequels as well.
* NiceHat: Fievel is given one for Hannukah at the beginning. Because it's his [[OrphansPlotTrinket only link to his family]], many an IndyHatRoll ensues. One of the first causes him to be swept off the ship.
** Funny thing is, the hat seems to vanish an reappear on occasion. It's a pretty important object to have so many continuity errors.
* NoCartoonFish: The herring and "sewer shark" are drawn photo-realistically -- but then again so are the humans.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Honest John is a pretty blatant parody of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Tweed "Boss" Tweed]].
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: See FakeRussian in the Trivia tab.
* {{Novelization}}: Yes, there was a novelization. There were a few noticeable plot changes (Fievel is in the sweatshop for much longer, Fievel and Tony search for Fievel's parents a while before he meets Bridget, and other things that never made it into the movie.) Excerpts from the novelization were given away at [=McDonald's=].
* TheOneWhoWearsShoes: Bridget in the first movie (though in a continuity error, she is barefoot in a couple scenes). Tanya also dons a pair of slippers in a few scenes of the sequel.
* OrphansOrdeal: Really.
* ParentalBonus: Warren T. Rat [[WickedCultured quotes Shakespeare]] (albeit in hilarious {{Malaproper}} fashion).
* PaperThinDisguise: [[spoiler: Come on, you weren't really fooled by Warren's fake nose, were you?]]
* ParasolOfPrettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her.
* PepTalkSong: "Never Say Never"
* PoliceAreUseless: Policemouse: "We've got to do something about those cats." Honest John: "Besides paying Warren T. Rat for no protection."
* RealitySubtext: Fievel was the real name of Steven Spielberg's immigrant great-grandfather.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: "You're not a rat, you're a CAT!"]]
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Fievel and Tanya. This is a Bluth film, after all.
* {{Rotoscoping}}: This was used to animate all of the humans appearing in the film, as well as the Giant Mouse of Minsk, while the mouse characters were drawn from scratch.
* SadTimesMontage
* SayMyName: Papa screaming out "FIIIIIEEEVEEEELLLL!!" at a couple different points, Fievel also shouts "Papa!!!" numerous times.
* ScarecrowSolution: The Giant Mouse of Minsk
* TheScottishTrope: For some reason the mice think the cats are more likely to come after them if they say the word 'cat' too loud.
* SequelHook: So blatant it was used in the trailer for its sequel ''Fievel Goes West''; when Fievel points to the horizon and asks if he can go see more of America, his pigeon friend Henri answers "Someday, you will!"
* ShoutOut: The attack on the mouse village in Russia and a couple of background phrases overheard at Ellis Island are shout outs to ''FiddlerOnTheRoof''.
** ShoutOut/ToShakespeare: Warren T. Rat is fond of incorrectly quoting Shakespeare. His accountant Digit seems to know the quotes better than he does.
* ShownTheirWork: The Mousekewitz family is processed through the mouse version of Castle Garden, Ellis Island's lesser known nineteenth century predecessor.
* SleazyPolitician: "Honest" John. His sleaziness mainly consists of assigning "ghost votes" to deceased mice (votes which naturally automatically go to him), making sure his name is attached to the effort to exile the cats terrorizing New York when without Fievel and Gussie Mausheimer it would have never happened, and being drunk all the time.
* SmallAnnoyingCreature: Digit
* SnoopingLittleKid: Fievel was being a SnoopingLittleKid when he snuck into the secret hideout of the cats and found out Warren T. Rat [[spoiler: was really a cat in disguise.]]
* StockFootage: Some of the cats are reused bits of Dragon from Film/TheSecretOfNIMH, and they all appear to owe quite a bit to his terrifying "cats as seen by mice" design. Additionally, there are moments where both the Cossack Cats and the Maulers who raid the market are the same animated cats with wardrobe changes.
* StreetUrchin: There are quite a few in New York, and Fievel nearly becomes one himself.
* TakeMyHand: Papa tries to grab Fievel's hand after he slips onto the deck of the ship. Sadly, Fievel's sleeve rips and he ends up washed overboard.
* TokenRomance: Tony and Bridget
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: All over the movie. The woman who [[EekAMouse screams at Fievel]] when he gets stuck in her phonograph player is more scared that he's a mouse, taking no notice that he's dressed in baggy pants, a big sweater and a poofy hat, and he's bipedal. Happens quite a bit in the sequels too, for example, at Cat R. Waul's saloon.
** Then of course there's the two humans at the park who walk right past the rather loud mouse rally taking place.
* WastedSong: For some reason the jazzy background orchestration for Warren's first scene is completely absent from the soundtrack, and thus is impossible to find anywhere.
* WatchingTroyBurn: At the beginning, the village of Shostka, Russia suffers a pogrom at the hands of Russian Cossacks, and their pet cats. They set fire to most of the buildings, and after the Mousekewitz family survives the attack, they watch from a distance as their village goes up in flames. Thus, they decide to go to America.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Baby Yasha's existence is inconsistent.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: It's pretty {{Anvilicious}} about this too. Most of the cats are bullies, but Tiger is noticeably cute and looks like [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the Cowardly Lion]] and the cats who explicitly try to eat the protagonists are drawn as big, violent monsters. Digit the cockroach is [[SmallAnnoyingCreature just a pest]] and is kind of UglyCute but the sewer roaches who menace Feivel are rendered as realistic BigCreepyCrawlies.
** ''Goes West'' has Fievel menaced by a non-cute scorpion and hawk.
* YouExclamation: Warren says this when he notices Fievel spying on him through his mirror.
* YourSizeMayVary: 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 [[spoiler: the same size as the rest of the cats in his gang.]]
** Not by that much if you look carefully.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails]]
* AesopAmnesia: Everyone from ''Fievel's American Tails'' has this condition, due to the fact that it hardly even acts like ''Fievel Goes West'' happened.
* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Played for laughs in when Wylie Burp teaches Tiger how to be a dog.
* AllJustADream: ''Fievel Goes West'', according to the third movie.
** Done within ''Fievel Goes West'' itself at the beginning where Fievel shoots a bunch of cats and gets a badge from Wylie Burp. A DreamWithinADream if you think about it.
** Some people see Fievel's dreaming in the third movie as foreshadowing.
* AnimationBump: Say what you will about ''Fievel Goes West'', but you have to admit that the animation was of amazing quality, even at the time it was released--it was even better than most of the '''Disney''' films out at the time.
* AscendedExtra: A few of the extras from ''Fievel Goes West'' went on to become recurring characters in ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* AxCrazy: Chula doesn't have the ax, but his personality fits the bill.
* BabiesEverAfter: Tony and Bridget's ''Fievel Goes West'' cameos where they're seen with a baby.
* BadassLongcoat: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Fievel, Tiger and Wylie Burp all wear one for the final showdown with Cat R. Waul.
* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: ''Fievel's American Tails'' devotes an entire episode to this trope.
* BalloonBelly: In ''Fievel Goes West'', when Tiger is told to suck in his chest, and he instead deflates like a balloon.
* BerserkButton: Normally wimpy Tiger after Chula threatens to drop Miss Kitty to her death.
** Cat R. Waul has a similiar reaction to being called "Pussy Poo".
* BeYourself: It's what both Fievel and Tanya learn by the end of ''Fievel Goes West'', and it's shown that they've learned it more through action than words; i.e. Tanya washing her make-up off and Fievel turning his hat right-side-in so it's blue again and not a cowboy hat.
** BrokenAesop: Tiger learns that he has to be something he ''isn't'' in order for Miss Kitty to love him...
*** Not entirely. More than being something he's not, Tiger really just finds the courage he didn't know he had before. And Miss Kitty clearly loved him before, it just took her being under Cat R. Waul's thumb to realize what she left behind. Plus, in keeping with the visual metaphors above, Tiger returned to his feline appearance once the day was saved. So I guess he just learned to live up to his namesake and stop running away from everything. If that ain't CharacterDevelopment, this Troper don't know what is.
* {{BFG}}: Relatively, a human revolver operated by cats. More so in the hands of a mouse kid like Fievel.
* BlueEyes: Fievel is actually given an eye color in ''Fievel Goes West''. In most of his other appearances he has the typical black pupil CartoonyEyes.
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Native Americans in both ''Fievel Goes West'' and ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' stick to this dress code. .
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In ''Fievel Goes West'' when Fievel is chased into a hole by a hawk, we see only his eyes, and the eyes of an angry scorpion.
* TheCameo: Tony and Bridget can be seen very briefly in a few scenes in ''Fievel Goes West''. The most noticeable examples are during the early cat attack sequence, and when the mice arrive in Green River and move in. They can also be seen in the crowd in the sewer, and in the audience sitting in the giant mousetrap, but in those scenes they are extremely OffModel and thus can't really be distinguished without using freeze-frame.
** Honest John, too. Look for him in "Way Out West."
* CassandraTruth: No one will listen to Fievel about Cat R. Waul's evil plans, except for Wylie Burp.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Wylie Burp gets this for ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* CowardlyLion: Tiger, at least until his BerserkButton is activated.
* ComicBookAdaptation: MarvelComics did a ''Fievel Goes West'' comic. It's OffModel.
** And just to demonstrate how laughably OffModel [[http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c308/Suren2/Fievel/fgwcomic.png it is...]]
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Cat R. Waul gets either what could be seen as this (see GagBoobs) or AndIMustScream in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* CousinOliver: Yasha Mousekewitz is somewhat elevated to this in ''Fievel Goes West'' and the series ''Fievel's American Tails'', despite having been in the first movie (she inexplicably disappears halfway through). In all the other movies she's mostly [[LivingProp not much more than a prop]].
* ADayInTheLimelight: [[ContestedSequel Many fans actually prefer]] ''Fievel Goes West'' because it gives Tanya and Tiger a great deal more CharacterDevelopment than the first film did, and isn't exclusively focused on Fievel (despite his name being in the title).
* DeathGlare: The Laaaaaazy eye.
* DemotedToExtra: Tony and Bridget in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* DesertSkull: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Tiger runs into a buffalo skeleton that seems to come to life when he's not looking. Turns out it's being manipulated by native mice, who then capture Tiger.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Cat R. Waul shows up for a brief few seconds in the day dream Fievel has at the beginning of the movie.
* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.
* EvilLaugh: Cat R. Waul does these in ''Fievel's American Tails''. Part of his VillainDecay.
* EyePop: Made into a weapon by Wylie Burp. Used [[MoreDakka on full auto]] later in the movie.
* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: ''Fievel Goes West'' is a mixed example. While there are some revolvers, those only get aimed at inanimate objects or aimed so badly they don't come close to hitting anyone. When the cats (and one dog) have their shoot-out, it's with slingshots that use bullet and ricochet sound effects.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Cat R. Waul is a shining example.
* {{Flanderization}}: Just everyone in ''Fievel's American Tails''. Fievel becomes so obsessed with cowboys that it's all he ever talks about, Tiger just becomes [[TooDumbToLive completely stupid]], Waul loses almost all his FauxAffablyEvil characteristics and becomes a ButtMonkey, Tanya is DemotedToExtra in most episodes and the {{A|nAesop}}esops everyone learned at the end of ''Fievel Goes West'' are all completely forgotten... about the only character who actually sees some CharacterDevelopment is Yasha, ironically, due to her being SuddenlyVoiced.
* FlatWhat:
-->'''Miss Kitty:''' You put a mouse on that stage and your saloon's gonna be as empty as Death Valley on a cold day in June when the snow don't fall.
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ''What.''
* GagBoobs: Cat R. Waul's owner smothers him with hers. Also a MarshmallowHell.
** [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar PUSSY PUSSY!]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When Tiger is reunited with Miss Kitty at the end of the film, he kisses her and both tumble to the ground, out of sight of the screen. This is followed by Miss Kitty saying, "Oooo, Tiger!" As Wiley looks on, he smirks and says, [[IronicEcho "I never taught him that one."]]
* GiantSpider: Jon Lovitz in ''Fievel Goes West''
* GodGuise: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Tiger is worshiped by a tribe of Native American mice because he bears a striking resemblance to a rock formation.
* GunsAkimbo: Fievel, of all characters, in his daydream with Wylie.
* HiccupHijinks: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case Of the Hiccups".
* HollywoodMirage: Fievel hugs a cactus and Tiger kisses an owl because of the mirages they see while wandering in the desert. Then they [[MissedHimByThatMuch mistake each other for mirages when they pass each other by]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Fievel imagines to have these. That is, he doesn't even aim.
* InjunCountry: Played somewhat offensively straight in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* IronicNurseryTune: "The itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiider caught a mouse in his web...the itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiider BIT OFF THE MOUSE'S HEAD!"
* JustTheWayYouAre: 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.
** Also, in a related play on this trope, Fievel realizes he can be a hero just the way he is.
* LighterAndSofter: This probably had something to do with Bluth not being present. It leads to a few instances of AngstWhatAngst as mentioned above. Milage varies on whether this was good or bad, depending on how much one liked the first film.
* LimitedAnimation: ''Fievel's American Tails'', which is animated even worse than the later direct-to-video sequels.
* LongLostUncleAesop: Fievel's Aunt Sophie from Russia in one episode of ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Tanya is able to break glass with her singing voice in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* ManifestDestiny: Major theme in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* MarshmallowHell: Whenever Cat R. Waul's human owner finds him she shrieks "Pussy poo!" and shoves his face between her very large breasts, much to Waul's intense dismay.
* MissKitty: She even has the same name. Kitty leaves New York for an exciting future in the west, and ends up being one of the head matrons to what is essentially a brothel.
* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: ''An American Tail: [Insert title here]''
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cat R. Waul, voiced by the extremely English JohnCleese, tries to fake a Texas accent when operating his mouse marionette, but despite the liberal use of "y'all" it's... less than convincing.
** ''[[DontExplainTheJoke That's ze joke.]]''
* PainPoweredLeap: Cat R. Waul jumps straight through the ceiling after Fievel stabs him in the behind with a fork.
* ParentalObliviousness: Fievel ''tried'' to tell his parents that Cat R. Waul was going to turn the mice of Green River into mouseburgers. [[NotNowKiddo But did they listen?]]
* PluckyComicRelief: Tiger in ''Fievel Goes West''. Tony Toponi takes over the job in the other sequels.
* PopcornOnTheCob: During the scene in which the Native Americans are worshiping Tiger and feeding him, an ear of corn is raised over the fire, then turned into a bunch of popcorn which Tiger promptly catches in his mouth.
* PutOnABus: Cat R. Waul is defeated by being put on a train, much like how Warren was shipped off to Hong Kong. It should be noted that villains in the ''An American Tail'' series are always defeated non-lethally.
** Miss Kitty is put on a bus for much of ''Fievel's American Tails'', which perhaps aided Tiger's {{Flanderization}} into a dopey bum who has nothing better to do but play with Fievel.
* RealitySubtext: During the production of ''Fievel Goes West'', Steven Spielberg had just finished a nasty divorce with Amy Irving, voice actress of Miss Kitty. What does the film introduce Miss Kitty doing? Breaking up with Tiger.
* [[RecycledINSPACE Recycled OUT WEST!]]
* RecycledTheSeries: ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* RetiredGunfighter: Wylie Burp.
** Of course, it certainly doesn't take much convincing for him to help, as he made one small speech about how he was over the hill, and then ten seconds later, changes his mind for no reason.
*** [[RuleOfCute Fievel's pouty face works in mysterious ways.]]
* RibbonCuttingCeremony: In ''Fievel Goes West'', the opening ceremony for Cat R. Waul's saloon is a trap: cutting the ribbon would have triggered a giant mousetrap on the stands where the mice were sitting.
* RuleOfFunny: Tiger dancing to "Putting on the Ritz" with a skeleton for a few seconds, Tiger turning into a poodle at the mention of a dog, Tiger deflating like a balloon and falling off a cliff to a long farting sound...''Fievel Goes West'' had way more moments like these than the first movie. Most if not all had to do with Tiger.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: This is how Cat R. Waul talks.
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' Chula, I want the subversive who tried to assassinate me found.
-->'''Chula:''' I just looove finding subversives! ...Hey boss, what's a subversive?
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ...Someone who doesn't have very long to live.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Tanya after her makeover.
* ShoutOut: To ''Gunsmoke'', with "Miss Kitty".
** The "Rawhide" theme is being sung by TheBluesBrothers.
** Also, many of the storefronts and signs in (the human-sized) Green River have the names of crew members on them, including both of the film's directors and several of the artists responsible for the background layouts. In addition, right before Fievel dispatches the villains, you can see a nameplate on the rear of the giant mousetrap (facing upside-down) which reads "Made in Acton, London" -- which was the location of the animation studio where the film was produced.
** Cat R. Waul screams "Revenge!" as he is driven out of town on the train, similar to his character in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2sUcVkm9E the Dirty Fork sketch]] in Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus.
** Another one involves a mouse mentioning various destinations (one while boarding, the other before narrowly escaping being eaten by Cat R. Waul) while closing each phrase with "...and Green River", likely an homage to MelBlanc's famous [[TheJackBennyProgram Jack Benny Show]] {{Catchphrase}} of a train leaving for "...Anaheim, Azuza, and Cuc-amonga".
** The Tiger-shaped rock in the desert pulls a [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Cheshire Cat]].
* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Well, at sunset, but same idea.
* StockFootage: Some celebrating mice at the end of ''Fievel Goes West'' are actually reused mice from "There Are No Cats in America" from the first movie.
* TooDumbToLive: How could the entire population of mice build an enormous fully functioning mouse trap and not have any single hint of suspicion?
** Plus, how could they not notice that the cats in Green River are the same ones who attacked them in New York? (Also add on how they fell for the obvious puppet ploy early in the film, including Car R. Waul even forgetting to control it whilst favourably describing himself.)
* TookALevelInBadass: Tiger, during the finale. He shows a surprising amount of competence during the first part of the finale, and goes into a complete UnstopableRage when he sees Miss Kitty in danger and [[OneManArmy proceeds to beat up every other cat in town]].
* ToonPhysics: What Fievel's hat apparently runs on in this film, what with turning into a cowboy hat when pulled inside-out.
* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life version of this scenario would likely play out.
* TrainingMontage: Tiger, the CowardlyLion of the series, has a montage while training to be a dog so he can help Wiley Burp and Fievel take on Cat R. Waul. The montage includes Tiger doing push-ups, walking through tires, beating up a Cat R. Waul dummy, and fetching a bone.
* TranslationConvention: Averted with the Mousican chief. When he speaks to Tiger he's heard using his native tongue but there are not even subtitles. Makes you wonder what's he just saying...
* TrainEscape: Tiger escapes a pack of dogs by hopping on the back of a train in ''Fievel Goes West''. That whole scene is very ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' in spirit.
* VagueAge: Figuring out how old Fievel and Tanya are can be very confusing. Tanya, for example, suddenly looks much older than Fievel in ''Fievel Goes West'', while in the first movie, she looked around the same age as Fievel. And if we are to believe it's been a few years since the first movie, why is Yasha still a baby?
** Not to mention that while Fievel and Tanya are still kids, Tony and Bridget are already married and with child.
* VocalEvolution: Fievel's voice was changing as his voice actor Phillip Glasser got older.
** How about Jon Lovitz as Chula? Throughout Fievel Goes West, he seems to keep changing the type of voice he's trying to use.
* WasntThatFun: Fievel chimes in "Let's go on that ride again!" after he and his family have a terrifying trip down a sewer waterfall in a discarded tuna can.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Jon Lovitz as a nasty, web-spitting (huh?) [[GiantSpider tarantula]].
* WickedCultured: Cat R. Waul wears a top hat with a cane (though in the proper time period), speaks with a British accent, and adores high-class songs, making Tanya [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Cat_R._Waul_introduces_Tanya.JPG his own personal diva]].
* YoungGun: Fievel daydreams about being a Young Gun at the beginning of ''Fievel Goes West'', complete with his hero Wylie Burp telling him to 'get out while he still can', and Fievel blatantly disobeying him and shooting out a gang of villainous cats.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: The Direct-to-Video Sequels]]
* AbhorrentAdmirer: In ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' as they reach the native village, Scuttlebutt becomes the target of an amorous, [[BigBeautifulWoman huge female mouse]]. Later said mouse finds out that he's a bad guy and [[BewareTheNiceOnes promptly kick his ass]].
* AmericanDream: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed at length]] in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' though it is arguably a major theme in all of the movies...except maybe [[BLAMEpisode the fourth one.]]
* AnimationBump: The third movie, which is done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, and as always with TMS, the animation is top notch.
* AnywhereButTheirLips: Cholena makes it pretty clear that she doesn't share Tony's attraction to her, but by the end of the movie she cuts him some slack and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vanes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. That's because the third movie was done by TMSEntertainment, the same studio that did Animaniacs, and [[AnimationBump the animation is top notch]], however the same can't be said about the 4th movie which was shipped off to Tama Productions. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), luckily.
* AwardBaitSong: The only real song of note in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' is [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8nryp_anywhere-in-your-dreams_animals "Anywhere in Your Dreams"]] sung by Cholena and Fievel, which may also act as a ShipTease between the two. ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' has "Who Will", notable because we actually get to hear Tony sing a verse, and because of Susan Boyd's great singing voice.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Nellie Brie and Reed Daley end the 4th movie this way after having been at odds throughout the entire movie. This comes much to Tanya's dismay, who spent the movie crushing on Reed.
* BabyCarriage: In ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
** Although the sequence itself turns out to be AllJustADream.
* BadCopIncompetentCop: Played straight in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* BeneathTheEarth: The subterranean tribe of Native American mice in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The ending of ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' is the only BittersweetEnding in the series. Yes, the evil factory owners who've been exploiting the workers are put under control by Papa's labor union, but they haven't really been defeated, and [[KarmaHoudini they haven't really paid for all of the trouble they've caused either]]. And Cholena's Native American tribe still has to live underground because the European mice are still evil, racist and unable to co-exist with them.]]
* BLAMEpisode: The fourth movie, ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'', really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. While the third movie at least made a few allusions to the first movie, the fourth one is just kind of all by itself canonically. At worst it seems like a recycled plot for a ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' movie.
* BrokenHeel: Fievel gets his shirt caught on a rusty nail as he and Tony are fleeing a speeding train in the third movie.
* BulletSeed: Fievel uses this against cops in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* ButtMonkey: Scuttlebutt, who's frequently mocked and humiliated, has an AbhorrentAdmirer and is costantly bullied by the police chief. [[spoiler: He even ends up dead!]]
** Twitch, one of Madame Mousey's minions in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''. He even gets all four of his legs dislocated during her VillainSong.
* TheCameo: In the third movie Fievel and his friends are shown riding on Henri the pigeon for a few seconds during a montage.
* CatapultNightmare: Fievel wakes up from one at the beginning of ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
* TheChiefsDaughter: Cholena in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Bridget from the first movie gets this in the direct to video sequels.
* ContinuityNod: Fievel reminds Papa why they came to America from Russia at the beginning of the third movie, and Mama [[NeverLiveItDown still hasn't let Papa forget about being wrong]] when he said there were no cats in America.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: All three of the corrupt factory owners.
* DeathCourse: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Fievel and his friends pass through a DeathCourse while exploring underground caverns on their way to the hideout of an underground tribe of Native American mice. Later on in the film some corrupt policemen are tricked into going through the death course themselves. There are noticibly fewer of them after they come out the other side.
* DerangedAnimation: Fievel's nightmare at the beginning of ''Mystery of the Night Monster'' includes being chased through a DisneyAcidSequence by a demonic hellcat with a mousetrap at the end of it's tongue.
* DirectToVideo: The sequels.
* DirtyCop: Chief [=McBrusque=] and his force in the third movie.
* DiscontinuityNod: Given the fact that they pretty much said ''Fievel Goes West'' was a dream in the third movie, Tiger hissing at the angry mob of mice and then accidently yelling "Woof! Woof!", correcting himself by going "Oops, wrong species!" is almost insulting, as it could also be interpreted as a TakeThat.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Fievel]] has one in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Scuttlebutt and Chief [=McBrusque=] actually die, by falling into a deep underground chasm and being drowned by a flood of water.]]
* DreamSequence: Done a lot in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' when Fievel keeps having nightmares.
* DuetBonding: Fievel and Cholena do this while singing "Anywhere in Your Dreams".
* EdibleAmmunition: The underground Native Americans fend of the NYPD with nothing but berries and seeds. The police aren't depicted carrying guns, which helps.
* ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt: Tony Toponi becomes a paperboy in ''An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster'', though he really wants to be a reporter and when he becomes discouraged and his rant begins to show it. * in a flat monotone voice* "Hey, get your paper here, whoop-dee-do paper here..." When someone passes him by he yells "Fine! So stay ignorant!"
* FailOSuckyname: Scuttlebutt, in the third movie. You'd be a bad guy too if that were your name.
* GoryDiscretionShot: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', as the police are savagely beating down a protester with their clubs, we only see their shadows.
* HotScoop: Nellie Brie in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
* InjunCountry: Done in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', but with respect.
* InTheLocalTongue: Cholena gives Tony (who'd been hitting on her) the nickname "Poolaook", which he is later disappointed to find out means "turkey".
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Those villains from ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''. They don't even get PutOnABus like most ''An American Tail'' villains do. Though their lackeys Scuttlebutt and [=McBrusque=] avert this and become the only ''An American Tail'' villains to be KilledOffForReal.]]
* LittleMissSnarker: Tanya, in these movies.
* MinionMaracas: Madame Mousey does this to Fievel after he calls her a rat.
* NewYorkSubway: The setting of much of the third movie. The Beach Neumatic Railway system actually did exist at the time the movies took place, and it was abandoned, [[ShownTheirWork so the writers at least did some research.]]
* NightmareRetardant: Invoked in-universe in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' when it's revealed what the 'monster' actually is.
* NightmareSequence: Fievel's nightmares in the fourth movie, which are inspired by the exaggerated news stories about the Manhattan Monster eating up helpless mice.
* OhGodWithTheVerbing: One of Madame Mousey's cat underlings talks like Jerry Lewis.
* PepTalkSong: "Get the Facts", sung by Nellie Brie to help Fievel get over his fears.
* PoliceBrutality: In quite a daring move for a G-rated direct to video movie, ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' features a police force who savagely beat down protesting factory workers with their clubs, are being paid under the table by corrupt factory owners, and deliberately start a race riot. You know, for kids!
* RetCon: In ''The Treasure of Manhatten Island'', Fievel ''dreamed'' the entirety of ''Fievel Goes West''.
* RunningGag: After every time Tanya makes a [[LittleMissSnarker snarky]] comment:
--> '''Everyone''': Tanya! [[StayInTheKitchen Don't help!]]
* ShamingTheMob: Papa manages to stop the riot in the third movie by doing this.
* StalkerWithACrush: The large native mouse who falls for [[ButtMonkey Scuttlebutt]] and follows him giggling in an empty tent... just in time to catch him stealing. However this is a PlayedForLaughs aversion.
* StayInTheKitchen: Addressed directly in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''. Mama and Papa agree to let Fievel go on the treasure-hunting expedition, 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.
* TheyDo: Nellie Brie and Reed Daley.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: An angry mob led by Chief Mcbrusque hunts down Cholena in the third movie after being convinced that her being a Native American makes her a threat.
* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Cholena, who is absolutely dwarfed by her father and looks nothing like him.
* UnfamiliarCeiling: Tony wonders if he's dead after he and Fievel awaken staring up at the pit they fell through, after narrowly avoiding being run over by a subway train and falling into an underground cave.
* VillainSong: Both direct to video sequels did this. Pity the first two movies didn't actually.
* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely. [[YourMilageMayVary Opinions differ]] on how meaningful the writers meant the line to be.
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Cited nearly word for word by Fievel in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' when he persuades an Indian Chief to let her daughter live among the Europeans for a time and see if they've changed their ways. And of course, things later [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: A very literal example. Tony appears in the DTV sequels and in the third film, ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'', he has a LoveInterest in the shape of Cholena. But wait... where the hell is Bridget? She was his girlfriend in the first film and ''Fievel Goes West'' actually featured a cameo of the two, as a newly married couple, with a child no less.
* WhiteMansBurden: Basically played straight in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'', when Fievel becomes disillusioned and severely guilt-tripped upon learning what the Europeans had done to the Native Americans, and he takes it upon himself to demonstrate that the European mice aren't so bad...which really doesn't work.
[[/folder]]
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A collaboration between DonBluth and StevenSpielberg, ''An American Tail'' starts off on Hanukkah in 1885, opening in a Russian schtetl. The camera pans past the house belonging to the human Moskowitz family to reveal a tiny duplicate house inhabited by the Mousekewitz family. They are Jewish-Russian mice who are forced to escape persecution after [[YouCantGoHomeAgain their village is destroyed in a pogrom]] [[CatsAreMean by Cossack cats]].
Believing in the American dream they head to NewYorkCity by boat because "[[CrowdSong there are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese.]]" The hero, a little mouse named Fievel, is washed overboard in a storm, and his search for his family, who [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat believe he is dead]] and therefore [[GaveUpTooSoon aren't looking for him]], forms the bulk of the film. Once arriving in America, all mice immediately discover that there are indeed cats in America. They begin living in a typical late 19th century immigrant manner: working in a sweatshop, living in horrible conditions, being extorted by gangs and living in constant fear of being eaten.[[hottip:* : Okay, that last one is specific to immigrant ''mice'', but you get the picture.]]
Such is the plot of the most popular animated film of the 1980s that doesn't involve a [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid singing crab]]. It was a surprise hit at the box office in 1986, and it became the highest grossing animated film of all time, much to Disney's sheer horror. It would keep this title until the debut of the ''next'' DonBluth film, ''TheLandBeforeTime''. One important thing to come of all this was that the film displayed that animation could still be profitable at a time when the industry was in a slump, and caused Disney to step up its game in face of the competition. So in a way, this very film triggered a chain reaction that brought about TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation.
Tellingly, more people remember the song "[[AwardBaitSong Somewhere Out There]]" than, say, the immigrant struggle aspect.
Almost as well known is the LighterAndSofter ContestedSequel, ''Fievel Goes West'', in which the Mousekewitz family leaves New York for the Wild West (made without Bluth's involvement, but with Spielberg still on board), but largely forgotten is the short-lived TV series in the same setting, and two additional [[DirectToVideo DTV]] sequels (''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' and ''Mystery of the Night Monster'') that played hard and fast with the established continuity, and had no involvement from the original creators. Have we mentioned that DonBluth films tend to suffer from [[{{Sequelitis}} this sort of thing?]] [[hottip:*: [[ItGotWorse Let's just be glad the number of movies made]] [[TheLandBeforeTime never reached double digits]].]]
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!!Series provides examples of:
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[[folder:Series-Wide]]
* AllAnimationIsDisney: This is not helped by the fact that ''An American Tail'' and its sequels were regular showings on Toon Disney, or the fantastic AwardBaitSong similar to the ones that Disney became so well-known for in subsequent years.
* AmericanDream
* AmericanTitle
* AnimalJingoism: Cats vs mice; though its used as a metaphor.
* AreWeThereYet: Fievel asks this on the boat ride to America in the first movie, and on the train ride out west in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* ArmedWithCanon: ''Fievel Goes West'', the LighterAndSofter first sequel which DonBluth wasn't involved with, seemed to take a few shots at the first movie (such as Tanya getting tomatoes thrown at her for singing "Somewhere Out There", and New York turning out to be a CrapsackWorld), and in general carried itself as if LighterAndSofter equaled better. Then the third movie came along, with yet another different team of writers. Fievel wasn't out west anymore, but in New York, and the writers decided to throw in a WhamLine about Fievel having a dream where he moved out west, implying that the second movie is now CanonDiscontinuity. They then proceeded to erase the LoveInterest of Tony Toponi from the first film and pair him with their new character (which didn't even work in-story).
* ArtEvolution: [[{{YMMV}} And in its sequels, devolution]]. [[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs26/f/2008/132/4/5/The_Real_Tanya__by_Skyline19.jpg Take this, for instance.]]
* TheArtfulDodger: Tony Toponi, a streetwise orphan mouse.
* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" in the first movie. They tried to do it again in the sequels, "Dreams to Dream" from ''Fievel Goes West'' being the only other remotely successful attempt, as it also received a Linda Ronstadt cover.
* BarefootCartoonAnimals: Most of the mouse characters.
* BeastFable: They're not just mice. They're immigrants.
* BigApplesauce
* BigBrotherInstinct: Fievel, most notably in the first 5 minutes of the first movie.
* BlessedAreTheCheesemakers: This is MouseWorld after all.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Of the "PredatorsAreMean" and "they could become vegan if they really wanted" varieties.
** To be fair, at least some of the cats do ''human-like'' evil things to the mice such as [[spoiler:terrorizing them into paying a protection racket]] or selling them to sweatshop labor factories rather then eating them.
* CatsAreMean: As stated elsewhere, DonBluth is probably a dog person. Although Tiger is a nice guy.
** Don Bluth said once in an interview that "We knew that if we were going to say "all cats are bad," we wanted to have at least one "good" one...and that's Tiger."
* CrowdSong: Three: "There Are No Cats in America", from the first movie, "Way Out West" from the second, and "We Live in Manhattan" from the third.
* DependingOnTheArtist: The art style varied greatly in the sequels. The only two movies in the series with nearly the same animation style are the direct-to-video sequels (there are only subtle differences between the two since the third film was a co-production with Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMSEntertainment) while the fourth one was shipped off to by TamaProductions). Even then, Tanya ''still'' somehow managed to look completely different in both movies (she's the character who goes through the most extreme design changes from movie to movie).
* ExpressiveEars: Fievel's ears seem to move around the most, going down when he's sad and up when he's alert or listening for his Papa. At least when his hat doesn't get in the way.
* FourFingeredHands
* HairDecorations: In the first movie and for the rest of the series. Especially in the first movie for Tanya, who without her babushka looks like she could be Fievel's twin sister. Bridget provides a rare example of this trope being played on a older (teen-aged?) character. And later in the series Yasha sports a large pink bow.
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: The cat characters.
* HistoricalFiction
* HumanoidFemaleAnimal: Bridget is the best example in the first movie (even having flesh-colored, very human-looking hands), the sequels do it more though. Female characters tend to have much smaller hands and feet in the series.
* InformedJudaism: Fievel's Jewishness is barely touched upon really. If you weren't paying attention you might not even know that they are celebrating Hanukkah at the beginning of the first movie, or notice the Yiddish text on the briefly-seen memorial the family has for Fievel when they think he's dead. And their Jewish heritage is all but buried in the sequels.
** Of course, that may just sadly be a case of TruthInTelevision, as emigrating in those days more often caused families to forget their old culture.
** On the plus side, Papa is basically the mouse equivalent of [[FiddlerOnTheRoof Tevye]].
* TheKidsAreAmerican: Mama and Papa have Russian accents, while Fievel and Tanya don't. This might be more believable if they didn't already have the American accents ''before'' moving to America.
* LimitedWardrobe: Applies to most of the characters. Fievel's always got his red sweatshirt, blue pants and iconic hat. Granted, he turns it inside out and it becomes a cowboy hat (somehow) in ''Fievel Goes West'' and he wears a yellow neckerchief. Averted entirely with Tanya.
* MouseWorld: A world which even has its own equivalent of human legends; the "Giant Mouse of Minsk" is an obvious allusion to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem_of_Prague Golem of Prague]].
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Tiger
* NiceMice
* NonMammalMammaries: Throughout the series, the female mice have breasts.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: See FakeRussian in the Trivia tab.
* OddFriendship: Fievel and Tiger.
* PantyShot: Tanya has a tendency to show off her white bloomers - though arguably in an innocent manner (except in her saloon getup in ''Fievel Goes West'', where they seem to serve as a G-rated substitute for the more revealing garments worn by real-life saloon girls).
* PunBasedTitle: "Tale". "Tail". Get it?
** Most of the overseas translations weren't able to incorporate this trope, but the German version, ''Feivel Der Mauswanderer'', pulled it off (the word for emigrant is "auswanderer", so add an 'm' and it becomes a cute mouse pun).
* PunnyName: The villains Warren T. Rat (warranty) and Cat R. Waul (caterwaul). The fourth film had Reed Daley (read daily), a newspaper editor.
** Then of course there's the mouse puns throughout the series. Mousekewitz, for example, is based on the real Russian-Jewish surname Moskowitz (seen at the start of the first movie).
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* SettingOffSong: "Never Say Never" and "Way Out West."
* SpeciesCodedForYourConvenience: Mice are good; cats are generally evil with a few exceptions.
* SpeciesSurname: Though they get creative with it. Mousekewitz, Toponi, etc.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Fievel's name is listed as 'Feivel' in the beginning credits of the first movie, which is the correct yiddish spelling. The spelling was changed to 'Fievel' to avoid confusing American audiences who might otherwise pronounce it as 'Fay-vel', but in other countries where the movie was released the 'Feivel' spelling was left intact.
* StockAnimalDiet: Mice eating cheese, cats eating mice.
* UnnamedParent: Fievel's parents are known only as "Mama" and "Papa".
** An episode of ''Fievel's American Tails'' in which Fievel's Aunt Sophie comes to visit gives Papa the name Bernard. That's ''if'' you count anything from the TV series as canon, because it even contradicts ''Fievel Goes West'' at times...
* WeirdnessCensor: Not once do the humans ever find it odd that they're surrounded by talking, clothed mice and cats. Not to mention no one notices the Giant Mouse of Minsk either. This continues in all other sequels and adaptations, stretched to even more ridiculous heights in all three sequels.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: An American Tail]]
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Complete with the hideout of the Mott Street Maulers (containing a piano, tables, and other odd things that don't belong in a sewer), a big room with discarded bird cages, and a weird...bug-eating..reptile...thing...
** [[JustifiedTrope This is 1885 we're talking about.]] Sewers in New York were that big because they needed to be large enough for maintenance people to move around down there.
** Also justified in that the characters are mice and cats so everything is bigger than what a person would experience.
* AccidentalKiss: Tony accidentally kisses Bridget as they stare at each other thanks to an accidental push by Fievel.
* AlcoholHic: Honest John.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: The Statue of Liberty's golden yellow color in the film wasn't just artistic license; when the statue was first built it really was that color. It slowly rusted to its current green color over subsequent decades.
* AnachronismStew: A group of children are shown reciting the Pledge of Allegiance which wouldn't be invented until 1892, and they add 'Under God', which wouldn't be added until 1951. And they have their hands over their hearts (due to UnfortunateImplications they couldn't have had them using the original salute, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute which was the original form of the Nazi salute]]). The majority of the movie takes place in 1886-ish.
* [[AnImmigrantsTale An Immigrant's Tail]]
* AssInALionSkin: Warren T. Rat [[spoiler: (actually a cat himself) dresses as a rat to fool the mice into buying into his protection racket against the cats.]]
* AwardBaitSong: "Somewhere Out There" is definitely one of the best-known examples, and probably the TropeCodifier.
* BedsheetLadder: Fievel uses this to escape a sweatshop, freeing the rest of the workers as well.
* BeneathTheEarth: The Mott Street Maulers' hideout.
* BigShadowLittleCreature: Done while Fievel is aimlessly wandering through the city. Fievel's shadow takes up a whole wall.
* {{Birdcaged}}: Warren's gang puts Fievel in a bird cage when they capture him, but Tiger lets him out.
* BratsWithSlingshots: Tony Toponi, [[spoiler: when he shoots Warren's disguise off.]]
* BreakTheCutie
* CatStereotype: Tiger (orange) is the one good cat. In the first sequel his love interest is light grey.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Yasha Mousekewitz, the baby who inexplicably disappears midway through the movie. (She comes back in the sequels however.)
** It's kind of FridgeHorror when you think about the mortality rate of babies during the 19th century, especially the babies of immigrants during those times!
*** That, and mice are known to eat their own young in times of famine.
*** Watching the movie, I got the impression they left her at home, possibly with someone to watch her. [[FridgeLogic They didn't want an infant in such a dangerous situation as the one at the pier]].
* [[CityOfGold City of Cheese]]: What America must be like.
* ContrivedCoincidence: Fievel gets washed overboard in a raging storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Instead of drowning, he somehow ends up inside a floating glass bottle, which ''somehow'' ends up washing ashore right onto Ellis Island, which coincidentally is of course near New York, where Fievel's family was headed. Luck and the ocean currents were definitely on little Fievel's side, apparently.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover of the DVD release features Tanya as she appears in the sequel ''Fievel Goes West''. Probably because [[FanserviceCover she's prettier to look at.]]
* CrapsackWorld: Russia and New York are essentially portrayed as this. New York gets worse in the sequel.
* CueTheRain: As Fievel, all alone, curls up in Orphan Alley to cry, it starts to rain.
* CutSong: Fievel was supposed to have another song in the sweatshop.
* DigitalDestruction: The DVD release was horribly tampered with, as is discussed on [[http://donbluthanimation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=991 this forum]]. Background music and sound effects were changed or added, new voice-overs were inserted, and the orphans who bully Fievel near the end have different voices (though at least the added/alternate dialogue was from the original recording sessions, even for the orphans - if you look at the lip sync of the animation, you can see that their mouth movements match the voices on the DVD version. It still doesn't excuse it, though).
* DisneyAcidSequence: "We're a Duo", Fievel and Tiger's ode to ThePowerOfFriendship, vaguely resembles one of the music videos from Music/{{Michael Jackson}}'s "Off the Wall" album.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Well, sort of.
* DistantDuet: "Somewhere Out There" is probably the TropeCodifier for this too.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Tony, the instant he catches a glimpse of Bridget.
* DreadfulMusician: Warren T. Rat 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". [[spoiler: Granted, this may be justified as he ''is'' wearing a fake rat nose.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: Tony gets one when Fievel is first sold into a sweatshop, and later as the sweatshop employees are in bed one of the orphans who shows up much later in the movie can be seen.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Fievel doesn't get his happy ending until he all but gives up on life.]]
** Pretty much applies to all the mice. They only get peace when they take the initiative to actually drive the cats away. [[spoiler:Using a giant mouse engine. Fortunately, [[{{Batman}} cats are a superstitious and cowardly lot.]]]]
* EekAMouse: One of the few times a human even notices the mice is when Fievel gets stuck in a woman's phonograph player, and she shrieks and throws things at him.
* FailedASpotCheck: Fievel and his family keep missing each other when they're nearby. Perhaps the most frustrating time is when Fievel is at the podium at a rally that all the mice in New York are at, and his sister Tanya can't see him because someone's hat is in the way.
* FantasticRacism: The mice represent the disenfranchised races of the world, and the cats represent their oppressors. In Fievel's Russian hometown, the cats are antisemitic Cossack raiders. In Sicily, they're gangsters. And in Ireland, they're the British.
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Warren T., the main villain, smokes a cigar. So does [[VoteEarlyVoteOften Honest John]].
* GorgeousPeriodDress: On the more wealthy female characters.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The mice manage to stop the Giant Mouse of Minsk robot from being released early... only to have to release it immediately after it stops.
* GravityIsAHarshSeamstress: After being hurled out a window by a [[EekAMouse frightened lady]], Fievel falls through a sock hanging on a clothesline that had a hole at the end, and then grabs onto a hanging head scarf, using it to parachute the rest of the way down.
* GutFeeling: "I just have this feeling - like Fievel's alive!"
* GrassIsGreener: [[WebOriginal/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries In America!]]
* GrayRainOfDepression: When Fievel cries during the scene when he's at Orphan Alley.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Though Fievel is not literally an orphan he plays the part well enough. Bridget and Tony are also this, to some extent.
* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Tiger, a VegetarianCarnivore, is the only nice cat in the film. He befriends Fievel after confessing that his favorite food is broccoli.
* HopeSpot: Fievel has these several times throughout the movie, only to have his hopes of finding his family dashed to pieces again and again.
* HumongousMecha: The Giant Mouse Of Minsk is only about the size of a motorcycle, but that's still pretty damn big when you're a mouse or cat.
** That's somewhat debatable, even in comparison to the mice and the cats it looked to be about seven to eight feet tall at the very least.
* ImpossibleShadowPuppets: Papa is somehow able to pull off a convincing Giant Mouse of Minsk with his hands at the beginning of the film.
* InfantImmortality: Applies to the sheer amount of cat attacks Fievel's been able to walk away from unharmed.
* InkSuitActor: Tiger bears a resemblance to his voice actor, Dom De Luise.
* ItGotWorse: The mice from various countries, fleeing oppression in their homelands at the hands of cats, in the belief that in America prosperity is plentiful and cats are scarce. Needless to say, their troubles don't end upon reaching the docks.
* IWantSong
* IWillFindYou
* JamesHorner: His first award-winning score.
* KickTheDog: We know Warren is evil after he sells Fievel into a sweatshop for 50 cents.
* KidsAreCruel: The kids Fievel meets in Orphan Alley 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.
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler: Warren's solution to dealing with the mice after he's exposed as a cat. He sets the museum on fire.]]
* LivingStatue: Apparently the Statue of Liberty is one. It winks at Fievel at the end.
* LongBusTrip: Or in Warren's case, a long ship trip, as he's shipped off to Hong Kong and never returns in the sequels.
** Well... Warren and his gang realized that Hong Kong would have millions of mice waiting for them, so they actually ''liked'' the idea of being sent there. Could that be interpreted as a weird case of KarmaHoudini?
*** You DO know what happens to cats there, right?
*** Not to mention the only guarantee that there are lots of mice in Hong Kong is Warren's word, which on top of being less than trustworthy was also worded an IronicEcho of the thoroughly-disproved "There are no cats in America" statement: "There are plenty of mice in Hong Kong."
* LostAtSea: Fievel gets washed overboard, and floats to New York in a bottle.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Tony and Bridget instantly falling in love.
* MaleFrontalNudity: During the two scenes in which Fievel is bathing. [[NonhumansLackAttributes You don't see anything of course.]] Though we're treated to an extended shot of Fievel's bare little behind as he bends over to look into a storm drain with his pants falling down.
* ManlyTears: Papa sheds them.
* MelancholyMoon
* MissedHimByThatMuch: Over, and over, and over. The movie even provides the page picture.
* MoodWhiplash: Just the song "There are No Cats in America", in which each character gives the tragic story of what the cats did to them in their individual homelands...but...[[EarWorm but there are nooo cats in America!]]
* MouthCam
* MysteriousMiddleInitial: Warren T. Rat, and in the sequel, Cat R. Waul (JohnCleese). Though the middle initials in both names are there to create a pun.
** Most viewers probably assumed that the "T" stood for "the."
** Perhaps a pun on the word "warranty" that he is definitely a rat. Ha, irony!
* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: Fievel introduces himself to Henri the pigeon as "Fievel, Fievel Mousekewitz." He introduces himself this way a few times in the sequels as well.
* NiceHat: Fievel is given one for Hannukah at the beginning. Because it's his [[OrphansPlotTrinket only link to his family]], many an IndyHatRoll ensues. One of the first causes him to be swept off the ship.
** Funny thing is, the hat seems to vanish an reappear on occasion. It's a pretty important object to have so many continuity errors.
* NoCartoonFish: The herring and "sewer shark" are drawn photo-realistically -- but then again so are the humans.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Honest John is a pretty blatant parody of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Tweed "Boss" Tweed]].
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: See FakeRussian in the Trivia tab.
* {{Novelization}}: Yes, there was a novelization. There were a few noticeable plot changes (Fievel is in the sweatshop for much longer, Fievel and Tony search for Fievel's parents a while before he meets Bridget, and other things that never made it into the movie.) Excerpts from the novelization were given away at [=McDonald's=].
* TheOneWhoWearsShoes: Bridget in the first movie (though in a continuity error, she is barefoot in a couple scenes). Tanya also dons a pair of slippers in a few scenes of the sequel.
* OrphansOrdeal: Really.
* ParentalBonus: Warren T. Rat [[WickedCultured quotes Shakespeare]] (albeit in hilarious {{Malaproper}} fashion).
* PaperThinDisguise: [[spoiler: Come on, you weren't really fooled by Warren's fake nose, were you?]]
* ParasolOfPrettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her.
* PepTalkSong: "Never Say Never"
* PoliceAreUseless: Policemouse: "We've got to do something about those cats." Honest John: "Besides paying Warren T. Rat for no protection."
* RealitySubtext: Fievel was the real name of Steven Spielberg's immigrant great-grandfather.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: "You're not a rat, you're a CAT!"]]
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Fievel and Tanya. This is a Bluth film, after all.
* {{Rotoscoping}}: This was used to animate all of the humans appearing in the film, as well as the Giant Mouse of Minsk, while the mouse characters were drawn from scratch.
* SadTimesMontage
* SayMyName: Papa screaming out "FIIIIIEEEVEEEELLLL!!" at a couple different points, Fievel also shouts "Papa!!!" numerous times.
* ScarecrowSolution: The Giant Mouse of Minsk
* TheScottishTrope: For some reason the mice think the cats are more likely to come after them if they say the word 'cat' too loud.
* SequelHook: So blatant it was used in the trailer for its sequel ''Fievel Goes West''; when Fievel points to the horizon and asks if he can go see more of America, his pigeon friend Henri answers "Someday, you will!"
* ShoutOut: The attack on the mouse village in Russia and a couple of background phrases overheard at Ellis Island are shout outs to ''FiddlerOnTheRoof''.
** ShoutOut/ToShakespeare: Warren T. Rat is fond of incorrectly quoting Shakespeare. His accountant Digit seems to know the quotes better than he does.
* ShownTheirWork: The Mousekewitz family is processed through the mouse version of Castle Garden, Ellis Island's lesser known nineteenth century predecessor.
* SleazyPolitician: "Honest" John. His sleaziness mainly consists of assigning "ghost votes" to deceased mice (votes which naturally automatically go to him), making sure his name is attached to the effort to exile the cats terrorizing New York when without Fievel and Gussie Mausheimer it would have never happened, and being drunk all the time.
* SmallAnnoyingCreature: Digit
* SnoopingLittleKid: Fievel was being a SnoopingLittleKid when he snuck into the secret hideout of the cats and found out Warren T. Rat [[spoiler: was really a cat in disguise.]]
* StockFootage: Some of the cats are reused bits of Dragon from Film/TheSecretOfNIMH, and they all appear to owe quite a bit to his terrifying "cats as seen by mice" design. Additionally, there are moments where both the Cossack Cats and the Maulers who raid the market are the same animated cats with wardrobe changes.
* StreetUrchin: There are quite a few in New York, and Fievel nearly becomes one himself.
* TakeMyHand: Papa tries to grab Fievel's hand after he slips onto the deck of the ship. Sadly, Fievel's sleeve rips and he ends up washed overboard.
* TokenRomance: Tony and Bridget
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: All over the movie. The woman who [[EekAMouse screams at Fievel]] when he gets stuck in her phonograph player is more scared that he's a mouse, taking no notice that he's dressed in baggy pants, a big sweater and a poofy hat, and he's bipedal. Happens quite a bit in the sequels too, for example, at Cat R. Waul's saloon.
** Then of course there's the two humans at the park who walk right past the rather loud mouse rally taking place.
* WastedSong: For some reason the jazzy background orchestration for Warren's first scene is completely absent from the soundtrack, and thus is impossible to find anywhere.
* WatchingTroyBurn: At the beginning, the village of Shostka, Russia suffers a pogrom at the hands of Russian Cossacks, and their pet cats. They set fire to most of the buildings, and after the Mousekewitz family survives the attack, they watch from a distance as their village goes up in flames. Thus, they decide to go to America.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Baby Yasha's existence is inconsistent.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: It's pretty {{Anvilicious}} about this too. Most of the cats are bullies, but Tiger is noticeably cute and looks like [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the Cowardly Lion]] and the cats who explicitly try to eat the protagonists are drawn as big, violent monsters. Digit the cockroach is [[SmallAnnoyingCreature just a pest]] and is kind of UglyCute but the sewer roaches who menace Feivel are rendered as realistic BigCreepyCrawlies.
** ''Goes West'' has Fievel menaced by a non-cute scorpion and hawk.
* YouExclamation: Warren says this when he notices Fievel spying on him through his mirror.
* YourSizeMayVary: 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 [[spoiler: the same size as the rest of the cats in his gang.]]
** Not by that much if you look carefully.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails]]
* AesopAmnesia: Everyone from ''Fievel's American Tails'' has this condition, due to the fact that it hardly even acts like ''Fievel Goes West'' happened.
* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Played for laughs in when Wylie Burp teaches Tiger how to be a dog.
* AllJustADream: ''Fievel Goes West'', according to the third movie.
** Done within ''Fievel Goes West'' itself at the beginning where Fievel shoots a bunch of cats and gets a badge from Wylie Burp. A DreamWithinADream if you think about it.
** Some people see Fievel's dreaming in the third movie as foreshadowing.
* AnimationBump: Say what you will about ''Fievel Goes West'', but you have to admit that the animation was of amazing quality, even at the time it was released--it was even better than most of the '''Disney''' films out at the time.
* AscendedExtra: A few of the extras from ''Fievel Goes West'' went on to become recurring characters in ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* AxCrazy: Chula doesn't have the ax, but his personality fits the bill.
* BabiesEverAfter: Tony and Bridget's ''Fievel Goes West'' cameos where they're seen with a baby.
* BadassLongcoat: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Fievel, Tiger and Wylie Burp all wear one for the final showdown with Cat R. Waul.
* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: ''Fievel's American Tails'' devotes an entire episode to this trope.
* BalloonBelly: In ''Fievel Goes West'', when Tiger is told to suck in his chest, and he instead deflates like a balloon.
* BerserkButton: Normally wimpy Tiger after Chula threatens to drop Miss Kitty to her death.
** Cat R. Waul has a similiar reaction to being called "Pussy Poo".
* BeYourself: It's what both Fievel and Tanya learn by the end of ''Fievel Goes West'', and it's shown that they've learned it more through action than words; i.e. Tanya washing her make-up off and Fievel turning his hat right-side-in so it's blue again and not a cowboy hat.
** BrokenAesop: Tiger learns that he has to be something he ''isn't'' in order for Miss Kitty to love him...
*** Not entirely. More than being something he's not, Tiger really just finds the courage he didn't know he had before. And Miss Kitty clearly loved him before, it just took her being under Cat R. Waul's thumb to realize what she left behind. Plus, in keeping with the visual metaphors above, Tiger returned to his feline appearance once the day was saved. So I guess he just learned to live up to his namesake and stop running away from everything. If that ain't CharacterDevelopment, this Troper don't know what is.
* {{BFG}}: Relatively, a human revolver operated by cats. More so in the hands of a mouse kid like Fievel.
* BlueEyes: Fievel is actually given an eye color in ''Fievel Goes West''. In most of his other appearances he has the typical black pupil CartoonyEyes.
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: Native Americans in both ''Fievel Goes West'' and ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' stick to this dress code. .
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In ''Fievel Goes West'' when Fievel is chased into a hole by a hawk, we see only his eyes, and the eyes of an angry scorpion.
* TheCameo: Tony and Bridget can be seen very briefly in a few scenes in ''Fievel Goes West''. The most noticeable examples are during the early cat attack sequence, and when the mice arrive in Green River and move in. They can also be seen in the crowd in the sewer, and in the audience sitting in the giant mousetrap, but in those scenes they are extremely OffModel and thus can't really be distinguished without using freeze-frame.
** Honest John, too. Look for him in "Way Out West."
* CassandraTruth: No one will listen to Fievel about Cat R. Waul's evil plans, except for Wylie Burp.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Wylie Burp gets this for ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* CowardlyLion: Tiger, at least until his BerserkButton is activated.
* ComicBookAdaptation: MarvelComics did a ''Fievel Goes West'' comic. It's OffModel.
** And just to demonstrate how laughably OffModel [[http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c308/Suren2/Fievel/fgwcomic.png it is...]]
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Cat R. Waul gets either what could be seen as this (see GagBoobs) or AndIMustScream in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* CousinOliver: Yasha Mousekewitz is somewhat elevated to this in ''Fievel Goes West'' and the series ''Fievel's American Tails'', despite having been in the first movie (she inexplicably disappears halfway through). In all the other movies she's mostly [[LivingProp not much more than a prop]].
* ADayInTheLimelight: [[ContestedSequel Many fans actually prefer]] ''Fievel Goes West'' because it gives Tanya and Tiger a great deal more CharacterDevelopment than the first film did, and isn't exclusively focused on Fievel (despite his name being in the title).
* DeathGlare: The Laaaaaazy eye.
* DemotedToExtra: Tony and Bridget in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* DesertSkull: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Tiger runs into a buffalo skeleton that seems to come to life when he's not looking. Turns out it's being manipulated by native mice, who then capture Tiger.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Cat R. Waul shows up for a brief few seconds in the day dream Fievel has at the beginning of the movie.
* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Gussie "Wewease ze Secwet Weapon" Mausheimer. Voiced by Madeline Kahn who recycled the voice from the character she played in ''BlazingSaddles''.
* EvilLaugh: Cat R. Waul does these in ''Fievel's American Tails''. Part of his VillainDecay.
* EyePop: Made into a weapon by Wylie Burp. Used [[MoreDakka on full auto]] later in the movie.
* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: ''Fievel Goes West'' is a mixed example. While there are some revolvers, those only get aimed at inanimate objects or aimed so badly they don't come close to hitting anyone. When the cats (and one dog) have their shoot-out, it's with slingshots that use bullet and ricochet sound effects.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Cat R. Waul is a shining example.
* {{Flanderization}}: Just everyone in ''Fievel's American Tails''. Fievel becomes so obsessed with cowboys that it's all he ever talks about, Tiger just becomes [[TooDumbToLive completely stupid]], Waul loses almost all his FauxAffablyEvil characteristics and becomes a ButtMonkey, Tanya is DemotedToExtra in most episodes and the {{A|nAesop}}esops everyone learned at the end of ''Fievel Goes West'' are all completely forgotten... about the only character who actually sees some CharacterDevelopment is Yasha, ironically, due to her being SuddenlyVoiced.
* FlatWhat:
-->'''Miss Kitty:''' You put a mouse on that stage and your saloon's gonna be as empty as Death Valley on a cold day in June when the snow don't fall.
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ''What.''
* GagBoobs: Cat R. Waul's owner smothers him with hers. Also a MarshmallowHell.
** [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar PUSSY PUSSY!]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When Tiger is reunited with Miss Kitty at the end of the film, he kisses her and both tumble to the ground, out of sight of the screen. This is followed by Miss Kitty saying, "Oooo, Tiger!" As Wiley looks on, he smirks and says, [[IronicEcho "I never taught him that one."]]
* GiantSpider: Jon Lovitz in ''Fievel Goes West''
* GodGuise: In ''Fievel Goes West'', Tiger is worshiped by a tribe of Native American mice because he bears a striking resemblance to a rock formation.
* GunsAkimbo: Fievel, of all characters, in his daydream with Wylie.
* HiccupHijinks: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case Of the Hiccups".
* HollywoodMirage: Fievel hugs a cactus and Tiger kisses an owl because of the mirages they see while wandering in the desert. Then they [[MissedHimByThatMuch mistake each other for mirages when they pass each other by]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Fievel imagines to have these. That is, he doesn't even aim.
* InjunCountry: Played somewhat offensively straight in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* IronicNurseryTune: "The itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiider caught a mouse in his web...the itsy-bitsy spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiider BIT OFF THE MOUSE'S HEAD!"
* JustTheWayYouAre: 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.
** Also, in a related play on this trope, Fievel realizes he can be a hero just the way he is.
* LighterAndSofter: This probably had something to do with Bluth not being present. It leads to a few instances of AngstWhatAngst as mentioned above. Milage varies on whether this was good or bad, depending on how much one liked the first film.
* LimitedAnimation: ''Fievel's American Tails'', which is animated even worse than the later direct-to-video sequels.
* LongLostUncleAesop: Fievel's Aunt Sophie from Russia in one episode of ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Tanya is able to break glass with her singing voice in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* ManifestDestiny: Major theme in ''Fievel Goes West''.
* MarshmallowHell: Whenever Cat R. Waul's human owner finds him she shrieks "Pussy poo!" and shoves his face between her very large breasts, much to Waul's intense dismay.
* MissKitty: She even has the same name. Kitty leaves New York for an exciting future in the west, and ends up being one of the head matrons to what is essentially a brothel.
* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: ''An American Tail: [Insert title here]''
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Cat R. Waul, voiced by the extremely English JohnCleese, tries to fake a Texas accent when operating his mouse marionette, but despite the liberal use of "y'all" it's... less than convincing.
** ''[[DontExplainTheJoke That's ze joke.]]''
* PainPoweredLeap: Cat R. Waul jumps straight through the ceiling after Fievel stabs him in the behind with a fork.
* ParentalObliviousness: Fievel ''tried'' to tell his parents that Cat R. Waul was going to turn the mice of Green River into mouseburgers. [[NotNowKiddo But did they listen?]]
* PluckyComicRelief: Tiger in ''Fievel Goes West''. Tony Toponi takes over the job in the other sequels.
* PopcornOnTheCob: During the scene in which the Native Americans are worshiping Tiger and feeding him, an ear of corn is raised over the fire, then turned into a bunch of popcorn which Tiger promptly catches in his mouth.
* PutOnABus: Cat R. Waul is defeated by being put on a train, much like how Warren was shipped off to Hong Kong. It should be noted that villains in the ''An American Tail'' series are always defeated non-lethally.
** Miss Kitty is put on a bus for much of ''Fievel's American Tails'', which perhaps aided Tiger's {{Flanderization}} into a dopey bum who has nothing better to do but play with Fievel.
* RealitySubtext: During the production of ''Fievel Goes West'', Steven Spielberg had just finished a nasty divorce with Amy Irving, voice actress of Miss Kitty. What does the film introduce Miss Kitty doing? Breaking up with Tiger.
* [[RecycledINSPACE Recycled OUT WEST!]]
* RecycledTheSeries: ''Fievel's American Tails''.
* RetiredGunfighter: Wylie Burp.
** Of course, it certainly doesn't take much convincing for him to help, as he made one small speech about how he was over the hill, and then ten seconds later, changes his mind for no reason.
*** [[RuleOfCute Fievel's pouty face works in mysterious ways.]]
* RibbonCuttingCeremony: In ''Fievel Goes West'', the opening ceremony for Cat R. Waul's saloon is a trap: cutting the ribbon would have triggered a giant mousetrap on the stands where the mice were sitting.
* RuleOfFunny: Tiger dancing to "Putting on the Ritz" with a skeleton for a few seconds, Tiger turning into a poodle at the mention of a dog, Tiger deflating like a balloon and falling off a cliff to a long farting sound...''Fievel Goes West'' had way more moments like these than the first movie. Most if not all had to do with Tiger.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: This is how Cat R. Waul talks.
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' Chula, I want the subversive who tried to assassinate me found.
-->'''Chula:''' I just looove finding subversives! ...Hey boss, what's a subversive?
-->'''Cat R. Waul:''' ...Someone who doesn't have very long to live.
* SheCleansUpNicely: Tanya after her makeover.
* ShoutOut: To ''Gunsmoke'', with "Miss Kitty".
** The "Rawhide" theme is being sung by TheBluesBrothers.
** Also, many of the storefronts and signs in (the human-sized) Green River have the names of crew members on them, including both of the film's directors and several of the artists responsible for the background layouts. In addition, right before Fievel dispatches the villains, you can see a nameplate on the rear of the giant mousetrap (facing upside-down) which reads "Made in Acton, London" -- which was the location of the animation studio where the film was produced.
** Cat R. Waul screams "Revenge!" as he is driven out of town on the train, similar to his character in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2sUcVkm9E the Dirty Fork sketch]] in Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus.
** Another one involves a mouse mentioning various destinations (one while boarding, the other before narrowly escaping being eaten by Cat R. Waul) while closing each phrase with "...and Green River", likely an homage to MelBlanc's famous [[TheJackBennyProgram Jack Benny Show]] {{Catchphrase}} of a train leaving for "...Anaheim, Azuza, and Cuc-amonga".
** The Tiger-shaped rock in the desert pulls a [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Cheshire Cat]].
* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Well, at sunset, but same idea.
* StockFootage: Some celebrating mice at the end of ''Fievel Goes West'' are actually reused mice from "There Are No Cats in America" from the first movie.
* TooDumbToLive: How could the entire population of mice build an enormous fully functioning mouse trap and not have any single hint of suspicion?
** Plus, how could they not notice that the cats in Green River are the same ones who attacked them in New York? (Also add on how they fell for the obvious puppet ploy early in the film, including Car R. Waul even forgetting to control it whilst favourably describing himself.)
* TookALevelInBadass: Tiger, during the finale. He shows a surprising amount of competence during the first part of the finale, and goes into a complete UnstopableRage when he sees Miss Kitty in danger and [[OneManArmy proceeds to beat up every other cat in town]].
* ToonPhysics: What Fievel's hat apparently runs on in this film, what with turning into a cowboy hat when pulled inside-out.
* TooSmartForStrangers: The ''Fievel's American Tails'' episode "A Case of the Hiccups" utterly averts this trope. When a strange [[SnakeOilSalesman doctor named Travis T. Hippocrates]] comes to town offering free candy, Fievel's mother ''allows'' Fievel to become the doctor's assistant, and pass out free candy to everyone in town which gives mice hiccups so he can sell them a placebo "cure". After Fievel figures out what the candy is doing he tries to back out of his "partnership", but the doctor kidnaps Fievel and traps him in a jar. FridgeHorror ensues if you consider how the real life version of this scenario would likely play out.
* TrainingMontage: Tiger, the CowardlyLion of the series, has a montage while training to be a dog so he can help Wiley Burp and Fievel take on Cat R. Waul. The montage includes Tiger doing push-ups, walking through tires, beating up a Cat R. Waul dummy, and fetching a bone.
* TranslationConvention: Averted with the Mousican chief. When he speaks to Tiger he's heard using his native tongue but there are not even subtitles. Makes you wonder what's he just saying...
* TrainEscape: Tiger escapes a pack of dogs by hopping on the back of a train in ''Fievel Goes West''. That whole scene is very ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' in spirit.
* VagueAge: Figuring out how old Fievel and Tanya are can be very confusing. Tanya, for example, suddenly looks much older than Fievel in ''Fievel Goes West'', while in the first movie, she looked around the same age as Fievel. And if we are to believe it's been a few years since the first movie, why is Yasha still a baby?
** Not to mention that while Fievel and Tanya are still kids, Tony and Bridget are already married and with child.
* VocalEvolution: Fievel's voice was changing as his voice actor Phillip Glasser got older.
** How about Jon Lovitz as Chula? Throughout Fievel Goes West, he seems to keep changing the type of voice he's trying to use.
* WasntThatFun: Fievel chimes in "Let's go on that ride again!" after he and his family have a terrifying trip down a sewer waterfall in a discarded tuna can.
* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Jon Lovitz as a nasty, web-spitting (huh?) [[GiantSpider tarantula]].
* WickedCultured: Cat R. Waul wears a top hat with a cane (though in the proper time period), speaks with a British accent, and adores high-class songs, making Tanya [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Cat_R._Waul_introduces_Tanya.JPG his own personal diva]].
* YoungGun: Fievel daydreams about being a Young Gun at the beginning of ''Fievel Goes West'', complete with his hero Wylie Burp telling him to 'get out while he still can', and Fievel blatantly disobeying him and shooting out a gang of villainous cats.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: The Direct-to-Video Sequels]]
* AbhorrentAdmirer: In ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' as they reach the native village, Scuttlebutt becomes the target of an amorous, [[BigBeautifulWoman huge female mouse]]. Later said mouse finds out that he's a bad guy and [[BewareTheNiceOnes promptly kick his ass]].
* AmericanDream: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed at length]] in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'' though it is arguably a major theme in all of the movies...except maybe [[BLAMEpisode the fourth one.]]
* AnimationBump: The third movie, which is done by {{TMS|Entertainment}}, and as always with TMS, the animation is top notch.
* AnywhereButTheirLips: Cholena makes it pretty clear that she doesn't share Tony's attraction to her, but by the end of the movie she cuts him some slack and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
* ArtShift: Inverted somewhat, as they went ''back'' to Don Bluth's character designs in the third movie, but with a few differences, as the designs look like something in the vanes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. That's because the third movie was done by TMSEntertainment, the same studio that did Animaniacs, and [[AnimationBump the animation is top notch]], however the same can't be said about the 4th movie which was shipped off to Tama Productions. If you prefer the animation of DonBluth or {{Amblimation}} though, you may not like it much. They're still both miles ahead of the animation in ''Fievel's American Tails'' (handled by WangFilmProductions), luckily.
* AwardBaitSong: The only real song of note in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' is [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8nryp_anywhere-in-your-dreams_animals "Anywhere in Your Dreams"]] sung by Cholena and Fievel, which may also act as a ShipTease between the two. ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' has "Who Will", notable because we actually get to hear Tony sing a verse, and because of Susan Boyd's great singing voice.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Nellie Brie and Reed Daley end the 4th movie this way after having been at odds throughout the entire movie. This comes much to Tanya's dismay, who spent the movie crushing on Reed.
* BabyCarriage: In ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
** Although the sequence itself turns out to be AllJustADream.
* BadCopIncompetentCop: Played straight in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* BeneathTheEarth: The subterranean tribe of Native American mice in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The ending of ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' is the only BittersweetEnding in the series. Yes, the evil factory owners who've been exploiting the workers are put under control by Papa's labor union, but they haven't really been defeated, and [[KarmaHoudini they haven't really paid for all of the trouble they've caused either]]. And Cholena's Native American tribe still has to live underground because the European mice are still evil, racist and unable to co-exist with them.]]
* BLAMEpisode: The fourth movie, ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'', really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the series. While the third movie at least made a few allusions to the first movie, the fourth one is just kind of all by itself canonically. At worst it seems like a recycled plot for a ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' movie.
* BrokenHeel: Fievel gets his shirt caught on a rusty nail as he and Tony are fleeing a speeding train in the third movie.
* BulletSeed: Fievel uses this against cops in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* ButtMonkey: Scuttlebutt, who's frequently mocked and humiliated, has an AbhorrentAdmirer and is costantly bullied by the police chief. [[spoiler: He even ends up dead!]]
** Twitch, one of Madame Mousey's minions in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''. He even gets all four of his legs dislocated during her VillainSong.
* TheCameo: In the third movie Fievel and his friends are shown riding on Henri the pigeon for a few seconds during a montage.
* CatapultNightmare: Fievel wakes up from one at the beginning of ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
* TheChiefsDaughter: Cholena in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Bridget from the first movie gets this in the direct to video sequels.
* ContinuityNod: Fievel reminds Papa why they came to America from Russia at the beginning of the third movie, and Mama [[NeverLiveItDown still hasn't let Papa forget about being wrong]] when he said there were no cats in America.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: All three of the corrupt factory owners.
* DeathCourse: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Fievel and his friends pass through a DeathCourse while exploring underground caverns on their way to the hideout of an underground tribe of Native American mice. Later on in the film some corrupt policemen are tricked into going through the death course themselves. There are noticibly fewer of them after they come out the other side.
* DerangedAnimation: Fievel's nightmare at the beginning of ''Mystery of the Night Monster'' includes being chased through a DisneyAcidSequence by a demonic hellcat with a mousetrap at the end of it's tongue.
* DirectToVideo: The sequels.
* DirtyCop: Chief [=McBrusque=] and his force in the third movie.
* DiscontinuityNod: Given the fact that they pretty much said ''Fievel Goes West'' was a dream in the third movie, Tiger hissing at the angry mob of mice and then accidently yelling "Woof! Woof!", correcting himself by going "Oops, wrong species!" is almost insulting, as it could also be interpreted as a TakeThat.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Fievel]] has one in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', Scuttlebutt and Chief [=McBrusque=] actually die, by falling into a deep underground chasm and being drowned by a flood of water.]]
* DreamSequence: Done a lot in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' when Fievel keeps having nightmares.
* DuetBonding: Fievel and Cholena do this while singing "Anywhere in Your Dreams".
* EdibleAmmunition: The underground Native Americans fend of the NYPD with nothing but berries and seeds. The police aren't depicted carrying guns, which helps.
* ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt: Tony Toponi becomes a paperboy in ''An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster'', though he really wants to be a reporter and when he becomes discouraged and his rant begins to show it. * in a flat monotone voice* "Hey, get your paper here, whoop-dee-do paper here..." When someone passes him by he yells "Fine! So stay ignorant!"
* FailOSuckyname: Scuttlebutt, in the third movie. You'd be a bad guy too if that were your name.
* GoryDiscretionShot: In ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', as the police are savagely beating down a protester with their clubs, we only see their shadows.
* HotScoop: Nellie Brie in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster''.
* InjunCountry: Done in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'', but with respect.
* InTheLocalTongue: Cholena gives Tony (who'd been hitting on her) the nickname "Poolaook", which he is later disappointed to find out means "turkey".
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Those villains from ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''. They don't even get PutOnABus like most ''An American Tail'' villains do. Though their lackeys Scuttlebutt and [=McBrusque=] avert this and become the only ''An American Tail'' villains to be KilledOffForReal.]]
* LittleMissSnarker: Tanya, in these movies.
* MinionMaracas: Madame Mousey does this to Fievel after he calls her a rat.
* NewYorkSubway: The setting of much of the third movie. The Beach Neumatic Railway system actually did exist at the time the movies took place, and it was abandoned, [[ShownTheirWork so the writers at least did some research.]]
* NightmareRetardant: Invoked in-universe in ''The Mystery of the Night Monster'' when it's revealed what the 'monster' actually is.
* NightmareSequence: Fievel's nightmares in the fourth movie, which are inspired by the exaggerated news stories about the Manhattan Monster eating up helpless mice.
* OhGodWithTheVerbing: One of Madame Mousey's cat underlings talks like Jerry Lewis.
* PepTalkSong: "Get the Facts", sung by Nellie Brie to help Fievel get over his fears.
* PoliceBrutality: In quite a daring move for a G-rated direct to video movie, ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' features a police force who savagely beat down protesting factory workers with their clubs, are being paid under the table by corrupt factory owners, and deliberately start a race riot. You know, for kids!
* RetCon: In ''The Treasure of Manhatten Island'', Fievel ''dreamed'' the entirety of ''Fievel Goes West''.
* RunningGag: After every time Tanya makes a [[LittleMissSnarker snarky]] comment:
--> '''Everyone''': Tanya! [[StayInTheKitchen Don't help!]]
* ShamingTheMob: Papa manages to stop the riot in the third movie by doing this.
* StalkerWithACrush: The large native mouse who falls for [[ButtMonkey Scuttlebutt]] and follows him giggling in an empty tent... just in time to catch him stealing. However this is a PlayedForLaughs aversion.
* StayInTheKitchen: Addressed directly in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island''. Mama and Papa agree to let Fievel go on the treasure-hunting expedition, 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.
* TheyDo: Nellie Brie and Reed Daley.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: An angry mob led by Chief Mcbrusque hunts down Cholena in the third movie after being convinced that her being a Native American makes her a threat.
* TheUglyGuysHotDaughter: Cholena, who is absolutely dwarfed by her father and looks nothing like him.
* UnfamiliarCeiling: Tony wonders if he's dead after he and Fievel awaken staring up at the pit they fell through, after narrowly avoiding being run over by a subway train and falling into an underground cave.
* VillainSong: Both direct to video sequels did this. Pity the first two movies didn't actually.
* WhamLine: "[[AllJustADream I dreamed we moved]] [[{{Retcon}} out west and I]] [[CanonDiscontinuity became a famous gunslinger!]]" The line that [[BrokenBase broke a base]], or at least caused many to disregard the DTV sequels entirely. [[YourMilageMayVary Opinions differ]] on how meaningful the writers meant the line to be.
* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Cited nearly word for word by Fievel in ''The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' when he persuades an Indian Chief to let her daughter live among the Europeans for a time and see if they've changed their ways. And of course, things later [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: A very literal example. Tony appears in the DTV sequels and in the third film, ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'', he has a LoveInterest in the shape of Cholena. But wait... where the hell is Bridget? She was his girlfriend in the first film and ''Fievel Goes West'' actually featured a cameo of the two, as a newly married couple, with a child no less.
* WhiteMansBurden: Basically played straight in ''The Treasure Of Manhattan Island'', when Fievel becomes disillusioned and severely guilt-tripped upon learning what the Europeans had done to the Native Americans, and he takes it upon himself to demonstrate that the European mice aren't so bad...which really doesn't work.
[[/folder]]
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