Even a little Jewish mouse can have a huge impact on animation.
The 1986 Don Bluth animated classic An American Tail, a film that became the highest-grossing non-Disney animated feature of its time and helped reshape the animation industry, is the first movie to celebrate this podcast's seventh birthday.
The project began with a concept by David Kirschner that was first pitched to Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney, but when it reached Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, the legendary director saw its potential as a feature film. Spielberg, making his first foray into animation, brought aboard Don Bluth, a former Disney animator whose 1982 film The Secret of NIMH had impressed him with its return to the lush, detailed style of classic Disney animation.
The film's story held deep personal significance for Steven Spielberg. Fievel was named after Spielberg's grandfather's Yiddish name, and the narrative of Jewish immigration and escape from persecution in 1885 Russia drew directly from stories Spielberg had heard about his own family history.
An American Tail doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of immigrant life in 1880s New York, either. The film portrays sweatshops, tenement poverty, political corruption, and exploitation, though it wraps these difficult themes in the accessible framework of a mouse family's journey to find each other in a new land.
Don Bluth's unique animation style revolutionized the industry, proving that animation is a powerful medium for all ages, and should not be pigeonholed as just movies for children. An American Tail tackles serious themes like immigration, anti-Semitism and child slavery, making it relevant for audiences of all ages.
An American Tail was a wake-up call for Disney, and the fact it beat (Basil) The Great Mouse Detective's box office takings, meant battle lines were drawn, and round one went to Bluth and Spielberg...
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