Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Some time after the Mousekewitz's have settled in America, they find that they are still having problems with the threat of cats. That makes them eager to try another home out in the west, where they are promised that mice and cats live in peace. Unfortunately, the one making this claim is an oily con artist named Cat R. Waul who is intent on his own sinister plan.
Fievel Goes West is a competent but formulaic sequel that trades the original's immigrant pathos for a breezy western parody. The plot is thin and predictable — a con-artist cat lures mice west for nefarious purposes, resolved without much tension or surprise. The voice cast (Jimmy Stewart, John Cleese) elevates the material above its script, and the animation is polished for its era with some appealing widescreen desert vistas. However, the film lacks the emotional resonance or originality of the original An American Tail, recycling the 'family separation and reunion' beats without the thematic weight. The ending wraps up too neatly and quickly to feel satisfying. As a sequel, it offers little that distinguishes it beyond its western setting change.