Why isn't "An American Tail" iconic?

[SeventyOne]

Hope you'll indulge me, all the eye-rolling in the Kid Zone thread got me wondering--why isn't Fievel better known? The first movie was a huge success--at the time, highest grossing non-Disney cartoon ever and beat out Great Mouse Detective that same year. Spawned one theater sequel and apparently some DTV and TV stuff (thanks wikipedia!). "Somewhere Out There" was everywhere, picked up a Grammy and a Golden Globe, nominated for an Oscar.

So ... why didn't it hit the zeitgeist? Lack of other Bluth follow-up titles (tho Anastasia and Land Before Time seemed to do well.) Too depressing? Just bad timing?

No wrong answers here, but particularly interested in 30-somethings who saw the movie as a kid (in theaters or on video)--why isn't it on the same level as Ariel and Belle with you?

 

[Clive]

No machine to keep it in the public consciousness. Land Before Time has barely survived off the DTV/direct to DVD sequels. Without a literal pop culture titan to keep it in our heads, it drifts into the corners of cult obscurity.

 

[jtsalien]

Definitely agree with Fallow. Also it's about the time it came out. There wasn't the social media or internet landscape to keep it relevant. So in addition to no corporate machine, it had no other means to stick around. I agree it's underrated. But the franchise definitely has no legs.

 

[Disneyhead]

It was a bad period for feature animation. Nothing from any of the major animation studios turned classic between '81's Fox and the Hound. And 1989's The Little Mermaid.

It was all schlock.

 

[Legacy]

Because Don Bluth became a bit of a persona non grata after he “rebelled” from Disney Animation. Most of his films (American Tale, Secret of Nimh, All Dogs..., Land Before Time, Rockadoodle, Thumbelina, Cats Don’t Dance) struggled to match the marketing and distribution abilities of Disney and, because they also were much darker thematically, didn't grab the public consciousness.

Damn shame. I adore Don Bluth.

 

[deathcab4cutie]

it prob BC a pg movie back then was more like a PG13 movie today and in some cases even rated R

 

[rhino4evr]

It’s still a great movie. Not everything has to sell endless merchandise to be considered a “success”. Trust me, some studio will bring it back again.

 

[MrRoamer]

Excellent question, he was definitely very talented (don't forget Dragon's Lair and Space Ace). I think the main reason is because a lot of his stuff was more adult and this was a time period that anything animated was supposed to be fore kids.

The other main cause I would say was the rivalry that he and Disney had was bad enough that Disney went out of their way to pretty much end his career for him. Its kind of interesting to look into, they had several releases at the same time (Beauty and the Best, Little Mermaid, Oliver and Company) not sure how many of those were Disney and how many were Bluth going after the other. Disney even re-released Oliver and Company in theaters just to take away the spotlight. They even went after the first American Tail with a re-release of Song of the South....

As talented as he was, there was no way he was going to stand a chance against full force Disney gunning for him. I would be hesitant to say anyone could even today.

 

[SeventyOne]

It’s still a great movie. Not everything has to sell endless merchandise to be considered a “success”. Trust me, some studio will bring it back again.

Not slagging on it, tho it was a little after my time, just saying little kids recognize Ariel and Pooh--they draw a blank on Fievel. The definition of a "Forgotbuster."

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I think there's many factors including DreamWorks, anti-Semitism(?), Disney sniping the movie, the weak 1980s, and more.

I think some of it also is covered by Nostalgia Chick/Lindsay Ellis in her discussion on All Dogs Go to Heaven.



All Dogs and American Tail are deeply personal films for Don and his views. Instead of coming off auteur it seems more hacky and ham fisted.

But that's my two cents.

 

[rhino4evr]

Not slagging on it, tho it was a little after my time, just saying little kids recognize Ariel and Pooh--they draw a blank on Fievel. The definition of a "Forgotbuster."

Pretty sure Avatar was heading in that direction until Disney decided they wanted to build a new land.

 

[SeventyOne]

Pretty sure Avatar was heading in that direction until Disney decided they wanted to build a new land.

No question. Nathan Rabin invented the term "forgotbuster" for one of his columns, and Avatar was one of his earliest examples. So weird how some huge movies just disappear off the pop culture radar.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Pretty sure Avatar was heading in that direction until Disney decided they wanted to build a new land.

That'll change when the next four movies eventually come out, for better or worse.

No machine to keep it in the public consciousness. Land Before Time has barely survived off the DTV/direct to DVD sequels. Without a literal pop culture titan to keep it in our heads, it drifts into the corners of cult obscurity.

This. Most of the Don Bluth movies were made by studios that no longer exist in their current form. They've fallen off the radar and now there's no real incentive to try and bring them back.

Honestly, it's remarkable that KidZone still has Fievel. I always figured Spielberg might've had something to do with that.

 

[rhino4evr]

That'll change when the next four movies eventually come out, for better or worse.

This. Most of the Don Bluth movies were made by studios that no longer exist in their current form. They've fallen off the radar and now there's no real incentive to try and bring them back.

Honestly, it's remarkable that KidZone still has Fievel. I always figured Spielberg might've had something to do with that.

He actually might.

 

[quinnmac000]

That'll change when the next four movies eventually come out, for better or worse.

This. Most of the Don Bluth movies were made by studios that no longer exist in their current form. They've fallen off the radar and now there's no real incentive to try and bring them back.

Honestly, it's remarkable that KidZone still has Fievel. I always figured Spielberg might've had something to do with that.

For the longest time it was one of the few animated IPs that Universal owned (Balto,We're back: A Dinosaur story, land before time, An American Tail, Cosby Kids)