Five years have passed since the events of the previous installment from 1986. The Mousekewitz family has now settled in the United States, but still needs to hide from cats.

Fievel thinks about a bloodhound-sheriff named Wylie Burp, and how he wants to assist him in fighting bad guys. His older sister, Tanya, wants to be a singer. Unfortunately, despite her beautiful voice, the other mice throw tomatoes at her.

Regardless of how cats are dangerous to mice, Fievel has befriended one called Tiger. Tiger is going to move out west.

Sometime later, an evil cat with a British accent named Cat R. Waul uses a fake mouse marionette to trick the mice into thinking something different. His “promise” is that in the west, cats and mice are friendly with each other. This prompts the mice to travel westbound, including the Mousekewitzes.

However, while on the train to there, Fievel gets separated from his family. Meanwhile, Tiger encounters a bunch of scary dogs.

Fievel is lost in the desert. Thanks to the intense heat and his lack of hydration, Fievel thinks he sees his family. But it turns out to be a mirage.

Tiger also experiences a mirage. He and Fievel even have trouble acknowledging that they actually are encountering each other. But once they find out they’re real, it satisfies both of them.

Yet at some point, a bunch of Indigenous tribal mice capture Tiger. They all believe that he is a god and give him lots of respect. He loves this so much that he doesn’t want to leave, not even to help Fievel.

Fievel is desperate to warn Tiger, as well as the other mice, that the cats actually want to eat them in burger form. Eventually, he reunites with his family and tries to tell them the cats’ real plan. However, they won’t believe him.

Later, Fievel is at a saloon where the cats are. Waul almost eats him – until he hears Tanya singing. So, he takes her in his paws to the stage.

Then this nice female cat, Miss Kitty, encourages Tanya to sing for the crowd. But she realizes how nervous she is and refuses. Yet Miss Kitty helps her move past that.

Tanya then performs – but sings an upbeat country song instead. The cats enjoy it.

Meanwhile, Fievel gets captured, but escapes. Then he finally meets Wiley Burp, except that he’s hesitant to help him.

What will happen next?

Like with many animated movies, this one kept me engaged all the way through. Its pacing was quick and its storyline was fun – and it’s only around an hour and a quarter long.

Another strength is how you can watch this movie without watching the previous one. Yes, there is enough backstory for it to stand on its own.

Regardless of what I said, another aspect that I applaud is how cats are not portrayed like monsters the way the were in the 1st installment. The mice also learn that not all cats are bad.

Like before, Fievel was enthusiastic and adventurous. I also admired Tanya and her singing voice. I felt bad for her when the other mice were displeased by it.

Despite that element, this film had fewer musical numbers. But that’s not a big flaw.

Although all the major characters are well-developed, there were some strange parts. One is how Fievel’s parents call each other Mama and Papa instead of their names or at least terms of endearment. Another is the gun use. I thought it was a little too much for a family-friendly flick, even if it was important to the story.

And even though 5 years have passed, the youngest Mousekewitz is a baby like in the previous movie. But it’s possible that the other one died, and the parents decided to have another infant.

Nevertheless, they all had nice relationships with each other, including Fievel. I also liked Fievel’s relationship with Tiger.

Overall, I enjoyed An American Tale: Fievel Goes West. It was a fun movie that people of all ages can watch and love.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.