An American Tail/Characters

These are the main characters of the four An American Tail movies and the series Fievel's American Tails.

Fievel Mousekewitz
Fievel is the main character of the series. He's a fearless child, but his youthful curiosity often gets him into a lot of trouble, and he tends to get separated from his family on multiple occasions.


 * Annoying Younger Sibling: In Tanya's point of view in the sequels. To be fair though he does tease her every so often.
 * Her personality is different in every movie, she sees her brother as a nuisance mostly in the direct to video sequels, and mostly ignores him in "Fievel Goes West".
 * Badly Battered Babysitter: In the Fievel's American Tails episode "Babysitting Blues", Yasha gives Fievel a little taste of what he put his own parents through in the first two movies.
 * Blue Eyes: In Fievel Goes West. In most of his other appearances he has Black Eyes.
 * Break the Cutie: In the first film, the poor child has all of his hopes shattered, and vows to become a Street Urchin. Luckily he found his family and got better.
 * Cheerful Child: In Fievel Goes West
 * Cute Little Buck Teeth
 * Flanderization: Like pretty much everyone in Fievel's American Tails. In the show his fascination with cowboys becomes one of his sole defining characteristics.
 * Heartwarming Orphan: Not a technical example in An American Tail, but close enough.
 * Iconic Item: His hat.
 * Infant Immortality: He's been able to walk away from how many cat attacks?
 * Informed Judaism
 * Kid Hero
 * Leitmotif: Tanya even calls the song that Papa plays on his violin "Fievel's Song!"
 * Mascot: Of Amblimation and of the Universal Studios theme parks for a while. He can still be seen dancing around with Woody Woodpecker and hugging small children occasionally at Universal Studios.
 * Nice Hat: Fievel is given one for Hannukah at the beginning of An American Tail, as a family heirloom and later an Orphan's Plot Trinket.
 * Not Even Bothering With the Accent
 * Odd Friendship: With Tiger
 * Orphans Ordeal: Goes through this without his parents ever actually dying.
 * Tagalong Kid: Always manages to involve himself in even the most dangerous situations in the sequels (a shoot-out with Cat R. Waul's gang, an underground expedition for buried treasure, a search for a supposed monster that's eating mice), and no one ever stops him from tagging along.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter
 * Snooping Little Kid: On both Warren and Cat R. Waul. Gets him into lots of trouble.
 * Vague Age
 * Vocal Evolution: While Phillip Glasser voiced him.
 * Young Gun: In his day dreams.

Tanya Mousekewitz
She is Fievel's older sister. Tanya is a dreamer, much like her brother. Her personality is explored mainly in Fievel Goes West, where we learn she wants to be a famous singer and actress. Her personality varies from movie to movie, however, as does her appearance.


 * Absentee Actor: Happened quite a bit on Fievel's American Tails.
 * Age Inappropriate Dress: After her makeover in Fievel Goes West
 * All Love Is Unrequited: Falls in love with newspaper editor Reed Daley in The Mystery of the Night Monster, only to have him ignore her for the most part and fall in love with reporter Nellie Brie.
 * Bratty Teenage Daughter: More in the DTV sequels, though she may or may not be a teen in those.
 * Cool Big Sis
 * Cute Bruiser: Punches out one of the bad guys in The Treasure of Manhattan Island.
 * Depending On the Artist: She looks different in every single appearance.
 * Divergent Character Evolution: Tanya looks a lot like Fievel in the first movie, but not so much in the sequels, especially not Fievel Goes West.
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Wears a feather on her head after her makeover in Fievel Goes West.
 * Furry Female Mane: Averts this in every movie but Fievel Goes West.
 * Gorgeous Period Dress
 * Gut Feeling: Spends most of the first movie having a gut feeling that her brother Fievel is still alive.
 * Hair Decorations
 * Humanoid Female Animal
 * I Want Song: "Dreams to Dream"
 * Just the Way You Are: 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.
 * Little Miss Snarker: Moreso in the DTV movies.
 * Make Me Wanna Shout: Has the power to break glass with her voice.
 * Non Mammal Mammaries: Her more mature character model in Fievel Goes West
 * Not Even Bothering With the Accent
 * She Cleans Up Nicely
 * Stay in The Kitchen: Mama and Papa agree to let Fievel go on the treasure-hunting expedition in The Treasure of Manhattan Island, 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.
 * The Ugly Guys Hot Daughter
 * Vague Age
 * You Don't Look Like You: Her differing appearances in every installment.

Yasha Mousekewitz
Fievel's baby sister. She's never a huge part of the plot, and often is inserted just to look cute. The animators even forgot about her halfway through the first movie.


 * Baby Carriage
 * Cousin Oliver
 * Hair Decorations
 * Living Prop: Seriously, in the third movie Tanya carries her through an angry mob and slides down a water spout with her, and she's still sleeping when Tanya finally hands her to her mother.
 * Suddenly Voiced: By Cathy Cavadini in Fievel's American Tails
 * What Happened to The Mouse: Quite literally. In the first movie, she disappears half-way through.

Mama and Papa Mousekewitz
Fievel's parents. Papa likes to tell tall tales and wholeheartedly believes that there are no cats in America at the beginning of the first film. Mama, however, is much more down to Earth and isn't afraid to tell Papa when she thinks his stories are nothing but fairy tales.


 * Grass Is Greener: Papa is never satisfied with where they're living.
 * Jewish Complaining: Mostly from Papa, at the beginning of both the 2nd and 3rd movies.
 * Jewish Mother: While Mama Mousekewitz is a less extreme example, she does display a few of the common stereotypes from time to time. Also a literal Jewish mother.
 * Manly Tears: From Papa in the first movie.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Papa bears no small resemblance to Tevye (only mouseified).
 * Parental Obliviousness: So, so many examples. They mean well, but they may be candidates for one the most irresponsible sets of parents ever portrayed in animation. In their defense though, they really should keep Fievel on a leash or something.
 * They refuse to believe that Fievel is still alive in the first movie until the evidence is staring them in the face.
 * They also won't listen to Fievel when he warns them about Cat R. Waul's evil plans.
 * Not only that but they don't seem to have a problem letting their son go out on dangerous adventures in the sequels. But God forbid Tanya join him on any.
 * Speaking of which, they don't seen to mind the underage Tanya getting a job as a saloon singer at a bar full of cats either.
 * Their parenting skills Take a Level in Dumbass in Fievel's American Tails, where in "A Case of the Hiccups" they allow Fievel to take candy from a stranger and give it to everyone in town, in "Babysitting Blues" they actually trust young Fievel to babysit Yasha (and she almost gets eaten by cats several times), and in "Little Mouse on the Prairie" they actually force Fievel to take Tanya and Yasha with him on a dangerous journey into the desert where they all get lost and almost die. As if they weren't used to Fievel getting lost whenever he sets foot outside by now.
 * In The Mystery of the Night Monster, their idea of helping Fievel get over the recurring nightmares he keeps having about the alleged "night monster" is to have him join reporter Nellie Brie so he can hear eyewitness accounts of said monster attacking homes and "devouring" mice. Yeah, that's going to help him sleep better at night.
 * The Storyteller: Papa.
 * Unnamed Parent: Somewhat averted. Papa is named Bernard in an episode of Fievel's American Tails. But his name isn't used outside that instance (and was probably invented for that episode).
 * Women Are Wiser: Mama.

Tiger
The only nice cat Fievel meets, and one of his best friends. He's a bit cowardly but he can be brave when he wants to. He's also a vegetarian, so he never eats mice. Fievel Goes West is where he saw the most character development.


 * Berserk Button: When anyone messes with Miss Kitty
 * Big Eater: Thankfully for the mice he mostly only stuffs his face with fruits and vegetables.
 * Cats Are Mean: Don Bluth created him as an aversion to this trope on purpose so at least one cat would be nice.
 * Cowardly Lion
 * Cowardly Sidekick
 * Fat Best Friend
 * Fat Cat
 * Fat Idiot: Most egregiously in Fievel's American Tails.
 * Gentle Giant: Giant compared to the mice he usually hangs around.
 * Half Dressed Cartoon Animal
 * Heel Face Turn: A pretty quick one at that. One wonders what he was doing with the Mott Street Maulers in the first place.
 * Ink Suit Actor: Bears a resemblance to his voice actor Dom De Luise.
 * Leitmotif: "A Duo" becomes one for him in Fievel Goes West.
 * Lovable Coward
 * Minion With an F In Evil
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much
 * Odd Friendship: With Fievel
 * Plucky Comic Relief
 * Took a Level In Dumbass: Though he was never very bright, he was dumbed down to the point of Too Dumb to Live in Fievel's American Tails, with all of the character development he made in Fievel Goes West gone.
 * Vegetarian Carnivore

Tony Toponi
A streetwise orphan that Fievel befriends in the first film while imprisoned in a sweat shop. After Fievel frees everyone Tony takes it upon himself to help Fievel find his family. He's largely absent from Fievel Goes West except for some blink-and-you-miss-it cameos, but he comes back in full main character status in the direct to video sequels.

""Fievel? Oooh, that name's gotta go! I'll tell ya what -- Filly!""
 * Alliterative Name
 * The Artful Dodger
 * Big Brother Instinct: Tony takes an immediate liking to Fievel when they meet in the sweatshop and does everything he can to take care of the child, albeit getting a little sidetracked by Bridget.
 * Big Brother Mentor: Again, to Fievel.
 * Bilingual Bonus: Topo is Italian for mouse, hence his surname, Toponi.
 * Brats With Slingshots
 * Demoted to Extra: In Fievel Goes West
 * Love At First Sight: With Bridget in the first movie, and with Cholena in the third movie.
 * The Nicknamer: Tony immediately thinks up a new name for Fievel once learning his name, apparently finding it too foreign-sounding.


 * Plucky Comic Relief: In the DTV sequels.

Bridget
Bridget is an Irish mouse-rights activist who Tony meets and falls in love with. She tries to use her ties with the mouse politicians in New York to help find Fievel's family.


 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears in the DTV sequels, never to be mentioned again.
 * Demoted to Extra: In Fievel Goes West
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Furry Female Mane
 * Gorgeous Period Dress
 * Granola Girl: Of the late 1800's variety.
 * Humanoid Female Animal
 * The One Who Wears Shoes: In a couple scenes (also a continuity error - she's barefoot in a other scenes).
 * Only One Name: She's not the only character in the series without a surname, but it's odd considering that most of the mice in the first film have one.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Her Irish accent comes and goes if you listen.
 * Parasol of Prettiness: Bridget has one when Tony first meets her. She giggles and hides her blush behind it when he approaches her with a flower.
 * Significant Green Eyed Redhead
 * True Blue Femininity

Warren T. Rat
A crooked rat with a stranglehold on the mice of New York. He is greedy, selling poor little children like Fievel into sweatshops in exchange for their salary, and running a protection racket on the mice offering them protection from the cats in exchange for money.

"Random Cat Minion: "When da boss plays, it's culture.""
 * Animals Not to Scale:
 * Ass in A Lion Skin:
 * Big Bad
 * Brooklyn Rage
 * Cigar Chomper
 * Damn It Feels Good to Be A Gangster
 * Dreadful Musician: Warren 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".
 * Gold Tooth
 * Good Smoking Evil Smoking: Likes to smoke cigars and blow smoke rings. At one point the smoke comes out of his cigar in the shape of a dollar sign.
 * Leitmotif: Has a sleazy jazz piece that accomponies his few appearances. Sadly, it was left off of the soundtrack.
 * Long Bus Trip: Or in Warren's case, a long ship trip, as he's shipped off to Hong Kong and never returns in the sequels.
 * Man of Wealth and Taste
 * Master of Disguise
 * Mysterious Middle Initial
 * Nice Hat
 * Paper Thin Disguise: Enough to fool the mice at any rate.
 * Punny Name: Sounds like "warranty".
 * To Shakespeare
 * Sophisticated As Hell
 * Twinkle Smile: Thanks to a gold tooth.
 * Wicked Cultured: Warren T. Rat fits in with this trope, or at least he likes to think he does.
 * Wicked Cultured: Warren T. Rat fits in with this trope, or at least he likes to think he does.


 * You Dirty Rat: Warren T. Rat would seem like your typical negative portrayal of a rat.
 * Your Size May Vary: 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.

Digit
A tiny roach who works for Warren as an accountant. He is generally dissatisfied with his job, but seems to be too afraid to quit. He emits sparks from his antennae when excited.


 * Four Legged Insect
 * Furry Confusion: Realistic, scary roaches appear later in the film that don't look a thing like Digit. Nor do they wear clothes or speak, for that matter.
 * Hey Its That Voice: Will Ryan later did the same voice for Petrie.
 * Small Annoying Creature

Gussie Mausheimer
A rich uptown mouse who is committed to ridding New York of its cat menace, and finally gets an idea on how to accomplish this from one of Fievel's fairy tales.


 * Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: "Wewease....ze secwet...WEAPON!!"
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers
 * Furry Female Mane
 * Gorgeous Period Dress
 * Non Mammal Mammaries: There's even a gag in which a feather on her hat falls onto her breasts, and when a drunken Honest John goes to pick it up, Gussie slaps him with her fan. Getting Crap Past the Radar, indeed.

Wylie Burp
A retired law dog that Fievel idolizes before he moves out west. He then teams up with Fievel and trains Tiger to take his place.


 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Oddly absent from Fievel's American Tails.
 * Death Glare: The Laaaaaazy EYE.
 * Expy: Of Wyatt Earp.
 * Old Dog
 * Passing the Torch: Trains Tiger to be his replacement.
 * Retired Gunfighter

Miss Kitty
Tiger's ex girlfriend who leaves him to go west and have real adventures. Ends up as head matron to Cat R. Waul's saloon, and shows Tanya the glamor of stardom.


 * Big Beautiful Woman: Has a rather husky figure as far as female love interests go, but she still is a strong attractive character.
 * Cats Are Snarkers
 * City Mouse: But quickly turns into a...
 * Country Mouse
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * A Dog Named Dog
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers
 * Miss Kitty: Not the trope namer, but still fits the trope to a T.
 * Put On a Bus: She vanishes from pretty much the rest of the series.
 * The Bus Came Back: For one episode of Fievel's American Tails, though she was Off Model and had a different voice.

Cat R. Waul
An evil British cat who schemes to eat all the mice of Green River by luring them there with the promise that out west, cats are nice to mice. He's also Wicked Cultured and planned to spare Tanya from the fate of the other mice because he liked her singing voice.


 * Affably Evil
 * Badass Cape
 * Big Bad
 * Cats Are Mean
 * Cats Are Snarkers
 * The Chessmaster
 * A Dog Named Dog: Or, a cat named Cat.
 * Evil Brit
 * Half Dressed Cartoon Animal
 * High Class Glass
 * Leitmotif: Has a jazzy theme, heard best at the beginning of "Cat Rumble."
 * Marshmallow Hell: Gets this early on in the movie.
 * Man of Wealth and Taste
 * Mysterious Middle Initial
 * Nice Hat
 * Punny Name: A play on 'caterwaul'.
 * Put on a Train
 * Quintessential British Gentleman
 * Saloon Owner
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness
 * Trrrilling Rrrs
 * Stiff Upper Lip
 * Villainous Breakdown: Starts gradually when Fievel, Tiger and Wylie start getting the upper hand in the final battle, and peaks when Tanya fully exposes his plan.
 * Villain With Good Publicity: Somehow convinces the New York mice that he's a great guy who would never in his life eat mice. Even more impressive, he continues to convince the mice of this week after week in the TV series.
 * Wicked Cultured

T.R. Chula
Cat R. Waul's tarantula sidekick who gleefully obeys Waul's orders, and has fun doing it too.


 * Ax Crazy
 * Bumbling Sidekick: Becomes one to Waul in Fievel's American Tails.
 * The Dragon
 * Giant Spider
 * Gold Tooth
 * Psycho for Hire
 * Took a Level In Badass: Double subverted, getting more Ax Crazy as the film goes on, becoming a bumbling sidekick in Fievel's American Tails, and ultimately being killed as The Hanged Man.

Cholena
Cholena is the daughter of the Chief of an underground tribe of Native American mice, who fled underground with the arrival of European settlers in Manhattan. Fievel befriends her and brings her up to the surface in an effort to prove that European mice aren't bad.


 * All Love Is Unrequited: Tony has a crush on her, but she doesn't seem interested.
 * Award Bait Song: "Anywhere in Your Dreams", a duet she sings with Fievel and pretty much The Treasure of Manhattan Island's answer to "Dreams to Dream".
 * Braids Beads and Buckskins
 * The Chiefs Daughter
 * Fur Is Skin: Her fur, as well as that of everyone else in her tribe, even matches the general skin tone of most human Native Americans.
 * Furry Female Mane
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Humanoid Female Animal
 * Indian Maiden
 * The Ugly Guys Hot Daughter
 * Well Excuse Me Princess: Has this kind of relationship with Tony.

Toplofty
One of three corrupt owners (the other two are listed below) of a cheese factory, who turn it into a sweatshop and later stir the workers into a crusade against the Native American mice living beneath the city.


 * Big Bad: Of An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island, along with Grasping and O' Bloat
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Evil Brit
 * High Class Glass
 * Karma Houdini
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Tony Jay
 * Villain Song: Friends of the Working Mouse.
 * Wicked Cultured

Mr Grasping

 * Big Bad
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * High Class Glass
 * Karma Houdini
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Ron Perlman
 * Villain Song: "Friends of the Working Mouse".
 * Wicked Cultured

O'Bloat

 * Alcohol Hic
 * Big Bad
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * High Class Glass
 * Karma Houdini
 * Stupid Evil: He's the stereotypical "dumb one" of the bunch.
 * Villain Song: "Friends of the Working Mouse."

Chief McBrusque
A crooked cop who is on the payroll of the three villains, doing their dirty work and enjoying every minute of it.


 * Bad Cop Incompetent Cop: Played straight in The Treasure of Manhattan Island.
 * Dirty Cop
 * Disney Villain Death: In the Climax Chief McBrusque and Scuttlebutt actually die by falling into a deep underground and being drowned by a flood of water.
 * The Dragon
 * Jerkass: Goes far from it as the film goes on.
 * Police Brutality: He embodies the whole trope.
 * Torches and Pitchforks: He does this later on in the film with order from the factory owners.

Dr Dithering
An archeologist from the Museum of Natural History that Tony worked for once, who deciphers the map Fievel and Tony find and accompanies their expedition for the 'treasure' under Manhattan that appears on the map.


 * Flat Character: But Tropes Are Not Bad.
 * The Professor
 * The Smart Guy

Scuttlebutt
Dr. Dithering's hired assistant, who as it turns out, was also secretly under the employment of Grasping, Toplofty and O'Bloat.


 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
 * Dirty Coward: Actually he's a good example of the contrast between a Dirty Coward and a Lovable Coward (Tiger) appearing in the same work.
 * Disney Villain Death: Dies along with Chief McBrusque in the climax when they fall into a deep hole in the underground and get drowned in a flood of water.
 * Evil Brit
 * Face Heel Turn: Is thought to have been the assistant of Dr. Dithering but in actuality, he is a spy working for the corrupt factory owners.
 * Fail O'Suckyname: You'd be a bad guy too if that were your name.
 * You Dirty Rat: Tony's excuse to the Chief of the Native American mice after Scuttlebutt is caught stealing from them is "Well, he's a rat, ya know."

Nellie Brie
Nellie Brie is a no-nonsense, down to Earth reporter with a mind for facts. She's also one of the craftiest reporters New York's mice have ever known, and her work for the Daily Nibbler is legendary. She's constantly at odds with her editor, who believes more in selling newspapers than bringing people facts.


 * Action Girl
 * Big Sister Mentor/Parental Substitute: To Fievel in The Mystery of the Night Monster. She helps him deal with his fears while her boss forces her to babysit him.
 * Expy: Of Nellie Bly, a newspaper reporter from the late 1800's.
 * She's been compared to Sawyer from Cats Don't Dance in both appearance and personality, but it's unknown if it was just a coincidence.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Fur Is Skin
 * Furry Female Mane
 * Hot Scoop
 * Humanoid Female Animal
 * Intrepid Reporter
 * Master of Disguise: She does a lot of undercover reporting which involves her wearing a cunning disguise. Fievel and Tanya first meet her as she's wearing a police uniform and a fake beard.
 * Non Mammal Mammaries
 * Prim and Proper Bun
 * Significant Green Eyed Redhead
 * Redhead in Green
 * Tsundere: With Reed Daley, who acts the same way right back at her.
 * Women Are Wiser

Reed Daley
He is the editor of the Daily Nibbler, a fast-talking and charismatic boss who's constantly at odds with Nellie Brie over whether her ideas for reports will sell newspapers.


 * Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Though he's always giving Nellie a hard time, it's revealed later on that he secretly harbors feelings for her.
 * Da Editor
 * The Nicknamer: He nicknames Fievel "Rembrandt" after catching Fievel doodling a picture of him with overly-large ears. He then hires Fievel to draw people's depictions of the Night Monster (mostly just to annoy Nellie).
 * Oblivious to Love: Though Tanya has a deep crush on him, he never even notices.
 * The One Who Wears Shoes
 * Only in It For The Money
 * Punny Name: Reed Daley, read daily, get it?
 * Tsundere: Rare male example, though he and Nellie both act this way to each other.

Madame Mousey
Madame Mousey (pronounced 'Moo-say') is a small french poodle, who fled her owner to cause some trouble on her own. She has a very short-fused temper, and starts her own gang of cats in the sewer.


 * Berserk Button: Mispronouncing her name, commenting on her size and confusing her species (a toy poodle) with a rat all drive her berserk.
 * Big Bad: Of An American tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster
 * Brooklyn Rage: See Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping
 * Candi Milo
 * Dog Stereotype: The spoiled poodle.
 * Everything Sounds Sexier in French
 * Fortune Teller: Though her methods are, shall we say, somewhat suspicious.
 * Gadgeteer Genius:
 * It Is Pronounced Tro-PAY: She insists that her last name is "Moo-say." Pronouncing it the way it's spelled triggers her Berserk Button. It ought to be spelled Mousée in order to reduce this confusion.
 * The Napoleon: To quote her Villain Song; "If Napoleon were a her with fur, he would be me!"
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Whenever she goes into berserk mode her French accent slips into a Brooklyn accent, indicating that the French accent is probably fake and the Brooklyn one is her real one.
 * Rich Bitch: Literally.
 * Trrrilling Rrrs
 * Villain Song: "Creature de la Nuit".
 * You Gotta Have Pink Fur