An American Tail/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


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


The Mousekewitz Family

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.

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.

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.

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.

Characters Debuting in "An American Tail"

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.

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!"


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.

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."

  • You Dirty Rat: Warren T. Rat would seem like your typical negative portrayal of a rat until of course we find out he's not a rat at all but a cat.
  • 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 the same size as the rest of the cats in his gang.

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.

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.

Characters From "Fievel Goes West"

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.

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.

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.

T.R. Chula

Cat R. Waul's tarantula sidekick who gleefully obeys Waul's orders, and has fun doing it too.

Characters From "The Treasure of Manhattan Island"

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.

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.

Mr Grasping

O'Bloat

Chief McBrusque

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


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.

Scuttlebutt

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

Characters From "Mystery of the Night Monster"

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.

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.

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.

Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/An_American_Tail/Characters?oldid=1766870"