The movie
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Send us a message! Include how to reach you if you want a response. We must have a wawwy. You know, a large gathering of mice for a reason. This week on Deep Thoughts About Stupid Shit, Tracie returns to one of the classic movies of the animation storytelling boom of the 1980s: An American Tail . Animated by Don Bluth, the film follows young Fievel Mousekewitz, a Russian mouse immigrating to America to escape the pogroms (perpetrated by Cossack cats and humans in this world) who is separated from the rest of his family. But Fievel is smart, curious, and able to prevail through the power of storytelling--specifically because he recalls the story of Rapunzel (the Mouse with Really Long Hair) and the Mouse of Minsk (a golem allegory). The film offers some interesting cultural commentary about populist politicians and the importance of the immigrant experience in American history, but Tracie points out that the newly arrived mice seem somewhat insular rather than integrating into American culture--although that is true to the lived reality of immigrants in the late 19th century. And while Fievel and his family are Jewish, it's also interesting from a storytelling perspective that cats represent oppressors in general (including the Mafia, gangs, and criminals) rather than anti-semitic oppressors in particular. Also, where are all the dogs? If you are somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight--throw on your earbuds and take a listen to this episode! Tags deep thoughts about stupid sh*t, storytelling, animation, pop culture, cultural commentary, movies, film, analyzing film tropes, classic movies, film analysis, don bluth, steven spielberg, gen x childhood, gen x nostalgia, movie reviews, 80s and 90s movies, madeline kahn, dom deluise, somewhere out there Deep Thoughts Episodes mentioned in this episode: The Land Before Time: Deep Thoughts About Grief, Animation, and How Much Scientific Verisimilitude We Require From Talking Dinosaur Cartoons Avalon: Deep Thoughts Ab
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