An American Tail

I like to watch a lot of cartoons. Why? Because they're awesome. I spend a good chunk of the summer catching up on old reruns of "Fairly Oddparents" and "Avatar: the Last Airbender." The nostalgia is fantastic, and it reminds me that the comedy is timeless.

So when I got home from Robotics today and there was nothing else on TV, I decided I was game for jumping into the middle of the 1986 Steven Spielberg classic, "An American Tail." Lucky me, I turned it on right as "Never Say Never" was about to start. Though I was heartbroken to have missed "There are No Cats in America," the movie is just so gosh darn adorable that I couldn't resist.

Here are my thoughts on the movie:

1. It is a prime example of the worst parenting since "Home Alone." The plot of the movie is what happens to a young mouse immigrating to America when he loses his family. The parents LOSE THEIR KID. ON A BOAT. Yeah, it's frustrating. Yet I can cut them some slack for what could be considered an accident or a trick of fate (or a really adorable plot twist). The problem is HOW MANY TIMES FIEVEL IS WITHIN TEN PACES OF HIS PARENTS AND THEY DON'T NOTICE. I'm not exaggerating when I say Fievel almost finds his family a dozen times during the eighty minute film. Not to mention the fact thqt Fievel's parents gave up on him after like five minutes of screen time. And as if it weren't bad enough, the sequels, including "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West," all revolve around the plot of the Mouskewitz family losing another kid. AGAIN.

2. I can't help but feel guilty singing "for there are no cats in America/and the streets are paved with cheese" while my cat is sitting on my lap. I feel guilty for siding with the mice but.... Fievel is so darn adorable.

3. No pigeon is that well-dressed, ESPECIALLY in New York.

4. It's fantastic when just playing "Somewhere Out There" is enough to make my mother cry.

5. It's even more fantastic when I can rickroll her with that song.