The last of the hand-drawn era: a cinematic 'arts-and-crafts' gamble
In short: In 1991, Steven Spielberg bet on a labor-intensive, hand-drawn aesthetic for a Western musical. While the industry was pivoting toward computers, he insisted on a 'live-action' feel, resulting in a film that would hold a record for its speed to home video and a lasting cult following.
Produced by Steven Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) served as the first production for the short-lived Amblimation studio. Spielberg established the studio specifically to keep the animators from Who Framed Roger Rabbit employed. Despite the industry's rapid transition to computer-generated imagery in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Spielberg viewed animation as an 'arts-and-crafts business.' He demanded almost all of the film be hand-drawn, utilizing a process so intensive that it took at least one week for a single animator to finish just three seconds of footage.
The production was a logistical feat involving over 250 crew members from 15 different nations. To achieve a 'live-action' feel, the studio employed groundbreaking crane and dolly shots—reminiscent of Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark—and ensured characters were realistically affected by environmental lighting. The animators also heavily studied the works of Western directors John Ford and Sergio Leone to capture the genre's essence. However, the project was marked by creative friction; original partner Don Bluth departed due to creative differences, leading to a shift from the first film's 'Disney-isms' toward a faster-paced style influenced by Warner Bros. cartoons.
The film's commercial journey was complex. Released on the same day as Disney's Beauty and the Beast, it faced heavy competition, grossing $22 million against a $16 million budget. While critics were mixed regarding its pacing and character development, it became a home video sensation, reaching the top of the charts in March 1992. It notably held the record for the shortest theater-to-home-video transfer at that time, eventually securing a dedicated cult following and a place on retrospective 'best-of' lists.
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