"An American Tail" was released by Don Bluth, an animator who left Disney to strike out on his own, and Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a young Jewish mouse, Fievel Mousekewitz, and his family who escape Ukraine to get away from the "cats" (the anti-Jewish pogroms).
The movie attempted to explain horrible and difficult subjects to children, like anti-Semitism, child labor, sweatshops, corruption, and extortion, in ways they would understand. While it got called too dark for a children's film, it made a huge amount of money and even spawned a sequel, "Fievel Goes West."
For Jewish kids around the world, it was exciting to see themselves represented on screen. To date, there's still never been a Jewish protagonist in a Pixar film.
Watch the trailer here.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%