Fievel and his family are beginning to discover that New York City may not be all it's cracked up to be. Papa can't sell his violins. Tanya tries to sing for her supper and gets tomatoes thrown at her. The family is on the verge of starvation when they hear about a settlement out West which is being established by Cat R. Waul, a shifty feline anticipating a great banquet. He tells the mice that he wishes to create a town where mice and cats will live and work together in peace. The Mouskewitzes eagerly sign up, and soon they are part of a large group of mice travelling by train to the Wild West.

Fievel is predictably curious, and while wandering through the train he finds himself eavesdropping on a conversation in which Cat R. Waul reveals his true intentions. He is discoverd, and Waul's spider sidekick chases Fievel off the train into the middle of the desert. He hasn't travelled long when he meets Tiger, who inadvertently wound up on Fievel's train and fell off in the desert amidst a primitive tribe of mice who deem him their god.

Tiger is thrilled to see Fievel, but he tells him he has to stay put for now, sending Fievel towards town in a tumbleweed to the background music of "Rawhide." The tumbleweed lands him just outside of town and he finds himself face to face with his hero, the canine sheriff Wile E. Burp, played by Jimmy Stewart in his last film role. Thrilled to have met him but disappointed that he is so different than he had imagined, he continues into town, where his family welcomes him with open arms.

Tanya is especially happy with this new town because, with the help of a feline lounge singer who is Tiger's former girlfriend and the endorsement of Cat R. Waul, she has become a success as a singer. Fievel faces the difficult task of convincing her of Cat R. Waul's plan and finding someone to face the cats in a final showdown. He immediately thinks of the sheriff, but the aged Burp insists that he is too old for such things. He offers to train another dog for the job, and the closest Fievel can find is Tiger. Now the cowardly cat must muster up all of his bravery to save the residents from Cat R. Waul and his gang, and maybe win his girlfriend back in the process.

If this sequel is not quite as good as the first, it is only because the first was so phenomenal. "Fievel Goes West" is a wonderful story which retains all the charm of the first. The song Tanya is singing when Cat R. Waul discovers her is almost as beautiful as "Somewhere Out There." Anyone who loved "American Tail" should definitely see this movie.

Don Bluth reviews:
All Dogs Go to Heaven
An American Tail
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
The Secret of NIMH
Land Before Time
Anastasia

Recommended: Yes