Fievel is a fucking idiot. It is required for the plot, of course, that Fievel's family be given impetus to go west. But they would have a better chance of survival without him. Childish antics are excusable in those without experience. But Fievel already saw the results of overly enthusiastic confrontation with the Cossacks in the first movie, making his confrontation of the cats in the second incomprehensible. And his family saw the results of unprepared emigration. For that matter they've mourned his loss like five times. You'd think someone would learn.
This is a sequel. And it hurts. This movie's strengths and weaknesses are exactly opposite those of the first, while somehow working extremely hard to cram the entire plot of the first movie into the first half of the second. As the first teaches that not every cat is bad, the second teaches that everyone we've been taught to hate is secretly trying to kill us even if they say they are not (except Dom DeLuise and his girlfriend). The first was sensitive to historical tensions, whereas the second is extremely racist. The first has poor production values and a well paced plot, and the second has a bizarrely paced plot and glossy production. The only thing that hasn't changed is the awkward, randomly placed musical numbers, about which the less said the better. Suffice it to say that every time I think this movie is about to do something good it fucks it up.
Which is not to say this movie is bad. Its far better than any Disney sequel. But just as with Disney sequels it seeks to pad the original plot with cliches and borrowed tropes, none of which make any fucking sense together. Sure, the first one had plot holes. This one has plot voids. Aching caverns of nonsense and pandering to audience expectations that rage in every fiber of my being. I had low expectations of the first movie due to the marketing for this one, and fuck, FUCK was my impression of this movie right. curse you Steven Spielberg, curse your all consuming need to over expose and destroy every piece of Jewish subculture. Your smarmy Steve Jobs beard will rue this day, MARK MY WORDS.
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Ahem. So, the impression from the mrs. is coming again from having seen the movie as a child, and not again for years. So. Um. Yeah, I gotta go with my better half on his impressions of this one. It's bad. Like...not the animated LOTR bad, but like...Star Wars prequel bad. Overly focus grouped, stealing anything that got a laugh from the first one, etc.
Speaking of stealing and of Star Wars, there's a particularly heinous scene where a character (which is used as comic relief) is revered by some "natives" as a god. Does this sound familiar? Like C3PO and the Ewoks? It was weirdly similar. But the worst part was the depiction of mouse "Indians." That alone would keep me from showing this movie to kids until they were old enough to have a coherent conversation about the depiction of race in media.
Anyway, this keyboard is terrible, this movie was terrible, and if it wasn't part of a double disk with the first movie, it'd be offering it up for grabs. But, as the first movie is actually kind of awesome, we're keeping it.
2/5 stars...but sadly staying in the collection.
