In 1993 and 1994, MCA/Universal Home Video released twelve of the thirteen episodes on six VHS tapes and eight on two Laserdisc volumes. These have been the only home video release of the cartoon in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the 13-episode series was released on six video-cassettes in 1995, which enabled the full series to surface on the internet in English a decade or so later. Episodes have been released on DVD in France, Germany, and Italy, as Universal abruptly abandoned further media reissues after the release of the DTV movies since the late 1990s. At the end of each episode, Fievel, who is the national "spokesmouse" for the Reading Is Fundamental Foundation, did a "Reading Buddy" spot to encourage children to read. These PSAs were not preserved on the VHS releases and may be considered lost, only existing through surviving TV recordings.
In Russia, the cartoon, dubbed in Russian but retaining the original English titles and names, was broadcast on First Channel Russian Television (Russian: ОРТ) in summer 1996 with Woody Woodpecker. Repeat airings were broadcast in Spring 2002 and Winter 2005.
Don Bluth, the director of the original American Tail film, had no involvement with the series. Phillip Glasser and Dom DeLuise were the only two actors from the original film to reprise their roles, as Fievel and Tiger respectively. Cathy Cavadini, however, did reprise the role as Tanya, whom she voiced in the second film, taking over the role from Amy Green.
This series had only appeared on VHS in the United States and UK, while there have been DVD releases in France, Germany, and Italy. Since the release of the DTV sequels in the late 1990s, Universal abruptly abandoned this show from further home media reissues until it was recovered by NBCUniversal in 2020. It is now available to stream on Peacock.[1]
Three notable characters are written out from this show:
Wylie Burp does not appear due to the retirement of his voice actor, James Steward. Steward died in 1997.
Tony Toponi does not appear because his voice actress, Pat Musick, had largely stepped away from acting to take care of her daughter, Mae Whitman (who was 3-4 years old at the time), and only appeared in a handful of productions during that period. She eventually reprised her role as Tony in 1998.
Bridget does not appear because her voice actress, Cathianne Blore, chose not to reprise the role. Blore died in 2002, following a battle with cancer.
This was Cathy Cavadini’s second and final performance as Tanya Mousekewitz. Cavadini was under a contract for Cartoon Network, voicing for Blossom on Powerpuff Girls in the late 1990s. She was replaced by Lacey Chabert in the next entry.
Dom DeLuise is the only actor to appear in every animated incarnation of the franchise. He died in 2009.
An American Tail is the only Bluth franchise to feature Simpsons legend Dan Castellaneta and Powerpuff Girls legend Cathy Cavadini.
