family is tricked into a cross-country quest by a fast-talking fake mouse [...] Not only are the marionette's strings fully visible during Cat R. Waul's spiel, but the cat can be seen through a sewer grate. Stupid mice!" Halliwell's Film Guide labeled Fievel Goes West as an "enjoyable and high-spirited animated film that borrows plot and attitudes from classic Westerns". Roger Ebert gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote: "There is nothing really the matter with An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, except that it is not inspired with an extra spark of imagination in addition to its competent entertainment qualities". Most critics found the animation high-quality in general. The Chicago Tribune's Clifford Terry applauded the "vivid and rich" animation, particularly the "colorful figures and detailed backgrounds". Solomon highlighted its "tricky point-of-view shots, such as inside a rolling tumbleweed", and the changes to most of the character designs; while Brenna Kield of the Sun-Sentinel highlighted the realism in the scenery and character movements. Roger Hurlburt called its animation "bright and sassy, "colorful backdrops" and "eye-filling uses of exciting angles". The animation wasn't completely devoid of noted perks in reviews. Solomon criticized the little amount of "nuances of thought and emotion" in the characters; The New York Times summarized the movie's take on the West as "surprisingly dull"; Kield felt that some scenes, especially those that take place in the West, could've been a bit lighter; and The Austin Chronicle opined that "the foregrounds are expressive but the backgrounds are bland and uninspired". The Radio Times enjoyed the animation the least, as "the animation could easily have been done in the 1940s, such is its flat traditionalism". While Terry found most of the characters unmemorable, he and other reviewers praised the presence of Wylie Burp. While most reviews applauded the voice cast, a Hartford Courant review was more divided towards it, appreciating Irving and Stewart's performances but finding DeLuise and his character irritating and Cleese "wasted" on the film. Empire also named Waul "one of the least dastardly animated villains ever, even with the slithering vocal talents of John Cleese". Entertainment Weekly named it one of the best children's films of 1991 alongside Beauty and the Beast and Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991); and The Seattle Times honored it as one of 1991's "Best arguments for sequels" alongside Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and