DT: FernGully - The Last Rainforest - 1992

Mar 23, 201350 min read

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Duckyworth

Published: Mar 23, 2013

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Hello, everyone!

Before I start my next Duckyworth's Thoughts, I'll just say that I've now finished my second term at University, so I now have four weeks off to revise/have a break... and then in May... it'll be time for my Year 1 exams....

I'll try to do as much revision as I can... I'm confident and optimistic, and will try to remain optimistic that I'll do well.

With that out of the way......
Welcome to the next installment of Duckyworth's Thoughts!

Just like Princess Mononoke, today's film is a great example of a film that proves WHY I love environmental films the way I do, and gives hope to the genre that I feel some people may not have considered.

I mean it, when I first heard of and saw clips this film and heard what people said about it, wasn't sure what to make of it, but I still decided to check it out anyway…. And it exceeded ALL expectations.

In case you haven't figured it out yet... I am of course talking about ANOTHER excellent environmentally aware film, and another film I feel is pretty underrated….
Let's venture into…. FERNGULLY – THE LAST RAINFOREST!

DT 59- FernGully: The Last Rainforest by Duckyworth

Yeah, that's right…. FernGully is now a new fave of mine, and I feel that I should have watched it when I was younger, as I would have LOVED it back then… But still, for it to hold up well for me at the age of 19, to the point that I actually BOUGHT the DVD of it

, that's pretty impressive for a film that I've heard people call an 'obnoxious, pretentious, preachy, uncreative, idiotic waste of time.' Yeah, I saw someone say that on a website that had info about the film.

And I'm sure you're curious as to know – if I said I HATE Quest For Camelot, how can THIS film do any better? Well, there are many, MANY things that this film does better than Quest For Camelot – or maybe a main reason is because I love films with environmental messages, as I love how each film differently portrays the beauty of nature and the evil of industry – a lot of the Studio Ghibli films are like that.

Funnily enough, this film is similar to Princess Mononoke – just with MUCH, MUCH less bloodshed.

It's also similar to Pocahontas and Atlantis: The Lost Empire to me, other films I really like.

And, some people have said 'Don't just watch Avatar, SEE it.' – as Avatar has been criticised for ripping off FernGully in places.

So, why has this film become another favourite of mine? Let's venture into this forest adventure and find out.

Also, I'll share the thoughts that my friends have shared with me on my recent poll in certain places in this review.

I'll state them in this review in the appropriate places.

Now, a lot of people said that this film's characters are annoying and uninteresting..... Well, I have to disagree with that.

I really enjoy how surprisingly entertaining most of the characters are. I say most, because one or two..... yeah, I'll get to them later.

Our main heroine for the evening is a fairy named Chrysta... I can only describe her as the genetic splice of Alissa Vincent from Dead Space Downfall and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan.

Voiced by Samantha Markis (Courtney Rawlinson in American Psycho, and.... sigh..... Princess Daisy from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.....

) and she is a fairy who is training in the art of natural magic from her motherly figure, Magi Lune – played by Grace Zabriskie (who was in an episode of Tales of The Crypt

), who I can happily describe as the fairy representation of either Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas or my Venusaur character Bulb.

In fact, her cherry blossom style clothing reminds me of my Cherrim character Cerise at times.

The film starts off with Magi, who is also the eldest of the fairies, explaining the back story of the forest, which I do enjoy – as I enjoy the imagery, music, and the way it reminds me slightly of Princess Mononoke.

Magi tells us THIS story –
'Our world was much larger then. The forest went on forever. We tree spirits nurtured the harmony of all living things, but our closest friends were humans. Then, as sometimes happens, the balance of nature shifted. Hexxus, the very spirit of destruction rose up from the bowels of the earth, and rained down his poison. The forest was nearly destroyed, many lives were lost and the humans fled in fear, never to return. Most believe they did not survive. It was only by calling up the magical powers of nature, that was I was able to trap Hexxus inside an enchanted tree, and save FernGully.'
Again, this reminds me of Princess Mononoke, not just because it's the same style of opening narration, but I love how the film starts out by saying that there has to be a balance between mankind and nature – and even in this sense, it is stated that humans helped to look after the forest, which I like... I also like the way the opening sequence looks like ancient cave drawings like the ones in Ice Age, and I like how well it resembles chalk drawings.

Another thing I like about this film is that it EXPLAINS WHY the magic happens... Unlike Quest For Camelot, it doesn't just throw us into this strange stuff and just expect us to go along with it, there is some definite explanation.

These are FAIRIES, after all, which people always associate with having magical powers, and they say that they have magical abilities over harnessing nature...

I also like the idea that instead of fearing humans, they believe that humans are now extinct, which is an interesting twist.
SEE, Quest For Camelot?! Wouldn't it have been SO MUCH better if you EXPLAINED that strange magic you tossed at us!?

Anyway, back to the characters.

Speaking of Chrysta, she's a curious, carefree, adventurous fairy who is content with learning about her magic powers, but still wants to learn more about the world outside FernGully – a little bit like a fairy version of Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.... She wants to learn more about this strange, unknown world outside of FernGully – but one thing I like is that she NEVER mentions that she's tired about her home, she's content with where she lives – so, it's not like she's ripping off Jasmine from Aladdin or Belle from Beauty and the Beast – so she DOESN'T commit the same crime that Kayley from Quest For Camelot did, and the villains from Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole did for that matter – she's not just some cardboard cut-out character with just a CLICHE going for her – she has something interesting added in, something unique.

And I like her design and voice, again, like 7

from 9, she seems headstrong, adventurous, maybe NOT quite as badass, but in the climax, she still does get a cool scene

, and she can still be gentle, I like how characters who seem to have a solid rock exterior have some genuine heart inside them.

Like Princess Mononoke and The Last Unicorn, she's a good steward of nature – she learns to harness her magical powers under the guidance of Magi Luna, and I LOVE the animation and creative ideas with the magic powers over nature... Kind of reminds me of Okami in places – the Greensprout Celestial Brush Technique especially.

Not one of my absolute favourite female characters, but still... I like her, she's not just some dumb female broad just thrown in to be a damsel in distress who constantly needs rescuing (like Kayley again

), she's surprisingly likeable, in my opinion.

As well as Chrysta, we have another fairy called Pips, played by Christian Slater. I never thought anyone could depict a fairy representation of Omar from Rock and Rule, but if anything comes close, it's Pips.

Just as cynical, musically gifted and quick to anger, but with a surprisingly less monotonous speaking voice,

Pips is Chrysta's..... Actually, that's a good question...

Is Pips Chrysta's brother, boyfriend, simply a friend? I don't know....

They never really explain WHAT relation Pips has to Chrysta.... I feel more like he's a brother to her, personally.

Anyway, I love the panpipes he plays, and I enjoy the way they animated him when he's curious about what Chrysta saw above the canopy.

Not much else to say, but, as one of the side characters, he's good enough.

And of course, when he tries to analyse Zak's cassette player (more on Zak later

) it is pretty funny when he tries to say what it is.

I don't know why, but something about him reminds me of a fairy version of Buck from Home On The Range, in the way he tries to be tough, but the female protagonist comes to bring him back to his senses.

Magi describes Pips as a 'bug-brained layabout'... but he's not THAT dumb, I don't think, he's just a bit of a punk.

Well, he does try to steal a berry from a possum and then gets it shoved into his greedy face by Chrysta.

Pips is friends with a group of rowdy rebels called the Beetle Boys. Seeming to be Pip's 'gang', they always make sure nothing bad happens to Pips and Chrysta. I like the designs of these bugs, the one with the long tongue is pretty funny, and the ladybird is really cute.

I don't really have much to say about these characters, I just like their designs, especially the one's biker helmet... They remind me a little bit of the bikers from the Spongebob Squarepants Movie, except they don't go on baby hunts....

Well, they have a little LADYBIRD boy in their gang, so they must be tolerant of children...

But along with Pips, I believe they act a little bit like the 'security forces' for the forest... Not that they would give up THAT much of a fight

, but still, they come across to me as that.

One thing that makes me think they act like a security force is the way that they act towards the main human character – Zak.

Zak, voiced by Jonathan Ward – who was unfortunately in Mac and Me..... I actually think FernGully is the only good film he's ever been in... Poor guy.

He's a young man on a summer job for a logging company – and yeah, you can tell where this is going with the environmental message.

Anyway, he stupidly tries to spray a butterfly with his spray can that he's been given by the logging company to spray the trees that they're supposed to cut down, and while doing so, he sprays an X on a huge fat baobab tree (I think it's a baobab tree, like I've seen when I went on holiday in Australia) that holds the film's villain... That we'll talk more about later.

Anyway, to protect Zak from a falling tree, Chrysta tries to give him the power of 'fairy sight', but accidentally says 'fairy size', and shrinks Zak down to fairy size.
HONEY, I SHRUNK THE HUMAN!

So, this is like a REVERSE of what happened to Shelly in Frankenweenie...

I like the scene where Chrysta tries to return him back to his normal size, and he starts turning into different animals because Chrysta still hasn't got the hang of her magic skills... In fact, it reminds me of the scene in Princess And The Frog when Lawrence's ear, butt and gut start growing back to normal size as Dr Facilier's illusion starts wearing off.

While he's shrunk, Zak learns about the beauty of FernGully, and he also shows them a piece of technology from the human world, his cassette player – which Pips tries to describe, as a box with vines coming out of it....

And the main reason I believe Pips is Chrysta's brother is that Chrysta starts becoming attracted to Zak, and if Pips and Chrysta WERE an item, Chrysta wouldn't dump him for Zak like that, in my opinion – she's not like Bella Swan, just bouncing back and forth towards Edward and Jacob so easily.... Chrysta is actually capable of emotions...

The only real problem I have with Zak is that, although he gets some funny lines and moments – when he calls Chrysta a bodacious babe, and then Chrysta calls Zak a bodacious babe later is a funny, but awkward, example

- is that he seems to be like a blond human CLONE of Pips...

Don't get me wrong, he still learns about the forest, he learns the error of his ways, but still, he doesn't seem to be THAT much different from Pips... Did they just think the 'likeable punk' character was popular enough to make two characters out of it?

I know this might be a nitpick, and again, I can't berate it too much, I use the same kinds of bases for characters in my comics, and sometimes I fear I clone the characteristics, but I just don't find it easy to come up with new characteristics and personalities for my characters – I try to mix it up, but sometimes I find it difficult.

Back to Zak, it's just something that seemed a bit weird to me when I saw this... Also, if he's Australian, how come he doesn't have an Australian accent?

Speaking of Australians with no accents, we have Zak's two employers – I think they're employers – fat and skinny guy routine again

- but this time, at least they aren't as annoying as the duos from Pippi Longstocking and A Fox's Tale... they don't appear that much, by the way. They're named Ralph and Tony, and the cake Tony eats in one scene reminds me of the strange cake Stitch eats in Lilo and Stitch at the luau restaurant Nani had a job at in the early part of that film – maybe they bought the cake from the same bakery.

They don't leave much of an impact, like the Beetle Boys, but again, I don't mind them much, I just don't think they made much of an impact on me.

Now, let's get to my two favourite characters.

First off, we have Batty Koda.

Okay, where do I begin with this character?

First of all.... this is the first character in an animated feature Robin Williams voiced.

Yes, this film was being made BEFORE Aladdin was, so this was before the brilliant character Genie tickled all our funny bones.

And of course, as he often is, Robin Williams is HILARIOUS – I don't know why, I just love his voice... he knows how to be funny but gentle at the same time.

I know some people get annoyed by him, but no matter what film he's in, even in the flops Patch Adams, Flubber and Jack, I can tell Robin Williams is always trying as hard as he can, no matter what the direction is like.

Second, Batty seems to be like a slightly LESS inbred version of Fidget the bat from Basil The Great Mouse Detective, and even a little bit like Petrie

from The Land Before Time. So, I like the design of him and his personality - again, like Robin Williams often give us, he is a funny, likeable character.

When he crashes into a tree and says 'Another perfect landing', he reminds me of Kehaar from Watership Down.

Actually, the design of his NOSE (weird thing to discuss about a character, too

) made me think he was going to sniff like Okkoto from Princess Mononoke.

I also like his hairdo and his claws.

And a third thing about him – I feel kind of sorry for him.

He's a bat who's undergone animal testing, as you can see from the wire coming out of his head, and his uncoordinated and crazy nature. I wonder which research lab he came from - Lawson Park from Plague Dogs or NIMH from The Secret of NIMH?

Well, anyway, it's a long way to go to Australia from either of them.

While he's nowhere near as tortured as, say, Blackavar from Watership Down, Claudandus from Felidae or Snitter from Plague Dogs - as this film still keeps a light-hearted aspect on this aspect, but still, when he mentions the things he went through - having cosmetics that are possibly CARCINOGENIC tested on him, having all those wires shoved in him, and many other atrocities....

If he did come from NIMH, it sounds like Jonathan Brisby came just in time.

I also like how they make JOKES out of his disabilities, like when he says 'Sonic interference, what a nightmare' and when they change channel on his antennae, and he says 'Hail Caesar, Emperor of Rome!'

Another funny line is 'Human tails? Humans don't have tails. They have big, big bottoms that they wear with bad shorts. They walk around going, "Hi, Helen".'

I've heard that a lot of people like Batty as a character, and I don't blame them... Even if I can never understand where the KODA part of his name comes in...

Was he named by Grings KODAI from Pokemon: Zoroark - Mster of Ilusions, and Kodai forgot to put the I on the end?

And he's pretty cute when you see him fold his wings around himself, and when he starts cowering just before his song.

Again, like Fidget the bat.

Another cute part is when Chrysta kisses him on the nose just before she leaves to check out the leveller machine.

Also, I LOVE his song.

I've heard that some people were annoyed by Robin Williams' rapping, but I don't, I like it. Come on, if you think this is BAD, listen to KAZAAM'S rapping....

Especially the lyrics and the tune - 'Yo, the name is Batty / The logic is erratic / Potato in a jacket / Toys in the attic / I rock and I ramble / My brain is scrambled / Rap like an animal, but I'm a mammal.' And 'I been brain-fried, electrified, infected, and injectified / Vivisectified and fed pesticides / My face is all cut up / Cause my radar's all shut up / Nurse, I need a check-up from the neck up / I'm Batty! ' When he says 'I'm a mammal'.... why does he remind me of Pyro the Charizard all of a sudden?! It's just the way he says it....

Actually, the rap was originally much longer... but some of the deleted lyrics get pretty damn graphic...

I mean, here's the FULL rap -

'Yo, the name is Batty
The logic is erratic,
Potato in a jacket,
Toys in the attic,
I rock and I ramble,
My brain is scrambled,
Rap like an animal but I'm a mammal

I been brain-fried, electrified, infected and injectified,
Vivosectified and fed pesticides,
My face is all cut up
My radar's all shut up
Nurse I need a check-up from the neck up,
I'm Batty

It seems to have no effect doctor

They used and abused me,
Battered and bruised me,
Red wires green wires stuck em' right through me,
So hear my Batty word,
And excersise a little prudence,
When dealing with humans,

*people talking*
Phone call Mr Darwin
All the graduate students please move closer..
scapel, more nitrous oxide
The eye makeup when inserted rectly seems to have some effect
Remove the brain cap
You notice by dipping the bat in a series of pain..
After a 6 hundred packs of cigeretts
The animal seems to exhibit some..
I said orally
OMG I'm reading by my genitals
Insert the electro.. we're losing him
Seems to have no effect doctor
Wait, get me another one.. get me another animal!
Look professor they dance up and down just like elvis
Fine, strap him down, if he moves medicate him,
Medicate him, medicate me!
Seems to have no effect doctor
Thank you nurse,
Why don't you ever call me?
*people talking*

Doesn't seem like animals comprehend any pain,
They just get used to it!

Cause I'm a real fruit bat and I'm ready to rap,
I'm ready to snap,
I suffer from sciatica and chapped lips,
And jock itch,
Like a rocket in my pocket and a need to scratch,
But now I can't stop it,
I'm Batty...

I'm a real fruit bat and my logic is erratic,
I'm Batty...
Its my batty rap
Shave his head its just and animal!
My batty rap..
If you just take a little off the sides
Who's Batty? Moi'

.............. DAMN.

You know - for KIDS!

This is PRETTY DARK for a film intended for CHILDREN - but it explains WHY the rap is so short in the film - reminds me SO much of the scenes with Preterius in Felidae..... Poor Batty!

For such an upbeat song... It's pretty gruesome when you listen to the original lyrics.... When I listen to THOSE lyrics, Batty seems as tragic as BLACKAVAR from Watership Down....

And that, my friends, is ONE reason why I'm against animal testing.

Hopefully Batty will have a happier, if crazier, life in Fern Gully..

He's a little bit like Bluebeard from Felidae - he's been through so much pain, but he won't be backing down anytime soon!

The way he interacts with Zak is also fun. At first, obviously, he has a grudge against humans for messing his bran up so badly, and he tries to get rid of Zak at multiple times - when he puffs up his chest trying to make himself look intimidating.... But fails.

But as time goes on, we see them start to like each other, a good example is when Batty is left out by the fairies and says 'No one cares about me.' Poor thing, I want to stroke him.. I love bats, I think they're cute!

Anyway, the rest of the conversation goes like this -
Zak: I care about you, bat-man.
Batty Koda: Really?
Zak: Positive.
Batty Koda: Only fools are positive.
Zak: Are you sure?
Batty Koda: I'm positive...
[as Zak laughs]
Batty Koda: I fell for it! I should have known!

Later, Batty also says 'You're not bad, for a hominid.'

I also find it kind of sad when Zak picks up Batty at the end when he's returned to his normal size, and picks up a flattened Batty.

But of course he's not dead...

I love it when he shouts 'AAGH! I'VE SHRUNK!'

says -
'Batty was one of my favorite characters as a kid, I always loved how jittery and borderline insane he was. Kind of sad when you realize that's probably been caused by those wires in his brain but hey he's having such a rappin' good time! Oh Robin Williams, you always sound like you're having fun in every role you do, you were pretty much one of the iconic 90's actors. If you ever listen to the extended version of the batty rap you'll hear it's pretty darn graphic, "the animals don't feel pain, they just get used to it" being a chilling lyric for me.'

So, even if he sounds even crazier than King Candy from Wreck-It Ralph, Batty is one of my fave characters in this, and any film period.

My other favourite character is the villain of the film - a destructive entity who wants to spread pollution and destruction throughout the world - Hexxus.

First great thing about him.... TIM CURRY provides the voice.

The voices of Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT, Nigel Thornberry, Arl Rendon Howe from Dragon Age, Drake from The Pebble and The Penguin and, erm.... a Romanian in the film Congo

.... Tim Curry is another great actor who seems to put his all into every performance he gives.

Let me start with what the fangirls have to say about him...

says -
'Well, obviously I have to say something about... he was the first cartoon character I fell in love with (the first of my original 5 villain crushes X3). I really don't know how or why, since I was like 5, but that's what I remember. It must've been that song. Or his toxic gas form. He had nice, uh... manboobs. XDD Damn that voice. It's just so GUUUH~ <3'

says -
'As for Hexxus....it's Tim Curry, what more do you need to know? He's singing in his usual sexy voice being as hammy as possible and I love it. He has whatever Christopher Walken has, you know, that quirk of making any film automatically good just by being in it. Granted they usually do it for the wrong films but I'll admit I'll watch that abysmal worst witch movie in it's entirety just to see Tim Curry sing about Halloween. Of course he's playing a villain, what a shock, and manages to pull of the part to fantastic effect. He sounds like he adores every minute he's on screen, surrounded by his toxic love.'
'And finally: Remember that wonderful uplifting moment where you think Hexxus is dead and all the ferngully animals start to come out of the tree....when BOOM Hexxus comes back as a skeleton dripping toxic slime and laughing demonically? Not to mention that he eats the heroine? Now that you do, I'm sure it will be in your nightmares for the next year or so.'

I agree with the cool parts they mention, and as for the girls finding him attractive.... I can see why.

If I was a girl, I'd probably fall in love with Hexxus...

I don't really have cartoon character crushes - I didn't get my first crush on a character until I was about 10....

and that crush was... erm, Hyzenthlay from Watership Down....

Yeah, I know, I'm sad...

but anyway, what do I think of Hexxus?
Well, I think this is what would happen if a Captain Planet villain was done RIGHT.

For the first few scenes, I find him kind of cute.

He reminds me of a black sludge version of the Laffy Taffy from Wreck-It Ralph, and his lines and voice are pretty funny.

'Ahhh... delicious... a first-class smoke. Mother's milk. And what is this delightful thing? And how did I get out of that tree? Oh, of course. Humans. What wonderful creatures. So clever. So helpful. I must take this wonderful human thing to... Fern... Gully... ' His voice manages to sound pretty malicious at 'Fern... Gully' but for the rest of it, I couldn't help but laugh.

When he says 'tree', for some reason, the way he moves reminds me of Psy-Crow

from Earthworm Jim and Audrey II

from Little Shop of Horrors.

And when he does start sucking up all the toxins and starts his song... his AWESOME song, one of my fave villain songs, by the way - Tim Curry has a really great singing voice, and when he sings/speaks, he does sound like he's having fun.

When he regenerates into a skeleton in the engine........... I can see why the girls like him so much.

They say that Hexxus makes pollution sexy.... Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, but I can appreciate why the fangirls went crazy over him.

THIS kind of obsession over a character I can understand... Going crazy over a bore like EDWARD CULLEN

.... I do not...

I also love how he's animated in his anthropomorphic smoke form, and his song's tune and lyrics are also cool...

'I see the world and all the creatures in it, / I suck 'em dry and spit 'em out like spinach. / 'Cause greedy human beings will always lend a hand, / with the destruction of this worthless jungle land. / And what a wonderful machine they have provided, / To slice a path of doom with my sweet breath to guide it.'
Toxic Love DOES sound a bit like 'Sweet Transvestite' from Rocky Horror Picture Show, in my opinion - also sung by Tim Curry - on the Nostalgia Critic/Nostalgia Chick review of this, I laughed at that part.

And we see him start taking control of the human's machine, and he starts exacting his revenge on those who imprisoned him.

When he starts saying things like 'Coming through!'.......

Maybe it's because I love the actor so much already but... Tim Curry's a RIOT!

Were children REALLY scared of this character?! He's HILARIOUS!

It's like the way I find Pennywise

funny in IT, in both cases, Tim Curry is SO much fun to listen to and watch, he seems to have fun in his performances. I can even imagine Hexxus saying -
'Excuse me sir! Do you have Prince Albert in a can? You do?! Well you'd better let the poor guy out! Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha!'

A line from IT by the way, a scene where I also burst out laughing.

Here's the scene, if you want to watch and laugh at it - www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Zbnf…

Just mind the blood-filled balloons!

'Everything floats down here!'
Speaking of floating, I can imagine Hexxus being in the engine room of the leveller and saying, regarding to the toxins and fumes from the engine - 'I'll show you how to FLOOOOOOOAT down here...'

Another relation to Pennywise Hexxus has, other than being hilarious and being the world's evillest trolls

, is that he does undergo some kind of evil transformation in the film's climax....

True, Hexxus is much less masculine than Hexxus - unless you're a female clown

- but still, they both turn into creepy monsters in their final forms. Final forms - what is this, Kingdom Hearts?

It starts when Zak turns off the key to the leveller, and the fumes stop coming out of the leveller. Many people question why THAT is enough to stop Hexxus - I think it's because Hexxus has become accustomed to the taste of the fumes, and now there's no more... He's powerless... But not for long - he retreats back into the engine to gather the remaining toxins, and then....
BOOM! Out he comes, looking like a molten version of Skeletor...

In fact, if you mixed together Jack Skellington and the demon Mok summons in Rock and Rule, I think that's how you can describe Hexxus' true form. And... I can see what may have scared the children now.

He didn't scare me much... But then again, when I saw one scene when I was a child, his FUNNY form scared me...

Yeah, I was a wimp back then.

But still, I won't ruin his defeat for you, as it is pretty awesome - but let's just say, in part of the climax, he EATS Chrysta.

And I actually felt kind of sorry for him when he IS defeated... His cries in pain sound pretty.... erm, pained.

Again..... An awesome villain I love... And I can easily see why so many people like him.

Also, referring to Batty and Hexxus -

says -
''the villain is kick ass * you cannot go wrong with tim curry voice acting* and batty is hilarious'

One of the ONLY problems I have with the characters is three of the which seem pretty pointless....

We have the two cassowaries who only appear in two scenes, and just ask Chrysta for a password.... I'm guessing they're the 'guards' of Magi Lune..... So maybe they're not TOO pointless...

The MOST pointless character though, is the infamous 'big-lipped alligator moment' Goanna that tries to eat Zak when he's shrunk.

The Goanna is voiced by Tone Loc - who also played Chestnut in Chowder. Anyway, Zak gets thrown around more than TINTIN

does in this scene, and the song and character just seem a little bit pointless - it's like most of the characters in The Wild and Legend of the Guardians: Owls Of Ga'Hoole.....

says -
'lol you need a filler moment with a little action'

Now the characters are out of the way, let's talk about the animation.

The animation is BEAUTIFULLY done.

One thing I love so much about environmental films is how beautifully they portray the environment - and this film is no exception.

And of course, the scene where Chrysta and Zak share a romantic moment with each other... the scenery is as atmospheric as the lake scene in Plague Dogs... I love the shining 'sky'.. Looks like stars...

I also enjoy how eerie they make it seem when Hexxus attacks - reminds me of the scene where the forest dies in Princess Mononoke.

I also enjoy the one scene where the trees line up like gothic arches - like in the final scene in Fantasia.

The songs.... also brilliant.

When I went to Disneyland Paris, I went into a Rainforest Cafe, and this music reminds me of the music I heard in the cafe.

Even the worst songs - Tone Loc's goanna song, for example- manage to be pretty catchy and have a nice tune.

Also, the music reminds me slightly of Beauty and The Beast, as of how atmospheric and beautiful it can get in places.... And when we wear a monastic choir in one scene.......

Just... SO nice to listen to....

A THIRD song that I thoroughly enjoy - as well as Batty's Rap and Toxic Love is.... A Dream Worth Keeping.

It reminds me of The Prayer from Quest For Camelot, but this song ISN'T put in a completely inappropriate place.

It plays while Zak and Chrysta are frolicking

in the underground caverns, and it fits the mood well... It could rival the Disney covers sung in the credits of many Disney films, in my opinion.

But, during this scene, some people question the scene where Zak and Chrysta are holding hands.....

says -
'I never understood the hand sex scene, what was even going on there? How does that work? Do all fairies pro-create using their hands? Does that technically mean that clapping is a form of masturbating? If a fairy waved to another fairy would they be arrested for public indecency? Is high-fiving considered sex in public? Is this some kind of messed up way of reinforcing the standards they had in the 1950's about holding hands being scandalous? Am I reading way too into this? Why am I still talking about hand sex? WHY DO YOU RAISE THESE QUESTIONS FERNGULLY?!'
I just thought that scene was about Chrysta sharing her magic powers with Zak..... I do still find it funny that people call it hand sex... I don't see anything weird about it personally.....

Speaking of the story, I enjoy it. The pacing is relatively good, I just feel the film was slightly too short.

The plot is good, and I like the part when the fairies fuse their magic powers together and protect a giant cage tree to protect FernGully. Magi dies in this scene

- and she sacrifices her power to help the fairies enhance their abilities - and eventually, we learn tha Chrysta is the new chief of the fairy clan, if you will.

She uses a magic seed that Magi often used - and I thoroughly enjoy the line - 'Look for the hero inside yourself, Crysta. Look to the good and loving heart in you and all others.' and 'All the powers of creation exist within a single tiny seed'. I like how this tells us that even the smallest changes can be used for the best/worst.... and in this case, there will always exist a balance between the forces of nature and chaos.

Chaos - DISCORD is behind this?!

Also, I like the scene where Zak is given a seed by Chrysta, and he says to his friends Ralph and Tony 'Guys, things have gotta change!'
But... here comes MY main problem with the plot.

Zak PLANTS the seed in FernGully and then just leaves with his workmates.

Er... why didn't he take the seed with him to the city?! Where he could plant it, and bring life to many places I'm sure the city has paved over?!

Okay, maybe he was trying to make up for the destruction Hexxus caused and wanted to help rebuild FernGully. In that case, he can be forgiven.

Also, in this film, there aren't that many plotholes.... Maybe because it took it's time to EXPLAIN so many things, like the fairies saying they have prowess over nature, Hexxus being EXPLAINED that he was a deity of destruction, and Chrysta EXPLANING that she wasn't so good with magic, and that's why she accidentally shrunk Zak.
Where were you on THAT, Quest For Camelot, HUH?

says -
'First of all, this is one of the few environmental films I enjoy, I don't mind a preachy message so long as it isn't rammed down my throat, but sadly a lot of films do just that. However I find if it's an animated film the message comes across in a more appealing way. Why? Because the message is being aimed at children who may be hearing about it for the first time (and if they're not then they're still young enough to have only seen a handful of the genre) as opposed to adults who have already heard it a thousand times over (which is why Avatar's message fails, as it's aimed at an older audience who already know all these things and whenever they bring up that cutting down a tree is bad all you can say is "WE GET IT!"). That way the story doesn't feel done to death. And I know kids aren't dumb and don't need it to be spelled out for them that we have to love mother earth, but heck if you're going to reinforce a message it might as well be about something positive.'

As for relationships to Avatar.... YES, I agree with that. A tad ironic that the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME turns out to be a FernGully/Atlantis:The Lost Empire/Pocahontas/Princess Mononoke/Pom Poko rip-off, among GOD knows how many more.

While many of these films followed in FernGully's footsteps, they at least were aimed for younger audiences, and they had interesting things that were fresh for the genre (for example, Atlantis took the viewpoint of the exploiters of this strange new culture, but again, that film was extremely creative and beautiful, and Pocahontas is Disney Renaissance, so obviously, that succeeded.

) Avatar was telling a message told TIME and TIME again for older audiences that had already heard it millions of times... It's like Twilight, in the sense that it's a fairytale tried to be told to adults and just failing.... When I saw Avatar I was like... meh.

Sure, the visuals were nice, but when you get down to it, it feels REALLY weird that the highest grossing film of all time was literally just FernGully but with CGI, blue Smurf wannabes and a villain as bland as Ruber from Quest For Camelot or Kazaar from The Wild.

But as for FernGully..... it may be flawed, and it's preachy nature may put some people off, but I LOVE this film, flaws and all.

Again, maybe because I have a soft spot for greenie films - but this is an environmental film done right. The story is great, the characters are great, the animation is great - it's a great film.

Not like Spongebob Squarepants - The Last Stand, THAT'S for sure.

In fact, after seeing this, I may want to check out Once Upon A Forest some time... As when I heard of this film, again, I was aware that some people hated it, but I still checked it out and was pleasently surprised.

In the Nostalgia Critic review, he says this film 'made no money'. Well, it DID, Mr Critic.... $10,710,894 in fact.

Quite a good amount for a film that's shunned often. And I may actually want to check out the BOOK that this film was based on in the future.

Here are some links to the songs I mentioned.

Batty Rap UNCUT - www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaTFgY…
Toxic Love - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cSOVd…
A Dream Worth Keeping - www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV1K3F…

If environmental films aren't your thing, that's fine, but even so, check this film out if you haven't seen it.... I highly recommend seeing it at least once.

Oh, and just another warning, STAY AWAY FROM THE SEQUEL! I've only seen certain clips, but I can tell you this..... THE SEQUEL IS POINTLESS. Even more pointless that the horrible new Spongebob Specials, and THAT'S saying something.

But as for this film.... it's a great film that I feel is great for children and adults alike. Maybe MORE so for children, but I watched it the first time all the way through as a young adult, and it STILL entertained me. Not bad for an environmental film that many people accuse for being 'preachy, annoying, and pretentious', don't you think?

Thank you to my friends who commented on my poll, when I review another film I know my friends have also watched, I'll make another poll.

Next time, I'll take a look at ANOTHER film I feel is underrated......
Join me next time, as I will venture into the wilderness.....

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE!

COMING DUCKYWORTH'S THOUGHTS –