Meister Dachs und seine Freunde

A road accident causes poisonous gases to leak into a forest. A young badger's life is at stake. Her three friends, Abigail a tomboyish mouse, Edgar a careful mole and Russell a greedy hedgehog, go to find special herbs that can save her. They have plenty of adventures along the way and learn about courage and working together. There are only three songs in the movie (including end title), but they are worth hearing. Please Wake Up brought tears to my eyes and He's Gone/He's Back is an upbeat gospel number. Once Upon A Time is a nice one to finish with. The characters are likeable and it doesn't get too cute. Children should love it and so will tender-hearted adults. 7/10

In the forest of Dapplewood, four "furlings" (what the animals call children) wood mouse Abigail (Ellen Blain), mole Edgar (Benji Gregory), hedgehog Russell (Paige Gosney), and badger Michelle (Elisabeth Moss) go to school to learn from their teacher and Michelle's uncle Cornelius (Michael Crawford). When a truck carrying poison gas careens of the road it causes a chemical spill with the gas destroying the forest and killing what animals are unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity. In a panic Michelle runs to find her parents but is poisoned by the gas but saved from instantly fatal exposure by Abigail. With time running out Cornelius sends Abigail, Edgar, and Russell out to find special herbs that can heal Michelle but only within the next two days.

Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated film which itself was part of a wave of environmentally themed projects. Conceived in 1989 by ITV Cymru Wales graphic design head Rae Lambert, the project began as a pitch by Lambert to Hanna-Barbera called A Furling's Story as a possible TV movie. Hanna-Barbera approved the project under the working title The Endangered but eventually David Kirschner who had produced Don Bluth's breakout success An American Tail came on board with the project retooled as a theatrical film instead of a TV film, much like what had happened with American Tail. A large scale international production, the film was subject to budget limitations and time constraints resulting in ten minutes of footage deleted in order to make its deadline including excising a swan character whose lines were recorded by Glenn Close. Upon release the film opened in eight place behind several prominent blockbusters including Jurassic Park and saw itself fade from theaters within two weeks. Critics tended to look unfavorably upon the film with many describing it as "bland" while acknowledging it had its heart in the right place. Of the mainstream American produced environmental animated films from that time Once Upon a Forest does get its message across clearer than say Ferngully, but it's also less memorable and engaging and takes some very strange turns that aren't always in its favor.

The movie follows a pretty standard framework per the standards set for this type of story. Be it Watership Down or The Secret of NIMH you're well aware of this kind of "hero's Journey" quest narrative that is part and parcel to many children's/family adventure films, this one included. Normally I try to avoid talking about the framework and put more emphasis on the characters and interactions because that's where the real "meat" is to a story like this, but there really isn't much to these characters as they're basically placeholders who are there to go through these episodes rather than develop along with them. Despite the voice actors doing a competent job playing the furlings there's really not all that much to their characters as they basically fall into the standard kid's movie archetypes of plucky tomboy, fat one, and nerd with that pretty much being where their characterization begins and ends. I guess maybe some of the supporting characters make a greater impression, but I can't really say in a positive way. Cornelius for instance is supposed to be this wise mentor figure, but the fact he doesn't ask the furlings to go on this journey and orders them to do it really puts his character in a questionable moral position where he's willing to risk their lives for the life of his niece. Then we also have weird tangents like a lengthy sequence where our three characters get involved with a flock of birds whose leader Phineas speaks like a preacher and features not one but two songs in the style of Black Gospel and it's very odd and nonsensical and if you were to cut it out nothing would change about this story aside from being the proper length for the TV movie it was originally intended to be.

I guess the animation is okay in parts at least, some of the computer assisted scenes involving an ornithopter type device look reasonably impressive, but most of the animation is very economical and simple without many standout moments and the character designs feel bland and uninspired. But I will say that the environmental message is handled much better here than it was in Ferngully. Unlike Ferngully where it took a very "black & white" approach to the issue by including a literal pollution demon played by Tim Curry, Once Upon a Forest keeps itself relatively grounded and doesn't broadbrush all of humanity or give the easy out of "magic pollution villain". The threat that comes to Dapplewood comes from negligence and carelessness rather than malicious intent, and while there is some human callousness there are also showcases of humans trying to care for the environment so it is conveying a more balanced take on this issue. It's just a shame it couldn't make a story and characters that were more engaging and had more stakes.

Once Upon a Forest is pretty harmless all things considered and in terms of conveying its message it doesn't "magic" its way out of the harsh truths in the way Ferngully did so it does that well. The biggest problem is just in how indistinct the movie is because it takes a well trodden formula plot but stops at the bare minimum without creating memorable leads or a satisfying story progression. It's perfectly serviceable for small children but I doubt it'll linger with them.

This movie scared me as a kid. I probably only watched it a couple of time but message stuck with me for life. The movie portraits the consequences of human activity in the forest in such a intense and powerful way. It is indeed a dark story that probably traumatizes a kid a little bit, but in a good way. The overly light tone of today's animated films are nice but not as effective education-wise in the long term. Anyways, it is not a movie I enjoyed watching as a kid just because of its dark tone, but I get why it was done this way. I give it a good review because it is memorable. It is hard to remember a movie by the way you felt when watching it. There is value in that.

I may be 23 years old, but as an animation enthusiast I could not resist watching this animated movie from a time of Disney monopoly on animated features.

I liked most of the movie, the background animation was beautiful, the voice acting was well done and the ending offered a heart-warming pay-off of the rather grim set-up.

Our main characters are these four animal kids called furlings of whom one is poisoned by a gas leaked from a crashed truck. The three remaining furlings must then go out on a mission to find some herbs to cure her.

The three furlings are not overly complex characters, but relatable personalities like a confident leader-type, one who is always scared and one who does more than thinks. It's not bad for a kids' film and I did not find them completely one-dimensional, because they learn throughout the movie.

The musical score by James Horner was pleasant and added so much to each scene. The mood was set very well and along with the backgrounds it was beautiful. The songs was a mixed back to me. "Please Wake Up" was a heart-felt and very moving song, but the next song in the movie, "He's Gone/He's Back, was an odd song sung by characters I really don't know who is. It just seemed to come out of nowhere and slow the pace down.

That was my only complaint about it, and therefore I have saved my favorite part for last. Once Upon a Forest has a very quick but one of the best twists on how Man is portrayed. I won't spoil it, but it was a delight to watch.

A good kids' movie with a lot of heart. I'll recommend it to any family with kids.

I personally think that Once Upon a Forest is an underrated gem. I mean this is one of the few animations that had me weeping buckets at the end, and I am a 17 year old schoolgirl. My only complaint is that at 68 minutes long, it is a little too short, but putting that discrepancy aside what you have is a beautiful, poignant film. The animation is stunning with beautiful backgrounds and excellent character animation, and I absolutely loved the songs by James Horner. Please Wake up, had me in tears,(the only other song in an animation that did that to me was Somewhere Out There from American Tail) and I know the vocals were a bit shaky but that can be forgiven as that is such an emotional song to sing, and it did say in the trivia that Michael Crawford found it very difficult not to be moved by the song. He's Gone/He's Back is an upbeat gospel song that provides the funniest moments in the film, and Once Upon a Time is so lovely with sublime vocals by Florence Warner Jones. The characters are a delight, particularly the wise Cornelius, and the three furling friends are very well done, with enthusiastic voice work from all involved. Both Ferngully and this were heavily criticised on release for being too preachy, but to me, both are wonderful overlooked films. Whereas Once Upon a Forest has slightly better songs(as I really liked the ones in FernGully) and better character development, one of FernGully's main merits is the villain Hexxus who terrified me when I was 9, and Tim Curry is one of the gods of voice acing and made Hexxus as chilling as people remember him. Once Upon a Forest has a number of enemies portrayed, like the yellow dragons, the owl and the gas, and I must say they were very well done. In conclusion, a beautiful underrated movie, and my main advice to those who haven't seen it, have a box of tissues beside you as this is bound to bing you tears. 9/10 Bethany Cox.