FernGully - Le avventure di Zak e Crysta

I hate getting a film you loved as a child and watching it as an adult only to find it's completely lost it's magic over time. Having pushed all my videos to the back of a dark cupboard, I hadn't actually watched the film in years until I bought it last week on DVD.

Ferngully has it's problems, some of the songs were written with the days music heavily in the forefront so they haven't really stood the test of time. The overall message of taking care of the environment will seem heavy handed to an adult, although I remember feeling inspired by it as a child.

That aside I cannot vault the voice acting, Tim Curry, Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, they all deliver great performances. The animation is terrific and looks very much like Disney movies of the time. The stories hero's are compelling to watch, you really do care about what happens to them as it progresses to the climax, all this is woven together with touching little moments in the animation and a clever and funny set of supporting characters.

Will children today enjoy it? I'd say let them watch it, everyone has their own tastes and preferences and it's no different with children. They'll either like it or they won't.

I'm not sure if an adult who missed it as a child will enjoy it, again I think it depends on the person, but if this was a part of your childhood, it might be worth seeing it again I think it still definitely has a place in my heart.

20th Century Fox's animated fantasy film might have been lost in the early/mid-1990s, but its message remains timeless and its substance underrated. Beautiful animation, fitting voice actors and well-thought musical numbers all weave a wonderful story about an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies, one of which befriends lumberjack Ward who is unwittingly playing a part in destroying FernGully. Mathis is perfectly sweet as the curious fairy who tries to guide her new human friend into understanding the damage his kind is inflicting on the natural world, and what a great importance it is to preserve nature; Williams is hilarious as Batty Koda, though his role now seems sort of like an underwhelming version of Genie from ALADDIN; and Curry is chilling even as a cartoon character! ***½ (out of four)

Ferngully is an example of how to do an educational movie without being boring. It is the story of an Australian rainforest endangered by human development. Zak, one of the worker of a team that is destroying the forest to build a road is shrunk by a fairy (Chrysta) and introduced to the magical world that he was destroying.

The animation is good, with rich colors and gorgeous visuals of the forest. The characters are well designed and funny, the bat Batty being the most hilarious. The music is nice, too, with modern rhythms that mix well with the fast pace of the movie. The best song is the one performed by the bad guy, Hexxus, a literaly slimy demon, that perfectly represents the greed of modern society.

This is a little gem in the Disney-dominated world of animation. Don't miss it.

A band of fairies and their human allies must save a primeval rainforest from destruction by a conscienceless lumber company (not to mention a venomously evil entity voiced by Tim Curry). Though basically a Darwinian morality play dressed up in the more palatable medium of a kids' cartoon, FERNGULLY is actually an entertaining and thought-provoking animated masterpiece. Steeped in equal measures Australian mythology and modern-day politics, this movie proves that cartoons need not be about falling anvils and wascally wabbits. Watch out for Robin Williams, who is hilarious as always as a manic bat.

When I was a kid I loved this movie, and I still enjoy it to this day. The colors and animation are wonderful. Anybody could enjoy this movie. I don't get the low rating. Robin Williams and Tim Curry have the greatest voices for the film. They both add a lot to the film. I would highly recommend this for a family film. Also just for the kids as well. It has catchy toons, nice animation, and a fun story to tell. Also, another addition is that it does have great morals. So, parents don't have to worry. Whenever I babysit my little cousins, this is a movie I'd let them watch on any day. I wish there was a possibility to get a higher rating. But sometimes you just have to deal with it. I feel like this movie deserves at least a 7.0. We can only hope, right?

8/10