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As denizens of Blockbuster Video will be able to attest, the mid-1990s to early 2000s saw a massive glut of animated straight-to-video sequels and prequels to many of Disney's known animated features. There were sequels to "The Fox and the Hound," "Bambi," "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "The Lion King," "Lady and the Tramp," "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Mulan," "Pocahontas," "Tarzan," "The Jungle Book," and even "Brother Bear." The sequels all came when there was a change of leadership at Disney, and the studio tripled-down on the mandate to make as much money as possible. 

The only people who watched these movies were nostalgic Disney-obsessed adults who viewed them as a scientific curiosity, and sought to use them as talking points in long-form online articles. Very occasionally, the films were rented from Blockbuster by anyone who happened to be seven years old when the sequel in question was released.

Things are about to get a little bit batty over at Hulu as next month will see the arrival of the timeless animated feature, FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Thats right, millennials. The movie that made us incredibly anxious about climate change will soon be available on the streamer. Beginning on September 1, you can take a trip down memory lane and step into the vibrant world created by famed animator Bill Kroyer in what served as his feature-length directorial debut. Featuring a star-studded ensemble of voices, the movie is a must-see whether its your first time dipping into the magical world or the 100th.

It’s been an eventful summer for Disney, and not under ideal circumstances. After his wife’s death because of food allergies at a Disney park, a man struggled to pursue legal action against the company due to his Disney+ subscription. Then, “X-Men: 97” showrunner Beau DeMayo shared a series of posts elaborating on his termination, and his attorneys told IndieWire that he’s preparing to sue.

The headlines have people considering whether to keep subscribing this month — but if you’re a parent, there’s no real replacement. The kids can tune in to “Lego Pixar: Bricktoons,” “Chibi Tiny Tales,” “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” and more, as well as new episodes of the K-pop series “Are You Sure?” There’s also a big Marvel premiere, but more on that below. Hulu gets a ton of new movies including the “Die Hard” franchise, “Freaky Friday” (which has a sequel in the...

Recently, I watched the trailer for Transformers One, the Cybertron-set sequel about the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Every time I see that trailer attached to whatever movie, an unenthusiasm washes over. It’s mainly a byproduct of Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry’s casting as pre-Adam’s-apple-dropped versions of their respective characters. And make no mistake, they did not change their voices at all for these roles.

It’s not just Transformers One that’s the butt of this phenomenon though. Nearly every animated movie emphasizes a celebrity voice cast as part of its marketing. How else can you explain the overexposure of Chris Pratt as this weekend’s Garfield and last year’s Super Mario? It’s even standard day practice now for the character poster to also feature an actor’s name above the animation design, a la “Zendaya is Meechee.” This exists, presumably, to lure adults into the theater.

The '90s were truly a golden age for animated films. Disney ruled the box office with an iron fist, leading to a veritable avalanche of 90s animated movies created in hopes of usurping the throne. The rise of VHS allowed '90s kids everywhere to enjoy their favorite animated films over and over again, sometimes much to the displeasure of their parents.

Still, as fans grew older, they held onto most of our memories of these films, but there were a few that they managed to forget along the way. However, despite relative obscurity, there is nothing to say that these films aren't of the same caliber as the more famous fare they share VHS stacks with.

Updated on May 2nd, 2024 by Fawzia Khan: 90s cartoon movies remain some of the most comforting and nostalgic movie night picks. They were funny, evocative, and full of heart, but some underrated...

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong first established their "wastoid" characters while working together in a Canadian improv troupe in the late 1960s. They first found success performing as "Cheech & Chong" as the opener for a touring bad. The story goes that Cheech & Chong were so funny, the band never came on stage. They began releasing their best bits on comedy albums starting with 1971's "Cheech and Chong," a must-have for comedy record collectors. Their bits were played by hip DJs, and they appeared regularly on "The Dr. Demento Show."

Their success was helped by a growing drug culture in the early 1970s. Cheech & Chong were stoners through and through, and their jokes hit harder for those who were under the influence. Those who are inexperienced with marijuana may not find Cheech & Chong terribly funny. The stoner shtick has continued to the present day, and now Marin and Chong have...

A fanmade poster hinting at a FernGully live-action remake in 2024 caused excitement online, but it is not confirmed by studios. The poster featured an impressive, speculative cast list including Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Thompson, Jim Carrey, and Lukas Gage. The original FernGully movie, known for its environmental message, could resonate with modern audiences if a live-action remake is officially confirmed.

In 1992, FernGully: The Last Rainforest captured the hearts of audiences worldwide, and a poster for a live-action remake with a 2024 release date was found online in 2023. The movie, set in an Australian rainforest, tells the story of Crysta, a fairy who discovers the destructive force of humans on nature. Alongside a varied cast of forest inhabitants and a shrunken human named Zak, Crysta fights to save her home from deforestation and pollution. FernGully, which influenced James Cameron's Avatar, combined its environmental message with captivating animation and memorable characters, making...

Fans saw a rumor indicating that a live-action remake of 1992's FernGully: The Last Rainforest is slated for a 2024 release, but how true is that?

FernGully Live-Action Remake Rumor Addressed

A fan-made poster recirculated across the internet and social media in late November 2023 that teased a live-action remake of the animated FernGully: The Last Rainforest movie, which debuted in theaters on April 10, 1992.

Read full article on The Direct.

Machine Media Advisors has acquired 1992 animated film “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” and its associated rights.

“FernGully: The Last Rainforest” — starring Robin Williams, Samantha Mathis, Tim Curry and Christian Slater — follows a group of fairies living in a rainforest fighting off an evil force that aims to pollute and destroy their home. Led by Jonathan Sheinberg, Susan Sheinberg and Matt Feige, Machine Media Advisors along with Moonheart Entertainment plans to revive the environmentally-conscious film in new iterations while also honoring the original.

The team is currently in the process of reimagining the “FernGully” concept with new worlds, characters and storylines, according to the press release. They are in talks with major studios for both live-action and animated additions to the “FernGully” universe.

Machine Media Advisors with the instrumental support of their minority partner Moonheart led by Moonli Singha, Rosa Gudmundsdottir and Krystine Beneke re-released the original film’s soundtrack. In 2022, they...

Some fantasy films capture fairy archetypes and magical worlds so well that it's flooring that they're not directly inspired by a single fairy tale or folk tale. These films are like love letters to fairy tales and magical worlds. There, dragons transform into misunderstood princes, and long-lost lovers return as legendary pirates.

It takes a lot of understanding and love of fairy tales to make a fantasy movie that feels exactly like it should start with "Once upon a time..." Between the characters, villains, and love stories, they're sure to capture the imaginations and hearts of fairy tale lovers. Often, the protagonists themselves are lovers of fairy tales, and the movies serve as both odes and meta-commentaries on fantasy and folklore.

Legend Plays Around with the Traditional Hero's Journey Trope

IMDb Rating

6.3

The Greatest Standalone Fantasy Movies

Legend is a 1985 classic directed and created by Ridley Scott. It's dubbed as a "dark fantasy.

Squint very hard and you might be able to divine an allegory about the Russian attack on Ukraine – but you can also enjoy it for the nice designs and throat singing

This Ukrainian animated feature offers a bricolage of tropes from a wide range of children’s stories; mostly these derive from other movies but there’s a strong, proper folk-story spine in there too. Forest sprite protagonist Mavka (voiced in the English version by Laurie Hymes) is a fetchingly designed ingenue with green hair, disproportionally large doe eyes and magical healing skills, who lives in a part of the forest where humans no longer go, thanks to an old treaty between them and the forest spirits. But wealthy villainess Kalina wants to acquire an elixir from a magic tree in the forest that keeps her from ageing, so she sends a guileless young musician hunk named Lucas in to...

Shout! Studios is thrilled to announce its return to the convention center this summer for San Diego Comic-Con 2023! Showcasing fan favorites and the best of pop culture, this year’s highlights include Alf, a photo opportunity and giveaways in celebration of the studio’s new partnership with Aardman Animations, Shout! TV’s Always a Sword: A Sword & Sorcery Adventure marathon, Sdcc exclusive giveaways, and more! Visit the Shout! Studios booth at #4118 to check out this year’s activities.

This year, Shout! will be giving away a number of exclusive items at its booth. Everyone’s favorite alien is back—in milk cap form—with the Sdcc exclusive Alf Milk Cap toy, promoting the series’ latest home on Shout! TV. Fans of animation classics from Aardman Animations won’t want to miss Shaun the Sheep headbands or the Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers photo opportunity commemorating the 30th anniversary of beloved film.

In 1992, Walt Disney Studios released the critically successful family film, Aladdin. The movie featured the talent and voice of Robin Williams and was acclaimed for its animation and performances of its entire cast. Those involved with the film received numerous awards after its premiere, but it didn't come without its share of drama. Many know that Williams fell out with Disney shortly after that was never fully resolved, but what's rarely mentioned are the ways Disney attempted to force the famous comedian off of another film that was in production at the same time family classic: FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

The voice acting work of Robin Williams is legendary. From Happy Feet to Robots, his emphatic vocalizations brought so much joy to each of his productions for audiences of all shapes and sizes. Williams' most recognizable voice-acting work was as the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin in 1992, but his best voice-acting performance came out seven months before that. In FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Williams portrayed Batty Koda with an eccentric flare that only he could provide. As the fruit bat who escaped from being experimented on in a science lab, his spontaneous wit provided the director Bill Kroyer with an abundance of improvised material. Williams put his heart and soul into his first voice-acting role, and it was by far his best animated role.

While Disney’s Aladdin was remarkable for many reasons, chief among them was how the film’s most iconic character emerged from a stand-up routine. Inspiration for Disney’s greatest characters came from many places, with their visual design affecting how a voice actor performed the role. But one Aladdin character, in particular, was formed through the opposite strategy, with the visual concept defined by its actor’s performance. This established the practice of a star-studded roster for animation movies and influenced the animation landscape of the future.

Aladdin was not the first film to cast a comedic powerhouse as one of its supporting characters, nor the first to utilize that talent’s flair for comedy as integral to the character itself. Notably, FernGully: The Last Rainforest followed roughly the same tactic with the same actor, went into production before Disney's Aladdin made his first wish, and was also released in 1992. However,...

As we take a deeper dive into Pandora’s depths will this turn out to be The Empire Strikes Back of the seven-film saga?

This article contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar is back, and the jury’s still out on whether sequel The Way of Water is going to make quite the splash its predecessor did. James Cameron’s 3D space fantasy spectacular has opened to a staggering 441m (£362m) across the globe, but its US bow of an estimated 134m (£110m) is down on expectations, if only just. If the first movie, the highest-grossing film of all time, was Dances with Wolves in space (with a side-order of FernGully: The Last Rainforest), then part two is a family affair, with Cameron digging into his experiences as a father to imagine what battling to save your planet from evil humans would be like if you had...

The year is 3042, and the Earth has been destroyed. 15 years ago, humankind unveiled a mysterious and powerful technology called the Titan Project. Its true nature is not revealed immediately, but a species of envious aliens made of pure energy, the Drej, fear it and have destroyed humankind in defense. Now, the galaxy's remaining humans roam the cosmos as outcasts, forced to take odd jobs on freighters. A young human named Cale (Matt Damon) has taken a job on a vessel called the Valkyrie, where he works alongside a smarmy bat alien named Preedex (Nathan Lane), a kooky frog-like scientist named Gune (John Leguizamo), a bitter and angry kangaroo-like engineer named Stith (Janeanne Garofalo), a human pilot named Akima (Drew Barrymore), and the heroic Captain Korso (Bill Pullman). Together, they travel the stars avoiding Drej and following an obscure map to the location of the Titan, the ship that still contains Earth's technological breakthrough.

Nearly five years after it first premiered, Avatar's James Cameron has finally broken his silence on the hilarious Saturday Night Live font sketch. Though its long-standing popularity remains in question, Cameron's 2009 sci-fi action film has proven to be one of the most surprising hits of the past two decades, situated as the highest-grossing film of all-time with over 2.9 billion grossed across release and re-releases. Avatar's success set Cameron up to build a massive franchise around the alien world of Pandora, with one major change.

While speaking with Empire to discuss the long-in-development first sequel, Avatar's James Cameron was asked about his thoughts on the hilarious Saturday Night Live font sketch criticizing his use of Papyrus for the first film's poster. The writer/director looked towards the bit fairly humorously, joking he could've made more money had he not used it and poked fun back at Ryan Gosling, star of the sketch.

Click here to read the full article.

Ralph Eggleston, the veteran Pixar animator, art director and production designer who won an Oscar for his much-loved short film For the Birds, has died. He was 56.

The Pixar Post reported that Eggleston died on Aug. 28 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“Pixar and the world will be forever grateful,” tweeted the official Pixar account honoring Eggleston on Tuesday.

“Truly one of a kind. His massive talent was matched only by his kindness,” tweeted Lightyear director Angus MacLane.

Eggleston was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1956. He attended Sam Houston High School in Lake Charles. He began his animation career at Bill Kroyer’s Kroyer Films working on projects such as the TV pilot Computer Warriors (1990) and the feature FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992).

Eggleston was hired by Pixar in 1992 during the development of the first computer-animated feature that was to become Toy Story,...

Ralph Eggleston, an animation whiz who was hired by Pixar in the lead-up to the release of “Toy Story,” has died following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56.

Over the course of his storied career, Eggleston went on to serve in a variety of roles at Pixar, memorably contributing to everything from “Monsters, Inc.” to both “Incredibles” movies to “Inside Out” and “Soul.” (The animation studio didn’t release an official statement but sent an email to staff confirming the news this morning.)

Also Read:

Animators Voice ‘Deep Distrust’ of Warner Bros. Discovery After Latest HBO Max Purge

Eggleston started his career with former Disney animator Bill Kroyer, working on things like the title sequence for “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and eventually Kroyer’s directorial debut “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.” Eggleston then left to join Disney, working on some of the most celebrated movies in the company...

Hulu is out with its list of new and expiring content for the month of September, and what better way to beat the back-to-school blues than with a whole bunch of binge-watching.

Among the new goodies coming next month is the 12th episode and season finale of horror anthology series “Into the Dark.” Out Sept. 6, the finale is called “Pure,” and is described as a female coming-of-age horror story in which a group of teenage girls perform a secret ritual at a “Purity Retreat.” When one of them begins to see a “supernatural entity,” a scary question is posed: “What is more dangerous: the demon they’ve unleashed, or the pressure to conform to their fathers’ expectations?” Scary indeed!

The Hulu original documentary “Untouchable” will be released on Sept. 2, described as “the inside story of the meteoric rise and shocking fall of movie titan Harvey Weinstein.” Directed by Ursula Macfarlane,...

With Deadpool’s Tim Miller at the helm, Cameron is ‘hands-on’ producer as he focuses on Avatar 2. It had better be worth it

When Avatar 2 finally hits cinemas (the projected release date is now 18 December 2020), it may well have a lot to answer for. Without James Cameron’s decade-long mission to bring us a follow-up as technically groundbreaking as the original 2009 film, this time without stealing the entire plot of FernGully: The Last Rainforest, it’s easy to imagine an alternative reality in which Alita: Battle Angel was hailed as the greatest manga-inspired sci-fi smackdown since Akira. Instead, the version overseen by stand-in Robert Rodriguez (because Cameron was too busy perfecting the CGI swell and ebb of Pandora’s oceans to direct his own pet project) has received a distinctly lukewarm reception.

It’s also possible we might have Cameron in charge of the new Terminator movie, whose...

It's time to re-prioritize your queue, because on Thursday, Netflix announced which film and TV titles will be expiring in the month of March. In less than a week, movies including Hitch, Jaws, Memento, Safe Haven and Zootopia will no longer be available for streaming, while popular series including Archer, The Crazy Ones and The Killing will each be vanishing from its catalogue. Here's the complete list of titles that are expiring in March 2018: Leaving 3/1 Anastasia Baby's Day Out Eyewitness FernGully: The Last Rainforest First Response Forget and Forgive A Gang Story Hitch Jaws Jaws 2 Jaws...

It’s almost September and that means Netflix is about to refresh their content, for better or worse. Some of the notable titles leaving include: High Fidelity, Anchorman 2, and The Skeleton Twins. So if you haven’t seen some of these titles, plan your nights accordingly. We of course can look forward more than a few new titles including The Monster Squad, Moonrise Kingdom (pictured above), and The Walking Dead: Season 5.

Available 9/1

72 Dangerous Animals: Australia: Season 1

Arthur: Season 17

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher (2014)

Battle Creek: Season 1

Blackbird (2014)

Capital C (2014)

Combustion (2013)

Da Jammies: Season 1

Divorce Corp. (2014)

Giggle and Hoot’s Best Ever! (2014)

Hamlet (1990)

Hardball (2001)

Heather McDonald: I Don’t Mean To Brag (2014)

Lawrence of Arabia: Restored Version (1962)

Los hombres también lloran: Season 1

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Mississippi Damned (2009)

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Volume 1

Mouk: Season 1

Our Man in Tehran (2013)

Pandas: The Journey Home (2014)

Person of Interest:...

As you've likely heard, a slew of high-profile movies, including "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and "World War Z" are leaving Netflix in September, thanks to the expiration of a deal with Epix.

Also going bye-bye, TV series including "Coach," "Undeclared," and Britcom "The It Crowd."

Leaving September 1

"Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" (2004)

"Bratz: Rock Angelz" (2005)

"Care Bears: Big Wish Movie" (2005)

"Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot" (2004)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000)

"Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!" (2009)

"Doomsday Preppers": Season 1-3

"Electrick Children" (2012)

"FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992)

"Ink Master": Season 2

"Jackie Brown" (1997)

"Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998)

"Mortal Kombat: The Movie" (1995)

"Patch Adams" (1998)

"Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (2006)

"Rugrats in Paris: The Movie" (2000)

"Rules of Engagement" (2000)

"Rumpelstiltskin" (1987)

"Sarah's Choice" (2009)

"School of Rock" (2003)

"She's the One" (1996)

"Sleepless in Seattle" (1993)

"The It Crowd": Series 1-4

"The Lost Boys" (1987)

"Total Recall" (1990)

"W." (2008)

Leaving September 2

"Cheech & Chong's Hey Watch This...

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 films to be named to the National Film Registry, a proclamation of commitment to preserving the chosen pictures for all time. They can be big studio pictures or experimental short films, goofball comedies or poetic meditations on life. The National Film Registery "showcases the extraordinary diversity of America’s film heritage and the disparate strands making it so vibrant" and by preserving the films, the Library of Congress hopes to "a crucial element of American creativity, culture and history.” This year’s selections span the period 1913 to 2004 and include a number of films you’re familiar with. Unless you’ve never heard of "Saving Private Ryan," "The Big Lebowski," “Rosemary’s Baby” or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Highlights from the list include the aforementioned film, Arthur Penn’s Western "Little Big Man," John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, “Luxo Jr.," 1953’s “House of Wax,...

Spanning the years 1913-2004, the 25 films to be added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for 2014 include Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man, John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. The annual selection helps to ensure that the movies will be preserved for all time. This year’s list brings the number of films in the registry to 650.

Also on the list are John Lasseter’s 1986 animated film, Luxo Jr; the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder; and Howard Hawks’ classic 1959 Western Rio Bravo. Documentaries and silent films also make up part of the selection which represents titles that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant; they must also each be at least 10 years old. Check out the rundown of all 25 movies below:

2014 National Film Registry...

It's always a good time to revisit our favorite children's movies, whether you're introducing your kids to them for the first time or enjoying a Disney classic yet again. If kids' movies like "Dumbo" and "The Rescuers" aren't already in your library, they're available right now to stream on Netflix, along with a lot of newer movies that will appeal to your kids (and to the kid in you).

(Availability subject to change.)

1. "Anastasia" (1997) G

This winning tale of a girl who might be the lost Romanov princess features the voice talents of Meg Ryan, Christopher Lloyd, John Cusack, and Hank Azaria.

2. "Antz" (1998) PG

Woody Allen voices a neurotic ant who falls in love with a princess (Sharon Stone) and must foil the plans of the power-mad General Mandible (Gene Hackman).

3. "Born Free" (1966) PG

A still-moving classic about the couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, then...

Tim here. In case you’re just tuning in, it’s been a brutal week for celebrity deaths (and in the world at large, but let’s not start getting into that or I’ll be too depressed to function). Nathaniel has already written lovely pieces remembering both Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall, so I hope you’ll permit me to go much smaller, to share with you a couple of animated curios paying tribute to those stars’ respective gifts.

Befitting a great vocal contortionist, Williams played several parts in animated films over the years, most famously Aladdin in 1992, though that wasn’t his first (he was in FernGully: The Last Rainforest earlier the same year, as I expect readers born within a very narrow window of years know well, while everyone else is wondering “FernWhat?”). And even that wasn’t his very first brush with animation, which I believe...

Yesterday we ran a story on some of Robin Williams’ most under appreciated performances. But as the remembrances keep rolling in and as new, gruesome details about his suicide become apparent, it became clear that Williams didn’t just have depth in his filmography; he was an actor and performer who displayed worlds of expression and moved so many in remarkable and distinct ways.

Rather than ask our staff to rattle off more of their favorites, we asked them to recall Williams’ personality and the legacy his work left on their lives. We’re looking at each side of his many faces as a comedian, a movie star, a voice actor and a true character, offering our final goodbye to a man who gave us so much.

Zany, Charismatic Exuberance

Say what you will about Robin Williams’ quiet, dramatic abilities or his subtle grace notes of acting, but Williams at...

Innovative animator whose credits include Lady and the Tramp, Petroushka and Grease

The pioneering animator John David Wilson, who has died aged 93, launched his studio, Fine Arts Films, in 1955 and found success with his first short subject, an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale, Tara the Stonecutter, which was screened in America with Teinosuke Kinugasa's Oscar-winning samurai drama Jigokumon (Gate of Hell, 1953). Next came Petroushka (1956), for which Igor Stravinsky (despite negative feelings towards animation following Disney's Fantasia) was persuaded by Wilson to prepare a shortened score for the film and conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the soundtrack. Petroushka won several festival awards and was the first animated film to be accepted by the Venice film festival.

Wilson's diverse productions ranged from innovative TV commercials for Instant Butter-Nut Coffee, made with the actor and humorist Stan Freberg, to a groundbreaking 15-minute film, Journey to the Stars, for the United...

Epic

Directed by Chris Wedge

Written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember

USA, 2013

We are living in a golden age of animation, yet so many people working at Hollywood’s studio-funded animation companies are content working in the realm of the familiar. Too frequently, new mainstream animated films are like a big bowl of soup, with countless flavors that you’ve tasted before tweaked only slightly to not be total carbon copies of something bigger and often better. Blue Sky’s latest, distributed by 20th Century Fox, is no different: Epic is pleasingly colorful and well animated. Unfortunately, it is immensely derivative and thus, only moderately charming some of the time.

It would take as much space to review this movie as it would to catalog its many inspirations (the word we’ll use in the spirit of being charitable) and describe exactly how Epic echoes them. Like FernGully: The Last Rainforest,...

Earth Day may have been on Monday, but this entire week schools and communities around the country have been celebrating the environment with various events and rallies. If you want to tie in your weekend entertainment with the environment, check out these three films, each of which provides an ecological message for preschoolers, kids and teens alike. After seeing these green movies, turn off the TV and computer and head outside to help the environment! Rated G Pick: "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992, 76 minutes) Netflix Amazon Instant iTunes Kids Will Love: Even though the animation is a bit dated, young kids will get caught up in this fantasy adventure about a young fairy who discovers that humans are cutting down all of the trees of her magical rainforest, so she shrinks a boy and teaches him about preserving their shared land. Magic and friendship (with a dash of romance) make for an exciting (and eco-friendly) tale.

In honor of Earth Day we are bringing back a whole bunch of childhood memories with this clip from FernGully: The Last Rainforest, the ultimate Earth-loving flick. While it definitely doesn't have the special effects of its similar counterpart Avatar, it does have some more-than fabulous songs conveying extremely important environmental messages in the most amazing way possible. So please enjoy this "Toxic Love" tribute - no, we don't think Hexxus has got any less terrifying over the years - and then get the slightly less scary Tim Curry as he records the song.

Next Showing:

Link | Posted 4/22/2013 by reelz

FernGully: The Last Rainforest...

With director Chris Wedge's animated adventure comedy Epic set to debut at the end of May, we were recently granted a behind-the-scenes preview of the Blue Sky and 20th Century Fox production.  While the trailer gives a nice idea of the world the film exists in, the footage we were shown - some of it still a work in progress - was absolutely beautiful.  On a storytelling note, many have drawn comparisons between Epic and that of 1992's FernGully: The Last Rainforest and 1989's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and those comments are certainly not unfounded.  Though Epic is aimed at audiences too young to have seen either of those films when they opened, there is much more to the story here than just a rehashing of familiar elements. Featuring the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Beyonce Knowles, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, Aziz Ansari, Blake Anderson,...

Yes, the effects were spectacular. Absolutely, the use of 3D was groundbreaking. But the story was familiar. Really familiar. When Avatar hit theaters, many scoffed that they'd seen the movie the first time, when it was called Dances With Wolves, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, and/or Pocahontas. But there were screenwriters out there who claim they recognized the story from something closer to home. And so one by one, they have sued Avatar's writer-director James Cameron. Of all these plagiarism suits, the one that has gained the most momentum is that of screenwriter Bryant Moore, who insists Cameron's Avatar is an amalgamation of two of his own screenplays titled Aquatica and Descendants: The Pollination. Moore has filed suit against Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation over copyright claims, seeking a hefty $2.5 billion in damages-- and today, a judge has allowed at least part of his suit...

Last November, James Cameron said he hoped to have the scripts for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 finished by February, and planned to shoot later this year.  February has now come and gone, and Cameron is still at work on getting back into the world of Pandora.  But not to worry, Avatar fans.  Cameron is still plugging away at the sequels, and he's close to reaching the point where the story begins to write itself. Hit the jump for more. Speaking to Play Goes Strong [via Bleeding Cool], Cameron talked about trying to build Avatar sequels from scratch: "I'm working on 'Avatar 2' and 'Avatar 3.' I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson and said, 'You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third 'Lord of the Rings.' I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it.

Children are the easiest targets, so why not brainwash them early with environmentalist propaganda? It's made even richer by the fact that 20th Century Fox expects the hardworking parents of America to pay for these obvious schemes. if this 'message' is so important, why not show this for free? From the creators of Ice Age and Rio comes Epic, an animated adventure that revolves around the ongoing battle deep in the "forest" between good and evil forces. A teenage girl finds herself magically transported to this secret universe of talking slugs, one of whom sounds exactly like Tom Haverford, where she must band together a rag-tag team of misfits to save their world...And ours. Epic follows the same traditional "propaganda disguised as entertainment" formula as Ferngully: The Last Rainforest and The Rescuers Down Under. Watch the trailer, if you dare!

Epic - Trailer 3

Epic comes to theaters May 24th,...

New images have been released for the animated film Epic and the raunchy comedy 21 and Over. Both films seem to loudly echo previous flicks. Epic seems to be very much following in the footsteps of FernGully: The Last Rainforest and Avatar where an outsider learns that the forest is important to people who live in a forest. As for 21 and Over, writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have returned to the film that made them, The Hangover, with another story about how serious intoxication can lead to chaotic and hilarious consequences. Judging by the trailer, I'm hoping we get another surprisingly great college comedy like Van Wilder. Hit the jump to check out the images. Epic opens in 3D on May 24, 2013 and features the voices of Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Jason Sudekis, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, and Johnny Knoxville. 21 and Over opens March 1, 2013 and stars Miles Teller, Skyler Astin,...

Matt and Kevin get all up in 1992′s eco-friendly “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” Yes, that is how it is spelled. Capital “G” in the middle of a one-word name. Crazy, just like this feature. The guys later play the Name Game, and Ryan pops in to ruin it.

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Matt and Kevin get all up in 1992′s eco-friendly “FernGully: The Last Rainforest.” Yes, that is how it is spelled. Capital “G” in the middle of a one-word name. Crazy, just like this feature. The guys later play the Name Game, and Ryan comes in to ruin it.

This episode in sponsored by Audible. Click the banner below to get your free audiobook download and 30-day trial now.

Listen on iTunes!

Follow Sketchy!

Twitter

Facebook

Email: SketchyPodcast@gmail.com...

Computer-generated motion picture animation from “Vertigo” to “Toy Story” to the 3D spectacles of today will be explored during “The Development of the Digital Animator,” the latest installment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Marc Davis Celebration of Animation, on Monday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Several pioneers of digital animation will revisit the long path from laboratory to cineplex during a panel moderated by animator and historian Tom Sito.

When “Toy Story” burst onto the scene in 1995, computer-generated imagery was, for many, a bold new technique in animation. However, its lengthy and meticulous development can be traced back to its first public exposure with the mesmerizing title sequence for “Vertigo” (1958). Of equal importance to the technical developments were the influential animators and designers who devised artistic uses for engineering advances.

Scheduled panelists include:

Rebecca Allen, an experimental filmmaker...

DVD or Blu-ray? Redbox or Netflix? Streaming? Whatever your poison, we've got the highlights and lowlights on the week's new releases -- plus exclusive previews from "Footloose" and "Immortals." Moviefone's Pick of the Week "The Skin I Live In" What's It About? After his wife is horribly burned in a car accident, a plastic surgeon (played by Antonio Banderas) dedicates his life to developing a miraculous new kind of skin -- that he tests on a helpless woman, held captive in his mansion. See It Because: The movie's director Pedro Almodovar is the only selling point you need. His totally unique style and prolific career can be daunting. If you're not familiar with his previous work ("Volver," "All About My Mother" among others), there's really no other way to prepare for his approach than to just dive in with one of his movies. Also available on Redbox | Amazon Instant Video...

Not all moviegoers want their movies dripping with heavy-handed moral messages, but when they’re presented as part of the colorful, warm fuzzy goodness of an animated film, somehow said message or moral is easier to swallow. The latest entrant into the animated movie with a message canon is “The Lorax,” Dr. Seuss’ classic story about a young boy who must save endangered trees in hopes of winning a girl's heart.

In celebration of the cute, fluffy friend of trees The Lorax (voiced by Danny DeVito), here are the top five animated movies with an environmental message.

5. "Happy Feet"

Although the plot of this Oscar-winner for Best Animated Feature Film revolves around Mumble the penguin (Elijah Wood) learning to dance to the beat of his own drum, literally, the third act reveals a glaringly obvious message about over fishing in the Arctic and general ocean pollution. The animated penguins are...

Illumination Entertainment has been all about the colorful family-friendly films up to now (see: Despicable Me, Hop) and that won’t change with the studio’s latest 3D CGI production: The Lorax, based on beloved children author Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s environmentally-conscious 1971 book.

Kid-friendly animated entertainment with environmental messages are somewhat infamous for being annoyingly preachy or cloyingly unsubtle in their approach (see: Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, the Captain Planet TV series, etc.). Based on its newly-released trailer, does The Lorax look to travel a similar path… or will it be less inclined to spoon-feed moviegoers its morals - and therefore make for more pleasant viewing?

This early Lorax footage actually indicates the film could go more the latter route. Seuss’ original themes and issues look to still be featured prominently, as ...

Click to continue reading ‘The Lorax’ Trailer Teases A Bright & Bubbly Dr. Seuss Movie...

I'm going to the latest Academy Celebration of Animation, Mary Blair’s World of Color: A Centennial Tribute, on October 20. Mary Blair died in 1978 and created the concept art for such Disney greats as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella, as well as the character designs for Disneyland's "It's a Small World." Check out the panel to be moderated by animation expert Charles Solomon: Pixar writer-director Pete Docter (Up, Wall-e, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc.), character designer/art director Michael Giaimo (The Brave Little Toaster, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Pocahontas), Disney supervising animator Eric Goldberg (Genie in Aladdin, Phil in Hercules, and Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh), and director (Pocahontas, the “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Carnival of the Animals” segments of ...

Beverly Hills, CA . The lasting influence of Disney artist Mary Blair will be celebrated through an examination of her concept artwork for “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan” in the 1950s during “Mary Blair.s World of Color: A Centennial Tribute,” the latest installment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Marc Davis Celebration of Animation, on Thursday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Several of today.s top animation talents will discuss Blair.s work as an artist and stylist and will also demonstrate how her work has influenced their own. The panel will be moderated by animation critic and film historian Charles Solomon.

Blair.s unmistakably bold and colorful designs continue to inspire artists in all areas of animation today. Her unique and lasting impact on animation continues to this day, though Blair is best known for her...

The Fine Brothers have released a new episode of their entertaining "Spoiler" series. This time they bring us 50 Animated Movie Spoilers in 3 Minutes. Check out the video below and tell us what you think! Just a reminder they do these videos in only one take, which is pretty impressive. 

Movies Spoiled in this episode:

Toy Story, Toy Story 2, a bug's life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Cars 2, Ratatouille, Wall-e, The Hobbit, Fluppy Dogs, The Flight of Dragoms, GI Joe: The Movie, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, The Land Before Time, The Care Bears Movie, The Care Bears Movie II, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Rango, Rock A Doodle, All Dogs Go to Heaven, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, An American Tail, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Anastasia, Thumbelina, The Pebble and the Penguin, Titan A.E., Gnomeo & Juliet, Rio,...

Rapper was also hit with felony possession of an assault weapon charge, following alleged altercation in June.

By Gil Kaufman

Tone Loc

Photo: Todd Williamson/ Getty Images

"Wild Thing" rapper Tone Loc was in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday, where the 45-year-old Mc (born Anthony Smith) pleaded not guilty to felony possession of an assault weapon and domestic violence charges.

Loc was arrested last month for suspicion of felony domestic violence following an alleged altercation with the mother of one of his children.

According to TMZ, police found an unregistered military-grade assault rifle, a semi-automatic Colt Ar-15 Sporter, during their investigation into the incident on June 18. He is slated to return to court in the case on July 28.

Last December, Loc was arrested for DUI, but his manager told TMZ that his client does not drink and it was a seizure that caused him to drive erratically.

Best known...

'Funky Cold Medina' Mc released on bail after alleged altercation with a woman on Saturday.

By Gil Kaufman

Tone Loc

Photo: Todd Williamson/ Getty Images

Rapper Tone Loc was arrested on Saturday afternoon for suspicion of felony domestic violence, following an alleged physical altercation with the mother of one of his children.

The 45-year-old Los Angeles Mc (born Anthony Terrell Smith), best known for his late 1980s rap hits "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina," was arrested around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday at an apartment complex in Burbank, California, according to TMZ.

At press time, it was reported that the sometime actor had posted the $50,000 bail and was released from jail after three hours. Police did not reveal who the alleged victim in the incident was.

Best known for his gravelly voice and laid-back attitude, Loc's two best-selling singles came from his 1989 debut, Loc-ed After Dark, which was followed...