Le voyage d'Edgar dans la forêt magique

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.

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

okay i haven't actually seen this movie since i was like 7 but i just spent about 5 hours trying to figure out the name of the movie by using a million different searches because i am that much in love with this movie. i think that every single time my mother brought me to the movie store i rented this movie. as soon as i found the movie i saw pictures and i almost cried. these characters are super adorable and i need to buy this movie. i don't see how any people do not like this movie or think it is about how bad people are. every movie needs a theme and little kids do not really notice things like that. the only thing i really picked up about saving the economy or whatever is that you shouldn't litter or pollute because it can hurt the little animals. i mean are you saying that is a BAD message to send to kids. okay lets tell them we live in a perfect world and so you can ruin it any way you like.that's not cool. i think this is the best animated movie ever made and the message is kind of like fern gully's too but it is way better

I remember when I was about five or six years old that me and my younger sister used to rent out this film quite often and watch it all the time until we had to return it. Although I could not remember the title of the film until I saw it many years later, I would often remember the characters because I felt that I understood them and loved them to pieces. My sister's favourite scene was the 'He's Back' because she found the gospel singing hilariously funny though I can't actually remember what my favourite scene was. When I watched it for the first time in like five or six years, it brought back all the lovely memories and scenes and just wish it got more of the recognition it deserved and that I wish it was brought back on TV for younger children to watch and enjoy, I also think that the video and DVD should be brought back onto shelves so that people who did enjoy the film can enjoy it again. The singing I also thought was wonderful, it would be another five or six years for me to realise that the person who sang 'Please Wake Up' was the person who made me laugh my head off in BBC sitcom 'Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em'. Overall, this film deserves 10 out of 10 and more recognition!