Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

Voices of: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Jonathan Ward, Grace Zabriskie, Geoffrey Blake, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tone Loc
Directed by: Bill Kroyer
Rating: G
Genre: Animated, Adventure
1992

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: Fairies living in a rainforest face destruction when human loggers accidentally unleash an evil being from its tree prison.

Review:

Tim: I was about 10 years old when I first saw Ferngully: The Last Rainforest and I remember really liking the film. I'm sure I watched it numerous times. Fast forward thirty years, and I finally sat down and watched the movie with my 8 year-old son and 5 year-old daughter. The movie felt a bit dated to my older eyes, but I still recognized many aspects of the film that made me such a fan in my youth. I believe this is a good movie with a strong message and it should be celebrated.

The main takeaway from this film is the importance of protecting our rainforests. Sure, it might be because an evil spirit named Hexus is imprisoned in one of them, but even more so, for the beauty and life they contain. This movie hits the environmental message very hard, as it should. I don't remember if I picked up on the eco-friendly message when I was a kid, but even subconsciously, the message had to seep through- destroying rainforests is bad. We need to protect and preserve this planet. As a 40 year-old, I consciously understand and believe that message. It felt good to have my kids watch this movie to reinforce that in them. I can only hope they take some of that message with them.

So, while environmentalism is the key takeaway from this film, it also offers a rousing adventure story, a fish-out-of-water story, even a bit of romance. None of these things are done brilliantly, but they're all done effectively. We see all this take place between the magical fairies of Ferngully and a human who enters their world. Crysta is a good protagonist- I liked that the film featured a strong, curious woman character in the lead. Zak is the human and his journey into Ferngully allows us to go with him. The film takes great pains to show the contrast between how Zak and Crysta's people live. One memorable scene involves Zak carving into a tree, temporarily proud of his act of vandalism. It was interesting to see his worldview alter as the film progressed. The film is truly about these two characters and how their friendship impacts much around them. I feel like I connected with them both well as a 10 year-old. It was a bit different as an adult, but still enjoyable to see these characters interact. Samantha Mathis is good voicing Crysta. I didn't love Johnathan Ward as Zak, but he was fine.

The film is really boosted by a strong supporting cast. The most memorable is undoubtedly Batty, voiced brilliantly by Robin Williams. Williams had such a tremendous, energetic voice that he could mold perfectly to bring animated characters to life. Batty might not have been the best character, but Williams' line delivery made him a favorite. I remember distinctly laughing and rewinding and laughing again at the- "I'm blind! I'm blind... I can see! It's a miracle!" delivery as a child. Three decades later, I did it again with my kids- we must have watched that a dozen times, laughing every time. It's a funny line, delivered perfectly by Williams. I liked hearing Christian Slater here, too. Pips doesn't quite get enough screen time- he's an interesting character and Slater does well voicing him. Tim Curry was fantastic as Hexus, a legitimately compelling villain. I liked hearing Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, although their characters don't make a big impact on the film. As a whole, though, this cast works quite well.

The movie's animation and songs work well, although there's really no standouts. The hand-drawn animation works and some of the visuals are quite memorable. I thought the songs were fine, but unremarkable. The fact that there's a "Batty Rap" performed by Williams is a definite artifact of the early 1990s. Neither the visuals nor the music really adds greatly to the film, but it doesn't detract, either. They both work.

Ferngully: The Last Rainforest is a good movie. It delivers a powerful message in an exciting adventure story. It features some decently memorable characters and some legitimately good voice performances. It'll never be hailed among the best animated films of the 1990s, but it's a movie I liked as a child and I still like today.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, Aladdin