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FernGully: The Last Rainforest

post #1 of 25
3/24/06 at 1:57am
Thread Starter 
This one got more play on VHS than any of my Disney films as a kid, so I snatched it's special edition up this past Tuesday. I'm curious as to whether or not this movie is as awesome as I still think it is. I bought it out of nostalgia, but after watching it again, it appears to still be a pretty great movie. It starts off shaky, but I found it to get better and better as the film progresses - once Batty's silly little opening song gets done with, the film really picks up for me. It's a Greenpeace wet dream with a big fat message, but I think it was executed pretty well - and hey, I can think of a lot worse messages to throw at kids. There's also a few voices I'd overlooked before, including Christian Slater, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and Tim Curry. I also found Robin Williams pretty great in this one - I recently saw Robots and didn't laugh once.

Other fans?
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post #2 of 25
3/24/06 at 2:23am
I am sitting alone in my room. Most of my hallmates are asleep or at a party. It is dark. You made me think of fucking Hexxus. Fuck you.

Also, Krysta = teh fap.
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post #3 of 25
3/24/06 at 2:33am
Thread Starter 
You pretty much summed it all up better than I did.

When Hexxus turns into the black sharp-toothed skeleton? Jesus. No me gusta.
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post #4 of 25
3/24/06 at 5:49am

Vengeance is mine.
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post #5 of 25
3/24/06 at 2:23pm
I liked it when I was a kid, but when I had to watch it for class a few years back, I found that, aside from Williams and the visuals, it really didn't hold up. Also, it continues the disturbing racial subtext of many animated films, what with Hexus singing a distinctly bluesy/soul style song.
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post #6 of 25
3/24/06 at 3:04pm
My entire school went to see this as a field trip. Hundreds of kids in the same theatre? Bad idea.
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post #7 of 25
3/24/06 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu
I liked it when I was a kid, but when I had to watch it for class a few years back, I found that, aside from Williams and the visuals, it really didn't hold up. Also, it continues the disturbing racial subtext of many animated films, what with Hexus singing a distinctly bluesy/soul style song.

They're saying black people destroy the rainforest? I hesitate to agree with you.
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post #8 of 25
3/24/06 at 3:12pm
I took my niece and nephew to see it in the theater. I liked the opening segment--if I recall correctly, it was like animated cave drawings?--but not much else.
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post #9 of 25
3/24/06 at 3:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by UserNameIndeed
They're saying black people destroy the rainforest? I hesitate to agree with you.
I'm not saying that, but there's kind of a trend--especially in the later Don Bluth stuff, as well as some Disney pictures like Aladdin and The Rescuers Down Under--to assign ethnic sterotypes and caricatures to the villains while "caucasianizing" (my word) the heroes. Hexxus is just another example. So it's not saying that black people destroy the rainforest, but assigning traits that are stereotypically associated with black culture to a villain is bad.
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post #10 of 25
3/24/06 at 4:21pm
I saw this in school once back when it first came out. Thought for the most part it was really girly, but I remember being angered by the fact that a completely innocent snail got eaten by that lizard without a single thought towards it afterwards.
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post #11 of 25
3/24/06 at 5:02pm
I remember that I didn't like this when I saw it as a kid. I don't remember why I didn't like it though.
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post #12 of 25
3/24/06 at 7:15pm
That "Nah nah nah" sequence was painful to watch. Thanks for reminding me! *shakes his fist*
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post #13 of 25
3/24/06 at 7:59pm
I loved it as a kid, but it really doesn't hold up. The music is awful, the dialouge is awful, it's just not a good movie.
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post #14 of 25
3/24/06 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 
Fair enough - looks like my concern was a good one. I'm the only one who still likes it.

As far the racist depiction of villains thing - seems like a good enough argument. I'm just curious now - what are you referring to in The Rescuers Down Under? Wasn't the villain George C. Scott? Being pretty plain ol' white?
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post #15 of 25
3/25/06 at 1:08am
There are exceptions, of course, but the guy from DOWN UNDER was pretty much the typical "great white hunter," one of the most stalwart villain archetypes.
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post #16 of 25
3/25/06 at 5:01am
As someone who was an adult when it came out, I didn't like it at all. It's an example of what happens when you make a kids' film just to communicate a message; you tend to dismiss things like story and character. Those things have to come first; the message will sort itself out.
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post #17 of 25
3/25/06 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ServantOfDagon
I am sitting alone in my room. Most of my hallmates are asleep or at a party. It is dark. You made me think of fucking Hexxus. Fuck you.

Also, Krysta = teh fap.
Hexxus was awesome! Yet another badass role for Tim Curry.

And Toxic Love was an awesome song.

It's weird this thread is here because I just rented a bunch of my favorite kids movies on a whim and this was one of them.

I think it held up pretty well, I still enjoyed it, and I actually like Batty's song at the beginning. Most of the music is horrifically out of date but it adds a fun cheese factor, and I'm all for a strong message about respecting nature and saving the rainforest.

Question: Do we know where the movie takes place? There were platypuses and kangaroos and it confused me.
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post #18 of 25
3/26/06 at 10:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by UserNameIndeed
They're saying black people destroy the rainforest? I hesitate to agree with you.
This made me LOL while I was ROFL.
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post #19 of 25
3/26/06 at 10:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Werewolf Girl
Question: Do we know where the movie takes place? There were platypuses and kangaroos and it confused me.
I was asking myself this as well when I bought it. I assumed Australia, and the special features confirmed it. It was an idea based on an Australian kids' book, brought to fruition by two Australian guys. On the new making-of documentary, one of them (can't remember his name) says "we wanted to make a film about the Australian rain forest." So there you go. I don't know how to explain the lack of any Australian people or accents in the film.
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post #20 of 25
3/27/06 at 3:01am
I actually liked this as a kid and it would be a shame to waste the time to watch this again only to be disappointed by it.
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post #21 of 25
3/27/06 at 4:43am
Quote:
as well as some Disney pictures like Aladdin and The Rescuers Down Under--to assign ethnic sterotypes and caricatures to the villains while "caucasianizing" (my word) the heroes
You know, while it's hard to deny Aladdin has some sterotypes (but I mean, no more than an animated cartoon that takes place in new York might have them) I don't think this is an example of "Good is creamy and evil is swarthy". The villain of Aladdin is the whitest of all of them...he has some pronounced features, but I don't think it's because he's middle eastern...he's obviously molded on Captain Hook. And I think the the heroes aren't completely whitewashed--at least lesso than say, Sinbad.
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post #22 of 25
3/27/06 at 11:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mama-Killin' Gee-Tar
You know, while it's hard to deny Aladdin has some sterotypes (but I mean, no more than an animated cartoon that takes place in new York might have them) I don't think this is an example of "Good is creamy and evil is swarthy". The villain of Aladdin is the whitest of all of them...he has some pronounced features, but I don't think it's because he's middle eastern...he's obviously molded on Captain Hook. And I think the the heroes aren't completely whitewashed--at least lesso than say, Sinbad.
I would definately agree that they tamed down the arab features on all the good guys and ramped them up on Jaffar. He's basically who the government was looking for after 9/11.
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post #23 of 25
12/11/11 at 5:14pm

Saw this in theaters back in the day and it didn't leave much of an impression. Still, with the Avatar comparisons most of my generation now remembers this with rose colored glasses. The girlfriend and I decided to give it a go and it's passable entertainment.

 

The animation alternates between beautiful and Saturday morning cartoon. The lead character is completely forgettable and the songs feel forced, but Tim Curry is creepy as hell as Hexxus. There was something very sexual about his big song and the way he was sucking on smoke pipes. 

 

Yeah, why does no one have an Australian accent?

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post #24 of 25
12/14/11 at 7:52pm


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason P. Thompson View Post

My entire school went to see this as a field trip. Hundreds of kids in the same theatre? Bad idea.


 

I went with a Day Care class. It was fun. I liked the movie alot growing up, and was terrified by Hexxus. Whenever I saw it on HOME VIDEO CASSETTE I'd spend the whole movie building a pillow fort to hide inside when he went on his rampage at the end

 

I rewatched it last year though and unfortunately Hexxus was the only part that really held up. The rest was kind of crummy

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post #25 of 25
12/15/11 at 12:29pm

Things I like about the movie:

-Anything involving Tim Curry; he's one of my favorite go-to British actors for cartoon villain voices, and he's clearly having fun here. Hexxus also gets the best pure animation in the film, especially his defeat at the end.

 

-The rest of the voice cast isn't too bad (with Samantha Mathis and, ironically, Christian Slater putting in the most effort aside from Curry and Williams), though Jonathan Ward is pretty damn bland as Zack. And I remain a stalwart Robin Williams fan, though even I admit this isn't one of his better roles. He RAPS for God's sake, although give him credit for putting effort into it.

 

-The backgrounds are pretty gorgeous and well-done for a lower-budgeted animated film.

 

-I like that the ending is slightly bittersweet in the parting of Crysta and Zack; it's one of the few legitimate risks the story takes.

 

Things I don't like:

-The songs aside from Curry's big, brassy "Toxic Love" number and the deeply strange sequence involving Tone Loc as a goanna singing about how much he wants to eat the hero are incredibly forgettable, even the "Land of 1000 Dances" cover.

 

-The environmentalist stuff is at least a little more believable than, say, Captain Planet, but it's still pretty silly and oversimplified. It doesn't help when the heroes are so fucking boring that you end up rooting for Hexxus to wipe out their bland asses.

 

-The animation quality does fluctuate, although it certainly holds up better on a visual level than its god-awful DTV sequel (yes, it exists).

 

So yeah, it's not terrible, but it certainly isn't great either.

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