Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?

This is your friendly group contributor here with another thread.

Today, to celebrate this year's Earth Day, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest".

Here's the rundown of this tale:

Crysta is a young fairy with an ever-growing curiosity and a willingness to learn all she can. She lives in a rainforest in Australia called Ferngully, where the rest of her kind and an abundance of wildlife live.

However, upon meeting a fruit bat named Batty Koda, Crysta receives word that humans, who have long ago disappeared and were thought to be extinct, have returned to the forest. She even meets a human named Zak, whom she accidentally shrinks to her size. Unable to help him return to normal herself, she decides to take Zak to her mentor, Magi, to help him.

But, after the logging company that Zak had been working for accidentally cuts down a tree imprisoning a villainous entity called Hexxus, he takes control of a tree-eating machine called the Leveler and influences the workers into cutting down the entire forest.

Will Crysta and Zak be able to stop this imposing threat? Or will Ferngully be destroyed?

What's more, is Crysta ready to take Magi's place? And will Zak ever discover nature's true beauty?

Having wanted to review this movie for a long time, I figured that this would be the perfect film to post an analysis to celebrate Earth Day with, mainly since it's about nature and protecting the environment.

I really must say, even now I find this film to be an all-out enjoyable experience. As a non-Disney animated film released during the Disney Renaissance, it's also a rare jewel that successfully holds its own.

For instance, the direction by Bill Kroyer, and the screenplay by Jim Cox, were quite compelling. I mean, yes, the overall message did have its environmentalist leanings. The nice thing about it, though, was that Kroyer and Cox weren't being too political or pushy with it. In many other films with this kind of message, it would often be pushed to where they'd completely demonize humans. But, it's hardly the case with this movie, in part thanks to the incorporation of Hexxus and to the humans not being portrayed as all-out monsters. Plus, the message is incorporated in a much more gentle, encouraging, and less-preachy kind of way.

Along with that, the film taking place in an Australian rainforest was something that I found to be deeply unique and original for an animated film, and the characters drove the film wonderfully. There was even a surprising amount of wit and humor that was well-worked, accompanied by emotion and heart that was strong enough to tug at the soul.

The animation was deeply pleasant to the eye, if I may add. It was amazing how the animators were able to make everything so beautiful under a $24,000,000 budget, and the hand-drawn and computer animation mixed together splendidly like peas in a pod.

As a plus, the music by Alan Silvestri was magnificent. For making his debut in composing for animated films, Silvestri totally knew how to start his career doing so right. The songs that were incorporated throughout the film were surprisingly enjoyable to listen to, and there was an unexpected sense of theatricality and emotional resonance to the music that made it so ear-catching.

Finally, the performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were irresistibly spectacular. Among the things I couldn't help but admire was how the performers were able to portray their characters with an astounding sense of life and personality, which was particularly like their roles were made for them and they were very passionate for their characters. They sounded like they were having a great time being a part of the film too. The characters themselves weren't without nicely done development either, which helped them to be all-the-alive.

Out of all of the character developments, my favorites came from that of Crysta and Zak, whom I believe grew the most throughout the film. My favorite vocal performances were from that of Robin Williams, who portrayed Batty Koda with awesome personality and comedic-timings; and Tim Curry, who made amazing use of his material as Hexxus by giving one of his best villain portrayals yet.

In conclusion, "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest" is one of the best non-Disney animated films made during the Disney Renaissance, and it's something that I believe kids and adults alike will totally enjoy. The large amount of creativity, passion, commitment, and sense of fun put into the film is something that I particularly can't stop enjoying about it.

So, I rate "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest" five out of five stars.

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I still remember watching this great movie in the movie theaters back in 1992. Such a shame that the sequel was just plain terrible.