I don't want to be too hard on Ferngully, because its message is one I really take to heart. But I can't avoid giving this movie a bad critique if it didn't entertain me.

The whole movie is wrapped up in its message: Save the rainforests. Nice enough message, but I really feel that the story and character development took the backseat because of it. The story is a bit too simplistic, to the point that it gets dull. And the characters are not much better. Crysta I could describe as a personality deficient little mermaid. Zak is definitely a product of his time. Saying things like "Tubular" and "Bodacious Babe" just don't work with me anymore. Actually, it never worked for me. There is also a whole slew of dismal looking fairies as background characters, who don't really strike me as magical looking. The best character by far is Robin Williams' character, Batty. He always does such great work as a voice actor. We also see this in Disney's film "Aladdin"(1992) of that same year, where he again played the best character in the movie, Genie. "The Batty Rap" is, in my opinion, the best part of Ferngully and really the only good song in the whole movie. "Life is a Magic Thing", is maybe an exception, but still not really all that great. All the others are just bad. "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might as Well be You)", is an annoying, filler song that could've been removed and nobody would've cared. Then there is the painfully 90's pop ballad "A Dream Worth Keeping". Its an unnecessary song, because its the only part where Crysta and Zak show any hint of a romance. Most likely a fan service for the girls, but to me it just wasted time, instead of moving the story along. But, nothing can top the badness of "Toxic Love". Not only was it bad to listen to, the animated sequence that went along with it was very bad as well. I had to fast forward it immediately.

But, despite my many problems with this film, it still wasn't that bad. It had a few of unnecessary time fillers and worst of all, a stupid villain, but there is still some good. The ending, for instance. Ferngully ended nicely. A little sad, to be honest. I'm not sure if I feel this way, because of how the film actually set it up or because it was a reflection of all the bad that is happening right now in the world. I guess you can be the judge on that.

Not a film that I particularly like, and I can't help but relate it to "Princess Mononoke"(1997) which handles the subject better and is a superior film overall. Okay, maybe thats a bit unfair, since that is a Miyazaki film...eh. Its lightness will still appeal to children and they will enjoy its message. They probably won't mind its preachiness, either.

This is a fine film. Worth checking out. It deals with some ecology themes, as well as the inevitable love story, and good vs evil. The animation is excellent for an australian group (no offense to australians, really). The story is actually good, the characters are also good. Id give it a 7/10.

Being the tree hugger that I am, I must say that this film is just wonderful. As a kid I loved animals and the environment, and this movie gives that message, reminding us that it can't flourish alone. I mean, because of the economy and increasing population, the Earth is literally being cut down to size.

FernGully has that magical sense to it that can enrapture viewers. And sure enough, it did just that with me...of course. If you are a tree hugger like me, this totally the movie to watch.

Ah, Ferngully. Such a magical film, it is.

When I first watched it years ago, I liked it because of the characters and the entire movie magic that this film possesses. Now, I get the whole "save the planet before it's gone forever" message that it sends. It's beautifully colorful, full of fluid animation and vivid scenery. The characters, each different, fit the story well.

Of course, one character just steals the show from the moment he arrives: Batty. Robin Williams does such an excellent job of turning scenes of seriousness into slight comedy. If you don't laugh whenever Batty talks, I dunno what to say really because his is one of the funniest characters ever animated in film.

Anyway, the music and songs set the mood and the speed of the scenes in which they are used. The story is well done and will possibly make you think about the environment a bit more when the film ends.

Overall: This small, almost underrated movie is a treasure that is meant to be watched over and over again! Must see, must buy! Four stars from me.

I LOVE this movie. Like so many animated ones, I always have and always will. It's been a family favorite forever and we are all so familiar with it that we can quote it at random times.

The scenery and music is beautiful, the story is moving and carries a significant message. Everything about Fern Gully has the makings of a wonderful, classic movie.

Fern Gully is definately a product of its time. There's an early episode of The Simpsons which refers to America's 'brief fascination with Australian culture'. Animation-wise, this meant in the aftermath of Crocodile Dundee we got 'The Rescuers Downunder' and 'Fern Gully' - though in truth the latter seems about as Australian as Tom Cruise does Japanese (I liked Zak's wallet, according to which he's from Byron Bay - hardly 'the city'. More like the subtropical surf/dope/hippie mecca of the 70's, and the new-age/yuppie capital of the 80's and beyond. But anyway...

That's the other thing which dates 'Fern Gully' I suppose. The full-on environmental theme. There's nothing really new about this of course. If you think about it, animation has been doing man as the alien interloper since 'Bambi', there are echoes too of 'Plague Dogs', and the theme is still surfacing in films like 'Atlantis'. But there's something very late 80's-early 90's about the way it's tackled here - a child's cartoon version of something like 'The Emerald Forest', perhaps.

Anyway, enough background. Clearly the film's heart is in the right place, even if the man versus nature theme is presented simplistically, and the resolution is a bit unconvincing. This is a 'message film' which makes no attempt to hide that message, and it can come across just a little preachy. However if you wanted to preach about something, you could pick a worse subject, and in truth Fern Gully's concerns are only more urgent today (I hope this gets re-released in China, because if they don't get a green movement going pronto, we're sunk. (ok, that was me being preachy)).

The animation is good - I particularly liked some of the animals, though they usually appear only fleetingly. Robin Williams's 'Batty' is easily the strongest character. Most of the others are pretty unengaging. There's nothing terribly wrong with them. They're just not very memorable. The evil spirit trapped in the tree is interestingly animated, but is never explained very sensibly as a character. In some movies the characters get swallowed by the plot. Here they seem to just be vehicles for the message.

The music, to my ears, is pretty uninteresting, though that's what I generally say about most animated soundtracks.

Overall the movie feels a bit lightweight and simplistic. Also, unlike most good animated films of the 90's, this one really is aimed pretty squarely at kids, and doesn't have much if anything in the way of a second track for adults to pick up on.

Still it's a pretty decent movie, and probably still perfectly good for kids today. The message is a bit simplistic, but still a good message. For a much more nuanced, intelligent and all around more thoughtful take on the same subject though, see Princess Mononoke, though I wouldn't recommend that film for small children.

Not terrible, but destined to be a footnote in animation history.

A movie with a big and important message for the defence of the environment.
When I was 10 years old I really enjoyed it, but 8 years after when watched it for the second time, it seemed to me not so good as I remembered it. So I think it is more for children but you can enjoy it at any age if you love nature -)

It's a hard thing to be a kid's film with a message but the message of respect for the natural world is carried pretty well by the magic of this film. There are times when the story gets a little too magical--where the connection between the situation in the tale and our own real world problems becomes a bit vague--but I was impressed at the sense of wonder FernGully puts across. Part of the problem with the environmental movement is that we tend to think of a tree as being just a tree, but if people can see a tree as being something special or precious then maybe... just maybe... we might be more inclined to save it. I don't know if FernGully will create a lot of environmentalists among its viewers but I do think it's a step in the right direction.

In my mind, two characters really stand out in this film. One, of course, has to be Robin William's Batty who steals just about every scene he's in. The other character I liked was Zak, the human who falls into the magical fairy world. The best thing about him has to be the fact that is very "human"--he's attracted to Crysta, he tells what he thinks to be harmless lies in order to be with her--his 'ignorance' is almost refreshing. Overall, it gives the very accurate depiction of humans as having incredible amounts of power but not a lot of knowledge about the natural world to understand what they're doing to it.