FernGully...The Last Rainforest

Stars: (voices) Robin Williams (The Fisher King, Dead Poet's Society), Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, TV's "It"), Christian Slater (Kuffs, Robin Hood, Pump Up The Volume). Ordinarily a film which has grossed over 20 million dollars at the boxoffice and is being released at a sell-thru price doesn't need our two cents worth. However, when something major is being overlooked it's worth mentioning. That something is the fact that a lot of adults would enjoy this title which is being marketed primarily to kids. A simple environmental fable for our time, FernGully tells the story of a fairy named Crysta and a teenage boy named Zak who join forces against the evil Henus (Curry), an oily, oozy sort who's a danger to the rainforest and downright nasty to boot. Hindering them is Crysta's elf boyfriend Pip (Slater) who, along with his bad-ass leaf-cyclist friends, tries to get rid of Zak. Helping them is the wonderfully comic Batty (Williams), a myopic bat who is usually responsible for more problems than solutions. Audience: Kids, naturally, but also adults who enjoy Robin Williams' comic riffs (he plays a major part here), and teens who will be drawn by the mere mention of Christian Slater's name. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Nov. 1, 2005—Fox, 2 discs, 76 min., G, $19.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1992's FernGully: The Last Rainforest—Family Fun Edition is presented in the same widescreen and full screen configurations as the original release, but accompanied by a wide range of extras, including an audio commentary (by director Bill Kroyer, art director Ralph Eggleston, and coordinating art director Susan Kroyer), a 30-minute “From Paper to Tree” behind-the-scenes documentary, five script-to-screen comparisons with optional commentary by screenwriter Jim Cox (8 min.), the original 1992 “making-of” featurette (6 min.), the music video “If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might As Well Be You)” performed by Tone-Loc (4 min.), a “Behind the Voice: Toxic Love” multi-angle scene (3 min.), eight DVD games (including “Creatures of the Rainforest,” “Save Batty!” and “Pip's Pan Pipe”), trailers, and TV spots. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a solid animated film.]