Forest Family Forever!

Produced by the Rainforest Action Network, and endorsed by noted tree sitter Julia Butterfly, this combined live action/computer animated program features the voices of Ed Asner and Jake Richardson as a 1,000-year-old grandfather tree and his sapling grandson, respectively. Gramps paints a somewhat distorted idyllic portrait of life back when his grandson was "still a seed in your father's pine cone"--the good old days before, to paraphrase Bambi, capitalist man entered the rainforest. Speculations that 50% of the rainforests are now gone and that rainforest loss causes major changes in world weather patterns are--in keeping with RAN's paradise lost, rose-colored historical vision--inaccurately presented as fact, when both claims are disputed by many scientists. Still, once you apply a few mild correctives, the program's basic--if oversimplified--message of the importance of rainforests, both as habitat to unique wildlife and as the source of many life-saving medicines, cannot be ignored. Touching on indigenous peoples, flora and fauna, and the wide array of products produced from the rainforest, Forest Family Forever! mixes a bit of proselytizing with a simple overview enhanced with wildlife footage, suitable for younger viewers. A strong, optional purchase. Aud: E, P. (R. Pitman)