Featuring the voices of: Michael Crawford, Ben Vereen, Ellen Blain, and Paige Gosney
Director: Charles Grosvenor
Producers: David Kirschner and Jerry Mills
Screenplay: Mark Young and Kelly Ward
Music: James Horner
U.S. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
A small group of forest critters goes on a quest to find herbs to heal their friend after the local village has been devastated by a gas spill. This is the premise of the lackluster and very politically correct Once Upon a Forest, the latest subpar G-rated animated feature to prey upon of parents in search of suitable entertainment for their kids.
With its recent three animated features, Disney has proven that animation capable of entertaining adults (as well as children) is not dead. I enjoyed The Little Mermaid, was enthralled by Beauty and the Beast, and had a lot of fun watching Aladdin. Other than the men and women working for Disney, the only person around today capable of achieving a high standard for animated features is Don Bluth, the driving force behind An American Tail.
But wait -- don't the ads for Once Upon a Forest state that this film comes from "the creator of An American Tail"? Yes they do, but the man they're referring to is David Kirschner, who served as executive producer for Tail. Those going to this film expecting to see a Bluth-quality motion picture are in for a rude surprise, although it's a mistake Twentieth Century Fox would like to see repeated over and over again.
The story is pathetically thin, even by the limited standards of an average five-year old. Children will enjoy this movie the way they do Saturday morning cartoons, finding it mildly entertaining but nothing special. (Does that make it worth an admission price?) Mercifully, the running time is short, so parents accompanying their children won't be bored to death.
For the most part, the animation isn't worth mentioning. The characters move, but the background doesn't, and there are only a few scenes where any real attention was paid to establishing some sort of mood (those include a venture into a construction site and an adventure involving a well-depicted owl).
Remember last year's disappointing Ferngully: The Last Rainforest? Well, Once Upon a Forest shares many of that movie's traits, right down to the "don't destroy nature" theme. However, while Ferngully could at least claim the asset of Robin Williams' vocal talents, Once Upon a Forest is stuck. It has Ben Vereen, but his voice is used for maybe two minutes worth of screen time.
There's not much else worth saying about Once Upon a Forest. It's dull and shows an obvious lack of innovation and creativity. If you're in dire need of an animated film to take the kids to, wait a few weeks for the re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If, for some bizarre reason, you go to Once Upon a Forest, remember this: it's the adults, not the children, who will have trouble sitting through it.
© 1993 James Berardinelli