(Note: Due to extensive copyright-related issues, the video is presented with still images rather than clips. The original retrospective audio remains unchanged. The next retrospective will return to using video. Thank you for your understanding.)
Could you please consider buying a pop filter or do some audio cleanup on your video's? It is very noticeable that you breath out in a forced way at the end of your sentences.
I like how this movie isn't too in your face about being obsessed over saving the planet, but it does show how actions can have consequences. It even showed humans taking action to the gas spill, and not having magic fairies fixing it
I personally feel this is one of the strongest aspects of the film. It's "Hey, actions have consequences, accidents happen, but things can be fixed". (Because the guy didn't do it on purpose - it was an accident caused by carelessness) I feel a lot of environmental aesops fall into a few traps: -"Save the forests... because otherwise those poor innocent magic faeries will die and can't do it! Or maybe cosmic imbalances are causing it anyway so lol." -"Humans are horrible. It'd be better if you never existed. You're a human... so you're guilty by association." -"It's civilisation, science, and technology that's the problem - sucks to be you, since most of you are alive because of modern civilisation, science, and technology." -"we need a simpler life... which is always conveniently based off of a very surface level interpretation of Native American lives." -"Hey you! Yeah you! It's YOUR fault because YOU OWN A CAR AND YOU ATE A HAMBURGER! You MONSTER!"
Abigail was an awesome female character, her impulsive tendencies a character flaw usually reserved for boys. While it occasionally frustrated and endangered others, it also saved a life. The best part is nothing is made of her being a girl, aside from that weird moment with the boy mouse at the meadow. No one tries to police her behavior on the basis of gender, no one tries to insinuate her as a girlfriend to the boys, and she’s not spared any criticism for her mistakes. A decisive, active agent in the story, the equal of the boys. A great character for young girls to see.
Well _yeah_ they didn't try to "insinuate her as a girlfriend" to her hedgehog and mole pals. That would just be weird. More weird, certainly, than the brief flirtation with the boy mouse in the meadow, which is simply another note in the film's overall theme about the furlings growing up and maturing. 😉
It was definitely a contributing factor at the time! It's sad that it never caught in a major way in home video. I don't know how or why I had it on VHS, but I'm glad I did!
@@Bitsy69439 Sadly that's not the only reason why. Keep in mind this was the early to mid 90's. AKA the Disney rennesance. Meaning that unless you were being distributed by Disney, your big budget animated blockbuster was pretty much dead on arrival.
One of my favourite moments from the film is the end with the clean up crew, and the one guy smashing the trap, the duality between mans ignorant destruction and environmental caretaking is very well depicted in this movie.
A common problem with a lot of environmental messages is that they often fall into guilt by association in some various way. Either "Humans are THE REAL MONSTERS!" or "You caused this - you bastard." I have to give Once Upon a Forest some props in that regard - heck, they also make absolutely sure you KNOW that this is an accident and wasn't done with malice.
What makes Cornelius song even more sad is the fact that Michelle is the only family he has left now. Cause i believe Michelle mother is Cornelius younger sister.
You can't tell me it isn't a classic. Maybe not a widely beloved classic, but it's a classic. I can't be the only one who gets stuck in construction traffic, and as I'm passing machinery think to myself goddamn yellow dragons.
This one just smacked me right into flash back. I grew up in Korea, and watched this movie in Korean dub. As I moved to America with my family, and like a dream my childhood memories and memories of this film became vague. I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it because it was in Korean title. The moment I saw the thumbnail, I shouted "WAIT, I KNOW THIS MOVIE!!!" It was such a nice reminder of my childhood relic. I will go watch it again now :D
I think one of the best things about this movie and why I think it's probably the best movie with an environmentalist message is that it _doesn't_ demonize humans collectively or in general - yes, an act of carelessness causes immense damage and suffering, but humans as a whole are treated as responsible stewards of God's green Earth and it's not like humans harvesting natural resources, building infrastructure, or eating are treated as wicked beyond the pale. Badgers like Michele and Cornelius being friends with animals they would under all normal circumstances be trying to eat is funny, but that's just how cute animal stories are sometimes.
I agree that the human aspect is a very unique one as far as environmental movies go. And thankfully the animals get along with each other or it would end up more like "Watership Down"!
I think I saw this movie sometime around when I was 5-8. The only thing I remember is being traumatized by the parents being killed by the poisonous gas. Definitely an effective moment for a kid to see lol
Oh, that alternate ending is so good thematically but would have absolutely destroyed me emotionally. I'm at once disappointed yet incredibly relieved that isn't the one we got. But it's also great seeing the film as a whole get some recognition. It was always a childhood favorite of mine. The gorgeous soundtrack was one of the first purchases I made with my own money, so you can see it's very close to my heart.
My version may admittedly be a little too intense for kids, but even as "unfinished" as the movie stands, it's still so good which is a credit to the original. Maybe someday somebody will give it another go! And the soundtrack is a great reward for hard work. Hopefully you still have it!
Then it sounds like the movie worked precisely as it intended! And thank you! The movie is sorely underrated and deserves much more attention than it's gotten.
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose Thanks! I agree, the movie is very underrated. Also, I like all the fixes you proposed, it gives the plot more weight and better flow with the added songs. But I wouldn't have been able to take Edgar's mom dying at the end! One step too far into sadness, lol
I have a huge soft spot for this movie. My grandparents had it on VHS and used to put it on gor us when we visited. I randomly remembered a part of the movie years later, but couldn't remember its name, so had to try and look it up based on what little I remembered. After finding it, I was lucky enough to find a dvd copy of it randomly in a book shop. I still like to watch it every so often. You're right- the music is fantastic. Not just the score throughout the film, but the song Once Upon A Time With Me always makes me feel nostalgic and a bit sad. I can't explain it, it's like I remember my childhood and a simpler time that I can't ever get back.
When I was in second grade in 1994, we were shown this over a period of two afternoons (sometimes, the teachers at my elementary school decided they didn't feel like teaching and just put on stuff for us to watch). Even at that age, it was cool to not really care for cutesy, Disney-like stuff, but this film did stay with me. Watching this video actually inspired me to seek the movie out and watch it again for the first time in many, many years. It's surprising how dark it gets at points (I've read that Michael Crawford broke down crying when he first tried to sing that song), and the ending is as bittersweet as you can get. And yeah, this is a movie that I actually wish was longer, as it could've fleshed more things out. It's not perfect, as there are moments where the animation is a tad jerky, and that scene with the wrens singing that gospel song goes on way too long and feels like padding, but I don't think it deserved to flop the way it did (I've also read that Long John Silver's, of all places, had toys associated with it). I would've liked to have seen a follow-up taking place a few years later, showing how their lives have been since the tragedy, especially Michelle.
A sequel could fix some issues woth the origonal and move the story along. Maybe someday. I would love to see the toys! There was not nearly enough merchandise!
One thing I do like about the movie is that it shows that not all humans are bad and there's some human that do care about the environment and how Cornelius and the furlings views on humans change especially with Cornelius and his sister being separated from their parents due do humans when they were kids.
I saw this as a small child and it’s one of my favorite movies. I loved how dark it was, and it grappled with real experiences of growing up and it’s harsh message of preserving life.
Yeah, that entire part of the movie always rubbed me off the wrong way. It'd be one thing if Cornelius had insisted on going and the kids had volunteered but instead he demands they go and actually gets angry when they express apprehension about venturing so far away. lol Like c'mon, kids, you don't wanna travel miles and miles through uncharted lands ripe with our natural predators and other various hazards? How very selfish. I know Cornelius was worried about losing his niece but the pacing of that scene and the script delivery just painted him as very unsympathetic for me. Not to mention Abigail, Russell and Edgar were convinced they had lost their own families at this point as well. Putting the extra burden of their friend potentially dying on their shoulders was a bit much. :
@@supermariof0521 lol I know you're kidding but Cornelius citing his rheumatism would've actually been better and more compelling scriptwriting vs. "quit your complaining and go get the stupid plants already!" haha
Dude..... this is it! This is the movie I could barely remember and has been haunting the recesses of my mind ever since OSP's 'Small Animals on Big Adventures' trope talk! It was one of those movies my family rented once and I could barely remember. The only thing that remained was the flapper, and without knowing what it was called my google fu was insufficient. Soon as I saw that thumbnail I had my suspicions, and I was right. A load off my mind.
I think I have an idea as to why the movie wasn't successful: This was during the first years of Don Bluth's downfall, and because Ferngully came out a year earlier. What does Ferngully have to do with it? Robin Williams and the environmental message was more prominent
Back-to-back films with similar premises definitely could have built some fatigue or indifference towards it. This was also developed from a made- for-tv movie into a theatrical release. I'm sure that caused some problems as well!
I remember seeing this film as a preteen in the early 90s. It was a television airing, and to this day, the story and animation reminds me of "Fern Gully" and "The Secret of NIMH". As well as a lesser known childhood movie I grew up with called "The Little Fox", also known as "Vuc" in its original Hungarian
I LOVE that in the 90s a lot of women had short hair but with very flattering haircuts. I had short hair at 18, in 2020, and I was often told I look boyish and not feminine.
It's so funny that you happened to post this video now. I grew up with this movie in my family's VHS collection and watched it all the time, and I was just talking with a friend, like, a week ago about how Once Upon a Forest was ALMOST a good movie. I think the beginning is good and the ending is honestly kinda great. I liked that it was one of the only environmental kids' movies where while the humans were obviously a threat, they weren't necessarily EVIL. It was just everything in the middle that always felt so BLUUURGH.
That is quite the coincidence! I think most everybody who sees the movie likes it, but it comes so close to being a GREAT movie which is its only real flaw.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. My nieces and nephews love this film, too. We just watched it last night! The score is my favorite score of any film, second only to Balto, which, of course, was by Horner as well. The man was a genius and knew how to put true emotion into all of his music. Love this movie, even as an adult.
It may not be a classic but that opening scene of "Abigail! Abigail!" I burned into my brain from young childhood. It's the whole reason I remembered this movie and why I love the name Abigail. 😂
i think i watched this when i was 6-7, probably the first time i felt so emotional about a movie. Adventure, lost feelings & feeling on your own, sadness pertaining to dying characters, feelings about the environment.
Add me to the list of kids who had this one instead of Ferngully, which I'm actually glad for because I know child-me would've been annoyed at Batty LOL But one of the things I remember liking a lot about this one was that it shows that it's not automatically humans=evil which is a good lesson to teach to kids, I think. There are assholes (the guy in the sports vehicle), neutrals just doing their job (the construction workers) and people who help the environment, even if it's only out of obligation (the truck driver/the cleanup crew). These are humans acting entirely independently of the journey of the characters, which I also think gives this environmental message a leg up on Ferngully where they did the "guy does X until he steps into their shoes" message. Which is FINE and of course, it's more fantastical than Once Upon a Forest (which does have its own fantasy elements don't get me wrong lol) but I like the range of humans in this movie compared to most other environmental films until like Ponyo Edit: ALSO also I still catch myself calling construction equipment yellow dragons. I'm in my 30s.
That's a great point about the human characters intentions! I wish we at least could have gotten the full script released. It would be nice to see what we missed out on!
Unfortunately, my three year old is too into excavators and other digging vehicles for me to still call them yellow dragons. 😂 But maybe we'll watch it again this afternoon if we've time.
We had this movie in Dutch on VHS, I watched it so many times as a kid. Somehow every single timer, hoping they would come in time to save the little girl. I remember vividly how real al the liquids like water and that stuff they used to make a medicine.
It's so nice to find others who actually have seen this movie and remember it! I grew up watching it on DVD, my parents would buy me a lot of discount movies alongside popular movies since my tastes changed often as a kid. I watched Once Upon A Forest over and over from around 8 up until I was 13. This movie is super nostalgic and I was shocked by how many people had no idea about it around me! Thanks for reviewing it!
@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose I'm very new to your channel and I can't wait to explore more of your videos! I'm so glad you gave this movie some of the attention it deserves, thank you!
One of my favourite movies as a kid, it was definitely a classic for me!! I managed to find it on dvd a couple years back and Cornelius' song still makes me cry lmao
This movie was a favorite of mine as a kid, and it definitely stuck with me my whole life. There's definitely a reason I named my pet mouse Abigail haha
We had this on VHS when I was a kid. My older siblings like to tease me about having the same name as one of the characters, even saying on occasion that I was named after them 😅😅😅
Thanks for the walk down through the memory lane. I watched this movie on the VHS back in the day. This is also the movie that introduced me to the voice acting legend, Charlie Adler, who did the voice for the Snotty Squirrel
I loved thi movie when I was a kid (still do) I think of it as a hidden gem,I wish this movie did better,it's so sad when animated movies don't get the love they deserve
This movie was always one of those childhood movies that grew up with and truly stayed dear to my heart. Looking back on it when i was about 5 or 6, i did not care about any bad or poor reviews/critics, nor that people called it a box office flop or any of that. But now into my adulthood, i found this here on youtube and watched it again just one night ago. Yes there some things about the story that are left unfinished or unresolved, but its not really bad. In fact, i still like. By the time i got done watching it, only question i had to ask is, is it as good as i remember? Yeah, it's still sweet and good. Yes, it does make you wish there was more to be had, i will admit i seen better, but I've also seen worse. It's still good in its own right. For anyone who never got to see it, give it a chance, im sure you'll like it
This was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, I still love it flaws and all. Ferngully too. Captain planet I guess I loved 90s environmental cartoons crammed down my throat lol
While I'm glad Once Upon a Forest is being given coverage and I like the parts of this video that are actual information and analysis, this video comes off more like its just a summary of the movie with occasional commentary.
Thank you. No one ever offers any constructive criticism for video essays anymore for fear of being piled on by people who like the topic and conflate that with the essay. So the essays just continue to get worse and never improve.
It's a constant evolution between trying to look at a film in both an analytical and editorializing way. Hopefully I continue to develop that balance until it finally hits that perfect medium. I appreciate the input!
Absolutely, 100% agree! While I don't necessarily agree with ALL your changes, (although with some) I still appreciate you highlighting this long forgotten classic. =)
Personally I'm glad this film has a low song count for a musical. There is such a thing as too much, after all, and with the films somber tone more songs would likely have distracted from that tone and cheapened it. Not every musical needs to have the full 5-7 format.
This was one of my favorite films as a child. I think my parents were glad when I finally wore the tape out. I love it so much and so few people know it, so this made me so happy to see it talked about positively. I actually teared up. I loved Abigale so much I wanted so badly to be more like her but I was honestly more of an Edgar. I will say as a kid I kinda hated how she turned into "just another dumb girl" around an "icky boy." Joke's on me I might be ace, but cute people still make me stupid, so I get it now haha! I feel like the critisisms people have for Once Upon A Forest are totally valid, but to me, it's perfect as is. I like how it is short and sweet. And dare I say I think it looks even better than I remember: the backhrounds are gorgeous and I have even more love for the character designs and the movements and pacing. I really should give drawing a few characters of mine in a similar style a go. Thanks again for reviewing this film. It's a classic to me for sure and one I hope I can introduce my nephews to soon.
That's what this movie was! I've always had that one scene with the chemical truck stuck in my head since I was a kid cuz the whole scene scared me and it's always remained. I thought it was NIMH, but it would appear it was this movie.
This movie both scared the mess out of me and broke my heart. I loved it but some of the scenes were too intense for me. This movie definitely deserves more recognition
Omg the one scene I explicitly remember was when poor Edgar got caught. He was so scared and vulnerable. I really felt for him! Thankfully, he ended up alright.
I did too! And mostly because I could never fully remember what happened in the movie, but left pleasantly surprised after, until I forgot it again and the cycle repeated!
I always appreciated how the movie has humans causing problems and humans working to fix those problems. A careless jerk litters and it nearly destroys a massive part of the local ecosystem, potentially poisoning water, soil and of course the animals living there. But instead of ignoring the humans, it places responsibility in their hands and I love that. The driver of the crashed truck says "gas! I've got to get help!". We then follow the kids on their adventure, and when we circle back to their home one of them is "captured" by scary faceless people. But then we get a bait and switch of "scary evil humans" and "people in PPE working to mitigate damage". There is one lazy selfish human who causes environmental damage, and all the rest of trying to contain the leak and keep the animals safe. In Ferngully we really see one good human who learns to be better, allowing the child audience to identify with him. But in this movie we see regular, non-main character humans doing good and I think that's good for kids to see too.
I loved this movie as a kid, the more mature themes really struck a chord with me. The stakes were real, and I was rooting for the characters the whole way 🩵 So sad it didn't get the love it deserved.
Oh, how I miss dark animated movies like this! I used to constsntly watch Once Upon a Forest, Secret of NIMH, Watership Down (even if it terrified me), Felidae, Plague Dogs and Animals of Farthing Wood. Thank you for posting this ❤
This was my favorite movie for a good portion of my childhood - when we went to visit my grandparents' cabin on the lake, and I was allowed to rent one movie to watch while there, I'd always get this one if I could. I could never remember the name of it, even back then, which kind of made it like this magical secret movie to me, on top of just being amazing. I need to rewatch it one of these days…
i watched so many movies as a kid that i eventually forgot about this one. but by pure chance i saw this video and all those nostalgic memories came back to me. thank you for bringing a part of my childhood back to life.
I remember this flick. Rented it as a kid; watched it like a dozen times. The only scene I can really remember with clarity (because of time-related brain drain) was the scene where that little kid was stuck in a mud sump and his sobbing family were basically holding his funeral there ahead of time because it was inescapable. But then the protags show up, the brainy mole kid gets the idea to use leverage (diegetically termed "twang-ya-bact") to pry him out, drew a diagram and everything...and it worked! I also recall the kids referred to the human construction vehicles as 'yellow-dragons'. And nothing else, because of temporal skullrot and the necessity to delete old data to free up RAM for new stuff.
I haven't seen this movie in decades but I still remember it nearly beat for beat. I also understood right away that Michelle's parents were gone, and after Cornelius's story that Michelle was literally all he had left. It was a "Wait, if Michelle is his niece, and only he and his sister were left alive when they were kids...oh no..." moment that hit me even harder than things like Littlefoot's mother dying. Funny thing about me and the characters, though, is that I know their characterization and development was a little...abridged, but even as a kid I felt like I got each of the Furlings' personalities regardless. The off-handed comment from Abigail's dad and how bossy and headstrong she was made it perfectly clear that she was the "I know what I'm doing so I should be the one in charge" type. I kind of wish there were more instances sort of "justifying" that attitude, because we get more on her acting headstrong as her default even just from Cornelius thanking her for saving Michelle than we do her being generally in the right. It's not even really implied that she's got good instincts or has been right in the past. Russel being forced out of mealtime by his siblings and his mom really not having time for him, followed by Abigail's being pushy felt less like his arc not being about being able to prove himself, but just being acknowledged at all...something I identified with heavily. Him bickering with Abigail was probably just an easier pushback because it was just her and around a dozen siblings to just shove him aside. So if I was going to change anything with his mini-arc, it probably would have just been him being the one to scold Abigail after the owl, pointing out how she didn't ever pay attention to more than what she wants and especially not him so they could talk that out in her apology. Edgar's arc I feel was the most solid, especially for a child audience. Him being excited for school but uncertain about basically everything else was addressed pretty well in the beginning. He was cautious on the road and didn't really engage with the other two bickering, and he was the most vocally uncertain about the journey. That made especially his actions with Boswell, and later his reaction to the squirrel bully the most understandable. He'd already saved a life when he wasn't sure he could before then, so he definitely wasn't going to let some snarky bullying squirrel stand between him and saving his friend after what they'd been through. I wouldn't actually change anything for his arc, because he had his growth and I like to think that he grew up never taking the things in his life for granted again. I kind of feel like in order to really give their characters time to breathe the movie would have needed to give the journey at least one more day to be completed. That was way longer than I planned, but I love this movie so much. Someone only needs to mention it and I can recall it easily. I also really enjoyed the video.
This was one of my favorite movies growing up. It really made me think about the impact of humanity on the natural world. The asphalt road scene and the even more dreadful gas leak scene stuck me forever along with how scared the animals were when being treated. I don’t doubt that is probably part of the reason I care way more about the environment and the welfare of wildlife than many of my peers where I live. Well this and also fern gully which was another good one and brother’s favorite. We need more kids entertainment with strong messages like this.
As a fan of Phantom and Michael Crawford, I watched this film just for that aspect really. As a kid, I would rewind Crawford singing over and over again. :) I probably only watched it all the way through a couple of times.
He's got such a great voice, it's a shame he didn't do more cartoon voice over work. He also does a good cover of the Mulan song "Reflection" if you haven't heard it!
Aww this movie was one of my faves. I still say the yellow dragons every time I pass by a constriction site lol my husband looked at me like I had 3 heads 😂 he clearly never seen the movie
The flying machine was made into a toy. They did not sell well Also it got tanked due to marketing more than anything and “rumor has it” that Disney used money to push the films out of theaters faster. Of course there’s little to no proof of this so can’t say 100%
I have to say, one thing I think they really need to stop doing is the "I'm a FRIENDLY predator" bit. Like the sharks in Finding Nemo or the herons in Migration. A "cowardly" character is terrified of individuals who turn out to be really nice and just want to be friends and help out. For one thing, this takes some of the edge out of the movie by making some of the big dangers end up being completely safe. For another, it gives a message that's questionable at best, suggesting that even strangers that raise red flags should be given chance after chance until things really do get dangerous. Also, in animal-based stories like those two, it forces even more of the antagonism onto Man, reducing the wild to a peaceful place where everyone's friendly until those horrible humans come along and ruin it. A more realistic story with owls or wolves or some other dangerous predator actually demonstrating how much danger there is in the world is a valuable and very important point.
it's so iconic of Michael Crawford to be singing about how he lives in the Night, alluding to his Phantom role to the older viewers who were serenaded by Music of the Night, but wow the metaphor (from the figure of speech of being in his twilight years) hits so much harder in retrospect
Great retrospective! I also had this on VHS, having been born in 94. I watched this all the time as a kiddo and it really left a mark on me. Even just watching your review with still images and you describing the scenes were enough to make me cry over the song “please wake up” and the ending with Michelle crying into Cornelius’ chest. I’m glad my mom was able to get this gem into my collection. I also love your suggestions to make it a bit more fleshed out? That being said idk if little me could have handled Edgar’s mom not showing up at the end 😂
It truly is a touching film, and I love that it doesn't shy away from some of the harsher realities. And I agree, if Edgar's mom wouldn't have come back, it may have scarred more than a few kids!
Hey, I remember this movie. I recall seeing it for years at my local video store with other stuff on the shelf like Penguin and The Pebble, Freddie The Frog and a bunch of other 90s animated kids movie in the kids shelf section. I don't think I actually watched this until one of science classes played this in middle school. I think it might've been for either an Earth Science unit or just a movie day for the class. And I think I saw it years later when Nostalgia Critic did a comedic review of the movie.
I absolutely adore Once Upon A Forest, so thanks for doing this overview! It may not have done numbers in its time, but many of us still consider it a classic. Admittedly, I’m not just a huge fan of the film, but an amateur collector. I own it on VHS/Laserdisc/DVD, have the soundtrack/score on CD, the children’s book novelization, the audiobook cassette tape (which is still sealed and will stay that way…you can listen to it on audible though, it’s narrated by Ben Vereen who voiced the preacher bird in the film), and an official 27” x 40” double-sided theatrical poster (framed of course, but would like to eventually get it signed by any of the cast/crew). While I consider it a classic, it’s for sure a highly underrated piece of art. I feel like with all this collecting I’m helping keep its memory alive. Some other pieces of memorabilia I’m looking to get include adverts, plushies, figurines, bookmarks, coloring books, clothing, and of course actual production cels! It would be sooo cool to own an actual piece of the film. Anyways, I also still hope that this gets a 4K Blu-ray release someday, as unlikely as that might be haha. But again, thanks for giving Once Upon A Forest a proper shoutout, Goose!
Wow, I had no idea there was an audio book of it, I'll have to check that out! I would love to own a production cel, there's actually quite a few high-quality ones still out there from what I've seen. Thanks for the kind words, new video out tomorrow at noon, hope you'll check it out!
It's weird that I just yesterday mentioned this movie to someone while streaming, after having not seen or thought about it for like a decade... then today I get recommended this.. weird. Anyway, great video! Loved this movie
I appreciate it! It was such a big part of my childhood but like many people, nearly forgot it existed. I'm glad there's so many people who enjoyed it, too!
I adore this movie! In a D&D campaign I ran where all the characters were awakened animals, I drew a lot of inspiration from this and Ferngully. The final boss of the campaign was an ancient "yellow dragon" possessed by a pollution spirit voiced by Tim Curry.
The only thing I remember about this movie is that it scarred me as a mentally disabled 3-5 year old girl. I was scared by A…LOT of animated movies during that time in my life (I have a vague memory of screaming in public during a preview…for the f***ing LITTLE…BEAR…MOVIE!). I think we eventually gave our VHS copy to my cousin. Looking back on this movie since I’ve been 14 or so has always made me feel so much guilt because it was my brother’s favorite movie at that time, he is like a second father to me to this day. It looks a lot like Ferngully which is one of my personal favorite animated movies not from Disney, so I feel like I really would like it if I saw it again.
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose I haven’t rewatched it yet, but from your summary, I feel like I know why I was terrified of it. A LOT of stuff happens in the movie and like you said, it’s really short. I feel like it would have been less terrifying if the company added some happier scenes into it in between the scary scenes, or at least shown the characters discussing what happened in the last scene. For example, right after the scene with the owl, we get a scene where Abbigail tells the others how scary that encounter was. It’d be a win win situation for the company too because the movie would be slightly less scary, leading more kids to suggest it to their friends and it would’ve made the runtime longer, which would attract more attention from elementary-middle schoolers who would’ve been looking through what was playing and the runtime for each movie and think ‘70 minutes? It’s just another dumb movie for little kids!’. Edit: As an adult, I do really like your idea of Michelle and Edgar’s parents not waking up from the gas and Cornelius raising both of them as siblings. To 3-5 year old me, I’m pretty sure there would have been even more scarring, but to 26 year old me, while I would still be sad for both of the ‘furlings,’ it would be even more heartwarming to see that they would both be perfectly safe and healthy and they would get to be raised and grow up alongside each other.
I had this on VHS as a kid. Dubbed in Norwegian. It was one of my fave movies as a kid. I have no idea how it came into our house. But it made me very aware of nature and how to respect it. I didn't watch Ferngully until I was an adult. ^^ Both good. Also, I feel like the driver was the foreshadowing to the cleaners appearing later in the story.
They are both lovely little films! And I feel the same way about the driver, I wish the cleaners had made mention of the toxic gas in even a passing mention, but we'll have to assume that's why they were there.
I really liked this movie as a kid, only thing I didn't really understand was why the mice and badgers were all the same size. I guess cartoon logic, but it jarred me when the world around them was massive (and the owl is a normal size). Not sure why the badgers weren't voles or a chipmunk or something.
Man, I wore out my VHS of this until it was unplayable. This movie (and Lion King, just for extra pain) both came out the year my dad died when I was 8, so Dead Parent movies that hit the right way were some of few outlets I had. You're certainly right in retrospect about some of it's shortcomings, but I can't downplay how meaningful it was for me. I loved Cornelius' song, and I had no idea who Michael Crawford was until the first time I was taken to go see Phantom as a teenager and then bought the London cast recording. I screamed when I realized, I really did.
There are shortcomings sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an incredibly enjoyable movie. I'd love to see a remake or continuation of the three's adventures!
Great analysis , it really took me back to seeing the movie in its original run. But I think the actress playing Michelle is Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, the Handmaid’s Tale) not Kate. Just something I noticed. Thanks for the video
You're absolutely right! Slip of the tongue, thank you for the correction. And thank you! The movie is constantly overlooked; maybe this will jog a few happy memories.
(Note: Due to extensive copyright-related issues, the video is presented with still images rather than clips. The original retrospective audio remains unchanged. The next retrospective will return to using video. Thank you for your understanding.)
This was one of my childhood movies that I watched a ton cause we had it on VHS and parents didn't have cable/satellite TV we only had local channels
do you have the alternate video cut?
Could you please consider buying a pop filter or do some audio cleanup on your video's?
It is very noticeable that you breath out in a forced way at the end of your sentences.
@@lordneo256 I'll look into it, thanks!
17:59 lily of tabaluga
I like how this movie isn't too in your face about being obsessed over saving the planet, but it does show how actions can have consequences. It even showed humans taking action to the gas spill, and not having magic fairies fixing it
It's great to have two different approaches to the same basic premise of environmentalism. Thankfully, they're both fine films!
ferngully: save the trees!
once upon a forest: but what about the animals, bugs, sky, water and other plant life?
I personally feel this is one of the strongest aspects of the film. It's "Hey, actions have consequences, accidents happen, but things can be fixed". (Because the guy didn't do it on purpose - it was an accident caused by carelessness)
I feel a lot of environmental aesops fall into a few traps:
-"Save the forests... because otherwise those poor innocent magic faeries will die and can't do it! Or maybe cosmic imbalances are causing it anyway so lol."
-"Humans are horrible. It'd be better if you never existed. You're a human... so you're guilty by association."
-"It's civilisation, science, and technology that's the problem - sucks to be you, since most of you are alive because of modern civilisation, science, and technology."
-"we need a simpler life... which is always conveniently based off of a very surface level interpretation of Native American lives."
-"Hey you! Yeah you! It's YOUR fault because YOU OWN A CAR AND YOU ATE A HAMBURGER! You MONSTER!"
Abigail was an awesome female character, her impulsive tendencies a character flaw usually reserved for boys. While it occasionally frustrated and endangered others, it also saved a life.
The best part is nothing is made of her being a girl, aside from that weird moment with the boy mouse at the meadow. No one tries to police her behavior on the basis of gender, no one tries to insinuate her as a girlfriend to the boys, and she’s not spared any criticism for her mistakes.
A decisive, active agent in the story, the equal of the boys. A great character for young girls to see.
She's a great leader! I wish there were more adventures of the three together!
Well _yeah_ they didn't try to "insinuate her as a girlfriend" to her hedgehog and mole pals. That would just be weird. More weird, certainly, than the brief flirtation with the boy mouse in the meadow, which is simply another note in the film's overall theme about the furlings growing up and maturing. 😉
This is one of those movies that stays with you forever, but the title is easily forgotten. It took me years to find it again.
It's just so memorable! But now that you remember you won't forget!
Same
I’ll tell you why it wasn’t successful this movie.
It was going up against Jurassic Park.
It was definitely a contributing factor at the time! It's sad that it never caught in a major way in home video. I don't know how or why I had it on VHS, but I'm glad I did!
I think they were trying to capitalize on little kids too young for Jurassic Park in an attempt to counterprogram
@@Bitsy69439 Sadly that's not the only reason why. Keep in mind this was the early to mid 90's. AKA the Disney rennesance. Meaning that unless you were being distributed by Disney, your big budget animated blockbuster was pretty much dead on arrival.
@@supermariof0521 Yeah, though Don Bluth dominated the 80s, until "Little Mermaid" came out.
@@beauwalker9820 Exactly
One of my favourite moments from the film is the end with the clean up crew, and the one guy smashing the trap,
the duality between mans ignorant destruction and environmental caretaking is very well depicted in this movie.
The humans are not in the movie long, but the commentary on their impact is done very well!
A common problem with a lot of environmental messages is that they often fall into guilt by association in some various way.
Either "Humans are THE REAL MONSTERS!" or "You caused this - you bastard."
I have to give Once Upon a Forest some props in that regard - heck, they also make absolutely sure you KNOW that this is an accident and wasn't done with malice.
What makes Cornelius song even more sad is the fact that Michelle is the only family he has left now. Cause i believe Michelle mother is Cornelius younger sister.
I never put that together. That does make it sadder!
Considering Michelle's ALWAYS calling him "Uncle Cornelius".............it turned out to be pretty literal.
It is heavily implied, isn't it?
Also notice that Cornelius had a stuffed bird when he was young, hence his fascination with flying. :)
You can't tell me it isn't a classic.
Maybe not a widely beloved classic, but it's a classic.
I can't be the only one who gets stuck in construction traffic, and as I'm passing machinery think to myself goddamn yellow dragons.
One of the best descriptions ever!
This one just smacked me right into flash back. I grew up in Korea, and watched this movie in Korean dub. As I moved to America with my family, and like a dream my childhood memories and memories of this film became vague. I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it because it was in Korean title. The moment I saw the thumbnail, I shouted "WAIT, I KNOW THIS MOVIE!!!" It was such a nice reminder of my childhood relic. I will go watch it again now :D
I hope you enjoy watching it again!
I think one of the best things about this movie and why I think it's probably the best movie with an environmentalist message is that it _doesn't_ demonize humans collectively or in general - yes, an act of carelessness causes immense damage and suffering, but humans as a whole are treated as responsible stewards of God's green Earth and it's not like humans harvesting natural resources, building infrastructure, or eating are treated as wicked beyond the pale.
Badgers like Michele and Cornelius being friends with animals they would under all normal circumstances be trying to eat is funny, but that's just how cute animal stories are sometimes.
I agree that the human aspect is a very unique one as far as environmental movies go. And thankfully the animals get along with each other or it would end up more like "Watership Down"!
Amen to that!
I think I saw this movie sometime around when I was 5-8. The only thing I remember is being traumatized by the parents being killed by the poisonous gas. Definitely an effective moment for a kid to see lol
That was definitely a surprising moment! It's pretty impressive they chose to keep that in the movie.
I loved this movie as a kid. Used to have it on VHS
I did too! I don't know anybody who saw it in theaters!
I did! We went for my sister’s birthday. Lol, so that’s three people, my sisters and I. 4 if you count my dad.
me too, scared me as a kid though lol
I have this too, in German. Over here it was called Mister Badger and his friends. 🦡🦔🐁
Once upon a forest is a classic in my eyes.
I wholeheartedly agree!
Oh, that alternate ending is so good thematically but would have absolutely destroyed me emotionally. I'm at once disappointed yet incredibly relieved that isn't the one we got.
But it's also great seeing the film as a whole get some recognition. It was always a childhood favorite of mine. The gorgeous soundtrack was one of the first purchases I made with my own money, so you can see it's very close to my heart.
My version may admittedly be a little too intense for kids, but even as "unfinished" as the movie stands, it's still so good which is a credit to the original. Maybe someday somebody will give it another go!
And the soundtrack is a great reward for hard work. Hopefully you still have it!
Nice review! This VHS was a cornerstone of my childhood, and paved the way for my lifelong love of animation and nature/environmentalism.
Then it sounds like the movie worked precisely as it intended! And thank you! The movie is sorely underrated and deserves much more attention than it's gotten.
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose Thanks! I agree, the movie is very underrated. Also, I like all the fixes you proposed, it gives the plot more weight and better flow with the added songs. But I wouldn't have been able to take Edgar's mom dying at the end! One step too far into sadness, lol
I have a huge soft spot for this movie. My grandparents had it on VHS and used to put it on gor us when we visited. I randomly remembered a part of the movie years later, but couldn't remember its name, so had to try and look it up based on what little I remembered. After finding it, I was lucky enough to find a dvd copy of it randomly in a book shop. I still like to watch it every so often. You're right- the music is fantastic. Not just the score throughout the film, but the song Once Upon A Time With Me always makes me feel nostalgic and a bit sad. I can't explain it, it's like I remember my childhood and a simpler time that I can't ever get back.
When I was in second grade in 1994, we were shown this over a period of two afternoons (sometimes, the teachers at my elementary school decided they didn't feel like teaching and just put on stuff for us to watch). Even at that age, it was cool to not really care for cutesy, Disney-like stuff, but this film did stay with me. Watching this video actually inspired me to seek the movie out and watch it again for the first time in many, many years. It's surprising how dark it gets at points (I've read that Michael Crawford broke down crying when he first tried to sing that song), and the ending is as bittersweet as you can get. And yeah, this is a movie that I actually wish was longer, as it could've fleshed more things out.
It's not perfect, as there are moments where the animation is a tad jerky, and that scene with the wrens singing that gospel song goes on way too long and feels like padding, but I don't think it deserved to flop the way it did (I've also read that Long John Silver's, of all places, had toys associated with it). I would've liked to have seen a follow-up taking place a few years later, showing how their lives have been since the tragedy, especially Michelle.
A sequel could fix some issues woth the origonal and move the story along. Maybe someday. I would love to see the toys! There was not nearly enough merchandise!
"Please, wake up🎶 " still hurts.
Underrated movie and I am happy to admit I introduced friends to it. ❤
That's a good one to recommend. I hope they enjoyed it as well!
One thing I do like about the movie is that it shows that not all humans are bad and there's some human that do care about the environment and how Cornelius and the furlings views on humans change especially with Cornelius and his sister being separated from their parents due do humans when they were kids.
That scene when Cornelius has his mind changed about humans in even the smallest capacity is so good!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose Yeah it's also sad that Michelle's parents died and Cornelius had to break the news to her after she wakes up.
I saw this as a small child and it’s one of my favorite movies. I loved how dark it was, and it grappled with real experiences of growing up and it’s harsh message of preserving life.
But it still felt lighthearted enough to be fun. A great little movie!
Cornelius sends his students out on a suicide mission
I never thought of it that way! Good thing they came back or he'd have four lives on his hands!
But as Nostalgia Critic pointed out, the only reason he didn't go in their places? RRRRRRRRhumatism!
Yeah, that entire part of the movie always rubbed me off the wrong way. It'd be one thing if Cornelius had insisted on going and the kids had volunteered but instead he demands they go and actually gets angry when they express apprehension about venturing so far away. lol
Like c'mon, kids, you don't wanna travel miles and miles through uncharted lands ripe with our natural predators and other various hazards? How very selfish.
I know Cornelius was worried about losing his niece but the pacing of that scene and the script delivery just painted him as very unsympathetic for me. Not to mention Abigail, Russell and Edgar were convinced they had lost their own families at this point as well. Putting the extra burden of their friend potentially dying on their shoulders was a bit much. :
@@rjthedetective But we all know the reason he couldn't go with them. XD
"RRRRHUMATISM!!!!"
@@supermariof0521 lol I know you're kidding but Cornelius citing his rheumatism would've actually been better and more compelling scriptwriting vs. "quit your complaining and go get the stupid plants already!" haha
Dude..... this is it! This is the movie I could barely remember and has been haunting the recesses of my mind ever since OSP's 'Small Animals on Big Adventures' trope talk!
It was one of those movies my family rented once and I could barely remember. The only thing that remained was the flapper, and without knowing what it was called my google fu was insufficient. Soon as I saw that thumbnail I had my suspicions, and I was right. A load off my mind.
One of those movies you can't forget but couldn't remember it's name!
Thank you for this. I loved this movie as a kid and seeing someone take it seriously and give it respectful criticism warms my heart.
I appreciate it! It's a seldom revisited movie I thought deserved a little belated care.
I think I have an idea as to why the movie wasn't successful:
This was during the first years of Don Bluth's downfall, and because Ferngully came out a year earlier. What does Ferngully have to do with it? Robin Williams and the environmental message was more prominent
Back-to-back films with similar premises definitely could have built some fatigue or indifference towards it. This was also developed from a made- for-tv movie into a theatrical release. I'm sure that caused some problems as well!
"Once Upon A Forest" wasn't a Don Bluth film, though yes, this did come out during his decline years.
@@maniacaldude Who made it? I was always under the impression that it was his studio
@@marcusblackwell2372 Hanna Barbera of Yogi Bear fame, but distributed by 20th century Fox.
I remember seeing this film as a preteen in the early 90s. It was a television airing, and to this day, the story and animation reminds me of "Fern Gully" and "The Secret of NIMH". As well as a lesser known childhood movie I grew up with called "The Little Fox", also known as "Vuc" in its original Hungarian
I LOVE that in the 90s a lot of women had short hair but with very flattering haircuts.
I had short hair at 18, in 2020, and I was often told I look boyish and not feminine.
There's a pretty great history of short-haired female characters!
It's so funny that you happened to post this video now. I grew up with this movie in my family's VHS collection and watched it all the time, and I was just talking with a friend, like, a week ago about how Once Upon a Forest was ALMOST a good movie.
I think the beginning is good and the ending is honestly kinda great. I liked that it was one of the only environmental kids' movies where while the humans were obviously a threat, they weren't necessarily EVIL. It was just everything in the middle that always felt so BLUUURGH.
That is quite the coincidence! I think most everybody who sees the movie likes it, but it comes so close to being a GREAT movie which is its only real flaw.
It's also an environmental movie but isn't too preachy about it, some humans in the movie did care
They did a really great job making the humans seem scary, but also hopeful when they destroyed the cage!
That gas/smoke or whatever SCARED ME as a kid
It's frightening!
Michelle wasn't played by Kate Moss, she was played by Elizabeth Moss who is now best known as June in the Handmaid's Tale
Yep, I made a slip of the tongue
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose the picture you used is Kate Moss rather than Elizabeth
That makes a lot more sense, thank you. 😂
i loved this movie so much growing up, I watched it recently and I still love it.
It holds up surprisingly well!
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. My nieces and nephews love this film, too. We just watched it last night! The score is my favorite score of any film, second only to Balto, which, of course, was by Horner as well. The man was a genius and knew how to put true emotion into all of his music. Love this movie, even as an adult.
I hope the young ones enjoyed it! And Horner's music is so good across all his movies!
It may not be a classic but that opening scene of "Abigail! Abigail!" I burned into my brain from young childhood. It's the whole reason I remembered this movie and why I love the name Abigail. 😂
And when she looks down and smiles... classic!
This was one of my favourites when I was a child!! I loved it so much!! Thank You for this video! 😊
Thank you for watching! Such an unheralded fun little film, it's a shame it hasn't been given more attention!
i think i watched this when i was 6-7, probably the first time i felt so emotional about a movie. Adventure, lost feelings & feeling on your own, sadness pertaining to dying characters, feelings about the environment.
There's a lot of emotions this movie can bring out!
Add me to the list of kids who had this one instead of Ferngully, which I'm actually glad for because I know child-me would've been annoyed at Batty LOL But one of the things I remember liking a lot about this one was that it shows that it's not automatically humans=evil which is a good lesson to teach to kids, I think. There are assholes (the guy in the sports vehicle), neutrals just doing their job (the construction workers) and people who help the environment, even if it's only out of obligation (the truck driver/the cleanup crew).
These are humans acting entirely independently of the journey of the characters, which I also think gives this environmental message a leg up on Ferngully where they did the "guy does X until he steps into their shoes" message. Which is FINE and of course, it's more fantastical than Once Upon a Forest (which does have its own fantasy elements don't get me wrong lol) but I like the range of humans in this movie compared to most other environmental films until like Ponyo
Edit: ALSO also I still catch myself calling construction equipment yellow dragons. I'm in my 30s.
That's a great point about the human characters intentions! I wish we at least could have gotten the full script released. It would be nice to see what we missed out on!
Unfortunately, my three year old is too into excavators and other digging vehicles for me to still call them yellow dragons. 😂 But maybe we'll watch it again this afternoon if we've time.
We had this movie in Dutch on VHS, I watched it so many times as a kid. Somehow every single timer, hoping they would come in time to save the little girl.
I remember vividly how real al the liquids like water and that stuff they used to make a medicine.
I really like a lot of the animation. I want more of this franchise!
It's so nice to find others who actually have seen this movie and remember it! I grew up watching it on DVD, my parents would buy me a lot of discount movies alongside popular movies since my tastes changed often as a kid. I watched Once Upon A Forest over and over from around 8 up until I was 13. This movie is super nostalgic and I was shocked by how many people had no idea about it around me! Thanks for reviewing it!
I watched it on repeat all the time as a kid, too! A childhood favorite of mine.
I watch this movie all the time but I especially love the sound track. The Forest ❤ what a wonderful piece of music
One of my all-time favorites!
@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose
I'm very new to your channel and I can't wait to explore more of your videos! I'm so glad you gave this movie some of the attention it deserves, thank you!
I appreciate it! Next video is May 12th, I hope you'll enjoy it!
One of my favourite movies as a kid, it was definitely a classic for me!!
I managed to find it on dvd a couple years back and Cornelius' song still makes me cry lmao
It's still just as emotional! An underrated animated musical number.
Loved this film when I was younger. Still makes me cry in places even now, which my 16 year old loves to tease me for. Lol
No mater if you're a kid or adult, it still hits the same!
This movie was a favorite of mine as a kid, and it definitely stuck with me my whole life. There's definitely a reason I named my pet mouse Abigail haha
That's a great, secret reference a name!
We had this on VHS when I was a kid. My older siblings like to tease me about having the same name as one of the characters, even saying on occasion that I was named after them 😅😅😅
Classic sibling chicanery!
Thanks for the walk down through the memory lane. I watched this movie on the VHS back in the day. This is also the movie that introduced me to the voice acting legend, Charlie Adler, who did the voice for the Snotty Squirrel
I appreciate you watching the video and am glad it brought back fond memories!
I loved thi movie when I was a kid (still do) I think of it as a hidden gem,I wish this movie did better,it's so sad when animated movies don't get the love they deserve
I'd love to see a reboot someday!
One of my favorite movies growing up. I still watch it from time to time!
It's just as good now as it was back then!
This movie was always one of those childhood movies that grew up with and truly stayed dear to my heart. Looking back on it when i was about 5 or 6, i did not care about any bad or poor reviews/critics, nor that people called it a box office flop or any of that. But now into my adulthood, i found this here on youtube and watched it again just one night ago. Yes there some things about the story that are left unfinished or unresolved, but its not really bad. In fact, i still like.
By the time i got done watching it, only question i had to ask is, is it as good as i remember? Yeah, it's still sweet and good. Yes, it does make you wish there was more to be had, i will admit i seen better, but I've also seen worse. It's still good in its own right. For anyone who never got to see it, give it a chance, im sure you'll like it
It still holds up to me. A fast hour of fun and there's nothing wrong with that!
When I was a little kid, this was one of my favorite movies to watch on VHS.
Mine too! Definitely in the frequent rotation as a young one.
one of my childhood favorites. the main character is why I like the name Abigail so much
She's so adorable. I love her!
Damn! I use to watch this on my 10in tv on vhs. I use to watch this movie all the time when I was a kid.
Happy memories!
This was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid, I still love it flaws and all. Ferngully too. Captain planet I guess I loved 90s environmental cartoons crammed down my throat lol
It was a short but sweet time for promoting the environment to kids!
While I'm glad Once Upon a Forest is being given coverage and I like the parts of this video that are actual information and analysis, this video comes off more like its just a summary of the movie with occasional commentary.
Thank you. No one ever offers any constructive criticism for video essays anymore for fear of being piled on by people who like the topic and conflate that with the essay. So the essays just continue to get worse and never improve.
It's a constant evolution between trying to look at a film in both an analytical and editorializing way. Hopefully I continue to develop that balance until it finally hits that perfect medium. I appreciate the input!
Man i loved this movie as a kid. Used to watch it on repeat. I should rewatch it
It's as good now as it was then!
Absolutely, 100% agree! While I don't necessarily agree with ALL your changes, (although with some) I still appreciate you highlighting this long forgotten classic. =)
I appreciate that! No matter what it could've been, I'll always love what it is!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose =)
Had this movie on vhs, and I absolutely loved it as a kid. Watching your video makes me wanna see it again.
It still holds up, in my opinion!
Your narration is excellent.
I appreciate the kind words!
Personally I'm glad this film has a low song count for a musical. There is such a thing as too much, after all, and with the films somber tone more songs would likely have distracted from that tone and cheapened it.
Not every musical needs to have the full 5-7 format.
For an hour it may have been the right amount. For an hour and a half, there probably should have been more. I'm satisfied with what we got, however!
This was one of my favorite films as a child. I think my parents were glad when I finally wore the tape out. I love it so much and so few people know it, so this made me so happy to see it talked about positively. I actually teared up.
I loved Abigale so much I wanted so badly to be more like her but I was honestly more of an Edgar. I will say as a kid I kinda hated how she turned into "just another dumb girl" around an "icky boy." Joke's on me I might be ace, but cute people still make me stupid, so I get it now haha!
I feel like the critisisms people have for Once Upon A Forest are totally valid, but to me, it's perfect as is. I like how it is short and sweet. And dare I say I think it looks even better than I remember: the backhrounds are gorgeous and I have even more love for the character designs and the movements and pacing. I really should give drawing a few characters of mine in a similar style a go.
Thanks again for reviewing this film. It's a classic to me for sure and one I hope I can introduce my nephews to soon.
There are shortcomings sure, but the movie is fun as it stands. And the potential it had just makes me wish for a remake even more!
That's what this movie was! I've always had that one scene with the chemical truck stuck in my head since I was a kid cuz the whole scene scared me and it's always remained. I thought it was NIMH, but it would appear it was this movie.
It's one of those movies where the name may be forgotten but the film itself can't! That chemical truck scene is still so eerie!
This movie both scared the mess out of me and broke my heart. I loved it but some of the scenes were too intense for me. This movie definitely deserves more recognition
It was pretty mature for a little kid's film!
Omg the one scene I explicitly remember was when poor Edgar got caught. He was so scared and vulnerable. I really felt for him! Thankfully, he ended up alright.
I watched this OVER and OVER in my childhood
I did too! And mostly because I could never fully remember what happened in the movie, but left pleasantly surprised after, until I forgot it again and the cycle repeated!
I always appreciated how the movie has humans causing problems and humans working to fix those problems. A careless jerk litters and it nearly destroys a massive part of the local ecosystem, potentially poisoning water, soil and of course the animals living there. But instead of ignoring the humans, it places responsibility in their hands and I love that.
The driver of the crashed truck says "gas! I've got to get help!". We then follow the kids on their adventure, and when we circle back to their home one of them is "captured" by scary faceless people. But then we get a bait and switch of "scary evil humans" and "people in PPE working to mitigate damage". There is one lazy selfish human who causes environmental damage, and all the rest of trying to contain the leak and keep the animals safe. In Ferngully we really see one good human who learns to be better, allowing the child audience to identify with him. But in this movie we see regular, non-main character humans doing good and I think that's good for kids to see too.
I would have liked to have seen at least one or two lines really focusing on it, but it is undoubtedly great to see!
I loved this movie as a kid, the more mature themes really struck a chord with me. The stakes were real, and I was rooting for the characters the whole way 🩵 So sad it didn't get the love it deserved.
This one would benefit from the sequel or reboot treatment!
I thaught only I remembered this film. So glad other people see its potential.
It's a memorable little movie!
Oh, how I miss dark animated movies like this! I used to constsntly watch Once Upon a Forest, Secret of NIMH, Watership Down (even if it terrified me), Felidae, Plague Dogs and Animals of Farthing Wood. Thank you for posting this ❤
Those are all such good movies! Something about those intense childhood films is burned into my brain and keeps me coming back.
This was my favorite movie for a good portion of my childhood - when we went to visit my grandparents' cabin on the lake, and I was allowed to rent one movie to watch while there, I'd always get this one if I could. I could never remember the name of it, even back then, which kind of made it like this magical secret movie to me, on top of just being amazing. I need to rewatch it one of these days…
It took me a while to remember what it was called, too. I can assure you though, it's a fun one to revisit!
i watched so many movies as a kid that i eventually forgot about this one. but by pure chance i saw this video and all those nostalgic memories came back to me. thank you for bringing a part of my childhood back to life.
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad a fond memory was rediscovered for you!
The 90’s were a truly special time in film for kids, and those of us who still remember
So many great cartoons from that era!
I remember this flick. Rented it as a kid; watched it like a dozen times. The only scene I can really remember with clarity (because of time-related brain drain) was the scene where that little kid was stuck in a mud sump and his sobbing family were basically holding his funeral there ahead of time because it was inescapable. But then the protags show up, the brainy mole kid gets the idea to use leverage (diegetically termed "twang-ya-bact") to pry him out, drew a diagram and everything...and it worked! I also recall the kids referred to the human construction vehicles as 'yellow-dragons'.
And nothing else, because of temporal skullrot and the necessity to delete old data to free up RAM for new stuff.
I haven't seen this movie in decades but I still remember it nearly beat for beat. I also understood right away that Michelle's parents were gone, and after Cornelius's story that Michelle was literally all he had left. It was a "Wait, if Michelle is his niece, and only he and his sister were left alive when they were kids...oh no..." moment that hit me even harder than things like Littlefoot's mother dying. Funny thing about me and the characters, though, is that I know their characterization and development was a little...abridged, but even as a kid I felt like I got each of the Furlings' personalities regardless.
The off-handed comment from Abigail's dad and how bossy and headstrong she was made it perfectly clear that she was the "I know what I'm doing so I should be the one in charge" type. I kind of wish there were more instances sort of "justifying" that attitude, because we get more on her acting headstrong as her default even just from Cornelius thanking her for saving Michelle than we do her being generally in the right. It's not even really implied that she's got good instincts or has been right in the past.
Russel being forced out of mealtime by his siblings and his mom really not having time for him, followed by Abigail's being pushy felt less like his arc not being about being able to prove himself, but just being acknowledged at all...something I identified with heavily. Him bickering with Abigail was probably just an easier pushback because it was just her and around a dozen siblings to just shove him aside. So if I was going to change anything with his mini-arc, it probably would have just been him being the one to scold Abigail after the owl, pointing out how she didn't ever pay attention to more than what she wants and especially not him so they could talk that out in her apology.
Edgar's arc I feel was the most solid, especially for a child audience. Him being excited for school but uncertain about basically everything else was addressed pretty well in the beginning. He was cautious on the road and didn't really engage with the other two bickering, and he was the most vocally uncertain about the journey. That made especially his actions with Boswell, and later his reaction to the squirrel bully the most understandable. He'd already saved a life when he wasn't sure he could before then, so he definitely wasn't going to let some snarky bullying squirrel stand between him and saving his friend after what they'd been through. I wouldn't actually change anything for his arc, because he had his growth and I like to think that he grew up never taking the things in his life for granted again.
I kind of feel like in order to really give their characters time to breathe the movie would have needed to give the journey at least one more day to be completed.
That was way longer than I planned, but I love this movie so much. Someone only needs to mention it and I can recall it easily. I also really enjoyed the video.
This was one of my favorite movies growing up. It really made me think about the impact of humanity on the natural world. The asphalt road scene and the even more dreadful gas leak scene stuck me forever along with how scared the animals were when being treated. I don’t doubt that is probably part of the reason I care way more about the environment and the welfare of wildlife than many of my peers where I live. Well this and also fern gully which was another good one and brother’s favorite. We need more kids entertainment with strong messages like this.
Definitely my two favorite environmentally themed movies. Maybe someday we'll get more like them!
As a fan of Phantom and Michael Crawford, I watched this film just for that aspect really. As a kid, I would rewind Crawford singing over and over again. :) I probably only watched it all the way through a couple of times.
He's got such a great voice, it's a shame he didn't do more cartoon voice over work. He also does a good cover of the Mulan song "Reflection" if you haven't heard it!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose I'll have to check that one out!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose You must have heard his Disney album then. :) I just now stumbled across it. :)
I certainly did. That's my favorite track on the album!
Aww this movie was one of my faves. I still say the yellow dragons every time I pass by a constriction site lol my husband looked at me like I had 3 heads 😂 he clearly never seen the movie
If you know, you know!
I… I’ve lost this movie for over twenty years, I absolutely loved it and I was never able to find it thank you so much for making this video
Thank you for watching! I'm glad you were able to rediscover the movie!
wow thank you for your review glad that there are others out their who like the film and hold it close to their heart
Thank you for watching! It may never get a sequel, but hopefully this video inspires people to check the movie out for themselves!
I must have watched this dozens of times as a child.
Same here! And I still had trouble remembering the name of the movie for the longest time!
I remember watching this movie as a kid. In fact looking up this movie on youtube years ago was how I was introduced to the nostalgia critic.
It's one that you don't always remember but never seem to forget!
I can't believe we're back didn't take. It's so good and underrated 😩
I'll never forget Professor Screweyes and his crows!
The flying machine was made into a toy. They did not sell well
Also it got tanked due to marketing more than anything and “rumor has it” that Disney used money to push the films out of theaters faster. Of course there’s little to no proof of this so can’t say 100%
I would love to have that toy!
I loved this movie back in the day.
It still holds up!
I have to say, one thing I think they really need to stop doing is the "I'm a FRIENDLY predator" bit. Like the sharks in Finding Nemo or the herons in Migration. A "cowardly" character is terrified of individuals who turn out to be really nice and just want to be friends and help out. For one thing, this takes some of the edge out of the movie by making some of the big dangers end up being completely safe. For another, it gives a message that's questionable at best, suggesting that even strangers that raise red flags should be given chance after chance until things really do get dangerous. Also, in animal-based stories like those two, it forces even more of the antagonism onto Man, reducing the wild to a peaceful place where everyone's friendly until those horrible humans come along and ruin it. A more realistic story with owls or wolves or some other dangerous predator actually demonstrating how much danger there is in the world is a valuable and very important point.
Michael Crawford singing “Please Wake Up” definitely has a “Phantom” vibe to it.
It's makes total sense!
it's so iconic of Michael Crawford to be singing about how he lives in the Night, alluding to his Phantom role to the older viewers who were serenaded by Music of the Night, but wow the metaphor (from the figure of speech of being in his twilight years) hits so much harder in retrospect
I remember I watched this a few times as a kid back when I had it on DVD and it was so beautiful 😭
If you ever decide to give it another watch, I can tell you, it still holds up!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose I’d love to! I’d have to see what it’s streaming on tho lol
Great retrospective!
I also had this on VHS, having been born in 94. I watched this all the time as a kiddo and it really left a mark on me. Even just watching your review with still images and you describing the scenes were enough to make me cry over the song “please wake up” and the ending with Michelle crying into Cornelius’ chest.
I’m glad my mom was able to get this gem into my collection.
I also love your suggestions to make it a bit more fleshed out? That being said idk if little me could have handled Edgar’s mom not showing up at the end 😂
It truly is a touching film, and I love that it doesn't shy away from some of the harsher realities. And I agree, if Edgar's mom wouldn't have come back, it may have scarred more than a few kids!
Hey, I remember this movie.
I recall seeing it for years at my local video store with other stuff on the shelf like Penguin and The Pebble, Freddie The Frog and a bunch of other 90s animated kids movie in the kids shelf section. I don't think I actually watched this until one of science classes played this in middle school. I think it might've been for either an Earth Science unit or just a movie day for the class. And I think I saw it years later when Nostalgia Critic did a comedic review of the movie.
It's one of those movies that seems to pop into people's lives at random points! Still a great one, though!
I absolutely adore Once Upon A Forest, so thanks for doing this overview! It may not have done numbers in its time, but many of us still consider it a classic. Admittedly, I’m not just a huge fan of the film, but an amateur collector. I own it on VHS/Laserdisc/DVD, have the soundtrack/score on CD, the children’s book novelization, the audiobook cassette tape (which is still sealed and will stay that way…you can listen to it on audible though, it’s narrated by Ben Vereen who voiced the preacher bird in the film), and an official 27” x 40” double-sided theatrical poster (framed of course, but would like to eventually get it signed by any of the cast/crew).
While I consider it a classic, it’s for sure a highly underrated piece of art. I feel like with all this collecting I’m helping keep its memory alive. Some other pieces of memorabilia I’m looking to get include adverts, plushies, figurines, bookmarks, coloring books, clothing, and of course actual production cels! It would be sooo cool to own an actual piece of the film. Anyways, I also still hope that this gets a 4K Blu-ray release someday, as unlikely as that might be haha. But again, thanks for giving Once Upon A Forest a proper shoutout, Goose!
Wow, I had no idea there was an audio book of it, I'll have to check that out! I would love to own a production cel, there's actually quite a few high-quality ones still out there from what I've seen. Thanks for the kind words, new video out tomorrow at noon, hope you'll check it out!
This just unlocked a childhood memory I forgot about.
That's great to hear!
It's weird that I just yesterday mentioned this movie to someone while streaming, after having not seen or thought about it for like a decade... then today I get recommended this.. weird.
Anyway, great video!
Loved this movie
I appreciate it! It was such a big part of my childhood but like many people, nearly forgot it existed. I'm glad there's so many people who enjoyed it, too!
I adore this movie! In a D&D campaign I ran where all the characters were awakened animals, I drew a lot of inspiration from this and Ferngully. The final boss of the campaign was an ancient "yellow dragon" possessed by a pollution spirit voiced by Tim Curry.
That's awesome! And a great crossover!
The only thing I remember about this movie is that it scarred me as a mentally disabled 3-5 year old girl. I was scared by A…LOT of animated movies during that time in my life (I have a vague memory of screaming in public during a preview…for the f***ing LITTLE…BEAR…MOVIE!). I think we eventually gave our VHS copy to my cousin. Looking back on this movie since I’ve been 14 or so has always made me feel so much guilt because it was my brother’s favorite movie at that time, he is like a second father to me to this day. It looks a lot like Ferngully which is one of my personal favorite animated movies not from Disney, so I feel like I really would like it if I saw it again.
If you end up seeing it again, let us know what you think of it now!
@@ItsTheGooseItsTheGoose I haven’t rewatched it yet, but from your summary, I feel like I know why I was terrified of it. A LOT of stuff happens in the movie and like you said, it’s really short. I feel like it would have been less terrifying if the company added some happier scenes into it in between the scary scenes, or at least shown the characters discussing what happened in the last scene.
For example, right after the scene with the owl, we get a scene where Abbigail tells the others how scary that encounter was. It’d be a win win situation for the company too because the movie would be slightly less scary, leading more kids to suggest it to their friends and it would’ve made the runtime longer, which would attract more attention from elementary-middle schoolers who would’ve been looking through what was playing and the runtime for each movie and think ‘70 minutes? It’s just another dumb movie for little kids!’.
Edit: As an adult, I do really like your idea of Michelle and Edgar’s parents not waking up from the gas and Cornelius raising both of them as siblings. To 3-5 year old me, I’m pretty sure there would have been even more scarring, but to 26 year old me, while I would still be sad for both of the ‘furlings,’ it would be even more heartwarming to see that they would both be perfectly safe and healthy and they would get to be raised and grow up alongside each other.
its always great to see im not the only one who remembers this movie
I'm surprised so many people have seen it. Nice to know we're not alone!
All of those movies you mentioned at the end are the BEST movies
Unfortunately they didn't get the financial love they deserved or else who knows what sequels we could have gotten from them!
I had this on VHS as a kid. Dubbed in Norwegian. It was one of my fave movies as a kid. I have no idea how it came into our house. But it made me very aware of nature and how to respect it.
I didn't watch Ferngully until I was an adult. ^^ Both good.
Also, I feel like the driver was the foreshadowing to the cleaners appearing later in the story.
They are both lovely little films! And I feel the same way about the driver, I wish the cleaners had made mention of the toxic gas in even a passing mention, but we'll have to assume that's why they were there.
I really liked this movie as a kid, only thing I didn't really understand was why the mice and badgers were all the same size. I guess cartoon logic, but it jarred me when the world around them was massive (and the owl is a normal size). Not sure why the badgers weren't voles or a chipmunk or something.
That's a funny observation!
Man, I wore out my VHS of this until it was unplayable. This movie (and Lion King, just for extra pain) both came out the year my dad died when I was 8, so Dead Parent movies that hit the right way were some of few outlets I had. You're certainly right in retrospect about some of it's shortcomings, but I can't downplay how meaningful it was for me. I loved Cornelius' song, and I had no idea who Michael Crawford was until the first time I was taken to go see Phantom as a teenager and then bought the London cast recording. I screamed when I realized, I really did.
There are shortcomings sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an incredibly enjoyable movie. I'd love to see a remake or continuation of the three's adventures!
Deeply recessed core memory unlocked here
Hopefully in a good way!
Great analysis , it really took me back to seeing the movie in its original run. But I think the actress playing Michelle is Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, the Handmaid’s Tale) not Kate. Just something I noticed. Thanks for the video
You're absolutely right! Slip of the tongue, thank you for the correction. And thank you! The movie is constantly overlooked; maybe this will jog a few happy memories.
I saw this movie as a kid, and I've been trying to remember what it was forever
I hope you get the chance to rewatch and enjoy the movie again!
Dude I forgot the name of this movie, but I vividly remember it. Wild to be reminded of it's existence
It's one of those movies that one you remember it, the memories flood in!