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Once Upon a Forest

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"The Endangered (film)" redirects here. For other films, seeEndangered (disambiguation).
Once Upon a Forest
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Grosvenor
Written by
Story byRae Lambert
Based onA Furling's Story[1]by Rae Lambert
Produced by
Starring
Edited byPat A. Foley
Music byJames Horner
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox[2]
Release dates
  • June 18, 1993(1993-06-18)(United States)
  • October 22, 1993(1993-10-22)(United Kingdom)
Running time
70 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United States[2]
  • United Kingdom[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$13–16 million[3][2]
Box office$6.6 million (US)

Once Upon a Forestis a 1993animatedadventure filmproduced byHanna-Barbera Productionsand distributed by20th Century Fox.[4]Based on theFurlingscharacters created by Rae Lambert, the film was directed byCharles Grosvenorand produced byDavid Kirschner,and stars the voices ofMichael Crawford,Ellen Blain,Benji Gregory,Paige Gosney,Will Estes,Janet Waldo,Elisabeth MossandBen Vereen.

The film is about a trio of "Furlings" – the story's term for younganthropomorphicanimals – who go on an expedition to cure a friend that has been poisoned by chemical fumes. The film's environmental theme divided critics at the time of its release, along with the animation and story. The film grossed $6.6 million in the US against a budget of $13–16 million.

Plot[edit]

In awoodlandarea known by its anthropomorphic populace as Dapplewood, a quartet of "Furlings" –wood mouseAbigail,moleEdgar,hedgehogRussell andbadgerMichelle – live alongside their teacher and Michelle's uncle, Cornelius. One day, they go on a trip through the forest, where they see a road for the first time. Russell is almost run over by aRange Roverand a man at the passenger's seat carelessly discards a glass bottle that shatters in the middle of the road. Later on, atank truckcarryingpoison gasbecomes overturned after it receives a flat tire from the shattered bottle and releases its contents upon Dapplewood, during which the truck’s driver soon reports the incident to the local authorities.

When the animals discover that their home has now been ravaged by the gas, Michelle panics and runs to her home to find her parents, breathing in some of the gas that had been building up in there and becoming severely ill. Abigail risks her own life to save the now-comatose Michelle, but cannot do the same for her parents, who are found dead in their kitchen. That night, the Furlings seek refuge at Cornelius’ residence after finding their own houses deserted, believing everyone else to have succumbed to the gas. Cornelius then tells the Furlings of his past encounter with humans that claimed the lives of his parents, hence why he is fearful of humankind. To create ahome remedythat will allow Michelle to recover from her coma, Cornelius needs two specific herbs –lungwortandeyebright.With resources in the nearby meadow destroyed by the gas and limited time before Michelle’s condition becomes irreversible, the Furlings set out to find another meadow the next day.

After facing numerous dangers, such as escaping from a ravenousbarn owl,aiding a flock of religiouswrensand encountering intimidatingconstruction vehiclesthat the wrens call "yellow dragons", the Furlings make it to a meadow in an area ofplainsknown as Oakdale. There, they meet two of the local inhabitants – Waggs, an inconsideratesquirrelwho acts hostile towards the Furlings, and Willy, a tough but sensible youngvolewho grows a liking for Abigail. After acquiring an eyebright, the Furlings discover that a lone lungwort is on a giant cliffside inaccessible by foot. Russell then suggests using Cornelius' invention, the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thingairship,to get to the lungwort.

The Furlings manage to get the lungwort after a dangerous flight up the cliff, then steer their airship back for Dapplewood. After bringing Cornelius the herbs upon their return, a group of human workers and the animals, thinking the humans mean them harm, escape. Edgar gets separated from the group and gets caught in an old trap. When one of the workers finds him, the animals are surprised when he frees Edgar and destroys the trap, revealing that the men are disposing of the gas, having responded to its tank truck driver’s issued report. The group, especially Cornelius, now see the good in humankind.

Once Michelle is given the remedy, she appears unresponsive the next day, but eventually awakens from her coma when a tear shed by Cornelius falls on her. Cornelius then sees the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing and is amazed by the Furlings’ independence just as their families and many Dapplewoodites arrive, the latter of whom explain that they fled to safer places for survival against the gas as they reunite with their children. As Cornelius becomes the now-orphaned Michelle’s caretaker, she asks her uncle if anything will ever be the same again. Cornelius assures her that it will if everyone works diligently in Dapplewood’s restoration, just like the Furlings did to save her life.

Cast[edit]

  • Michael Crawfordas Cornelius, a badger who is Michelle's uncle, as well as her caretaker following her parents' deaths, and the teacher of the Furlings. Crawford also acts as the film's narrator.
  • Ellen Blain as Abigail, a sweet and brave young wood mouse and the leader of the Furlings.
    • Florence Warneras the adult Abigail (in the song, "Once Upon A Time With Me" ) / The Balladeer (credited as Florence Warner Jones)
  • Benji Gregoryas Edgar, a young mole and the planner of the Furlings.
  • Paige Gosney as Russell, a young hedgehog and the doer of the Furlings.
  • Elisabeth Mossas Michelle, Cornelius' maternal niece who becomes comatose after inhaling poisonous gas.
  • Ben Vereenas Phineas, the leader of a flock of religious wrens.
  • Will Estesas Willy, a tough but sensible young vole who grows a liking for Abigail.
  • Charlie Adleras Waggs, an inconsiderate squirrel who acts hostile towards the Furlings.
  • Rickey D'Shon Collinsas Bosworth, a young wren who is on the verge of death after becoming stuck a puddle of oil, but he is saved by the Furlings.
  • Don Reedas a marshbird
  • Robert David Hallas the driver of the crashed tank truck that released its stored poisonous gas upon Dapplewood.
  • Paul Eidingas Abigail's father
  • Janet Waldoas Edgar's mother
  • Susan Siloas Russell's mother
  • Angel Harper as Bosworth's mother
  • Benjamin Kimball Smith as Russell's brother
  • Haven Hartman as Russell's sister

Production[edit]

Once Upon a Forestwas conceived as early as 1989, when the head of graphic design atITV Cymru Wales,Rae Lambert, devised an environmental tale entitledA Furling's Storyas a pitch to the American cartoon studioHanna-Barbera(owned byTurner Broadcastingsince 1991), along with partner Mike Young. Thanks to screenwriters Mark Young andKelly Ward,the project started as a made-for-TV film withThe Endangeredas its new name.[3]

At the suggestion of Liz Kirschner, wife of the film's producer David Kirschner,The Phantom of the Opera's Broadway starMichael Crawfordwas chosen to play Cornelius. Members of South CentralLos Angeles' First Baptist Church were chosen to voice the wrens. While filming the live-action references, the crew "was thrilled beyond [...] expectations [as the chorus] started flipping their arms and moving their tambourines", as Kirschner recalled.[3]

William Hanna,co-founder and chairman of Hanna-Barbera was in charge of the film's production as itsexecutive producer.William told toThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionin May 1993 that it was the "finest feature production [we have] ever done", and was happy that the studio accepted his proposal.[3]

Kirscher spoke toThe Dallas Morning News'Philip Wuntch a month later on the diversity of the film's production services: "Disneyhas great animators, and the studio has them locked up for years and years. We got the best worldwide animators available from Sweden [actually Denmark], Asia, Argentina, Spain and England [actually Canada] ".[3]Work on the animation was in the hands ofWang Film Productionsin Taiwan; Lapiz Azul Animation and Matias Marcos Animation of Spain;[5]the Jaime Diaz Studio of Argentina; Denmark'sA. Film;Phoenix Animation Studios in Toronto, Canada; andThe Hollywood Cartoon Company.Mark Swanson Productions did computer animation for the "Yellow Dragons" and the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing.[6]

Because of time constraints and budget limitations, over ten minutes were cut from the film before its release. One of thedeleted scenesfeatured the voice ofGlenn Close,whose character was removed entirely from the final storyline.[3][6]At around the same time, the studio temporarily changed the working title ofThe Endangeredto the less-ominousBeyond the Yellow Dragons,for fear audiences would find the former title too sensitive for a children's film.

The film's advertising at the time promised a new masterpiece "from the creator ofAn American Tail".The creator in question was David Kirschner, who served asTail's executive producer, and actually did create the characters and the story of the film, butReelViews'James Berardinelliand theTimes UnionofAlbanyfound it misleading, hoping instead for the likes ofDon BluthorSteven Spielberg.[7][8]

Hanna-Barbera's feature production unit created to produce this film andJetsons: The Movie(1990), which also carried an environmental theme, was spun off into another unit under parent company Turner Entertainment,Turner Feature Animation,which producedThe PagemasterandCats Don't Dance.David Kirschner remained as head of the division. No further theatrical animated films were produced by Hanna-Barbera itself (it would license live-action film adaptations ofThe FlintstonesandScooby-Doobefore being dissolved in 2001).

DiC's feature production unit created to produce this film andHere Come the Littles(1985), was spun off into another unit under parent company Walt Disney, No further theatrical animated films were produced by DIC itself (Disney would license a live-action film adaptation ofInspector Gadgetbefore being dissolved in 2008).

Release and reception[edit]

The Miami Heraldtook note of the film's potential competition withUniversal Studios' already-established summer hit,Jurassic Park;the tabloid wrote that it did not have a chance to compete against the former despite callingOnce Upon a Foresta "delightful family film".[9]Ultimately,Once Upon a Forestdid poorly in theaters: after opening with $2.2 million at 1,487 venues, it made $6.5 million at the North American box office, just over half its budget.[3][10]The film holds a 22% rating onRotten Tomatoesbased on 23 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Inert animation and generically chipper characters robOnce Upon a Forestof any personality despite its well-intentioned message and critter appeal for very young children ".[11]

Fox Video's original VHS and laserdisc issue of the film, released on September 21, 1993, proved successful on the home video market for several months.[3][6]On October 28, 2002, it premiered on DVD, also available on VHS in the UK with the content presented in fullscreen and widescreen formats.[6][12]The original trailer was included as the only extra on the Australian Region 4 version.[13]

Once Upon a Forestwas nominated for anAnnie Award for Best Animated Featurein 1993. It won anMPSEGolden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing.[14]

Music[edit]

Once Upon a Forest: Original Soundtrack Album
Film scoreby
James Horner
Released1993
GenreFilm score, orchestral
Length67:18
LabelFox Records
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusiclink
Movie Music UKlink

The score forOnce Upon a Forestwas one of several that composerJames Hornerwrote for animated films of the late '80s and early '90s. Three songs were written for it: "Please Wake Up", "He's Gone/He's Back", and the closing credits track, "Once Upon a Time with Me". The songs were performed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra,with contributions fromBen VereenandMichael Crawford.[15]The soundtrack, released byFox Records,has been out of print since its publisher went out of business in the mid-1990s.[16]

Songs[edit]

Original songs performed in the film include:

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Please Wake Up"Michael Crawford
2."He's Gone/He's Back"Ben Vereen&Andrae CrouchSingers
3."Once Upon a Time with Me"Florence Warner Jones

Merchandise[edit]

Once Upon a Forestwas adapted into book form by Elizabeth Isele, with illustrations by Carol Holman Grosvenor, the film's production designer. The tie-in was issued byTurner Publishingand distributed byAndrews McMeel,a month prior to the film's release (ISBN1-878-68587-2).

The multimedia companySanctuary Woodsalso released aMS-DOSpoint-and-clickadventure gamebased on the film, onCD-ROMandfloppy diskforIBMcomputers; Beth Agnew served as its adapter.[17]Many elements of the game stayed faithful to the original source material.[18][19]None of the original voice actors reprised their roles as the voice acting was recorded in Canada.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Beck, Jerry (2005). "Once Upon a Forest".The Animated Movie Guide.Chicago Reader Press. pp.[1].ISBN1-55652-591-5.
  2. ^abcdefg"Once Upon a Forest (1993)".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.RetrievedDecember 10,2022.
  3. ^abcdefghBeck (2005), p. 184.
  4. ^Lenburg, Jeff (2009).The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons(3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. p. 207.ISBN978-0-8160-6600-1.
  5. ^Jury pageArchived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machineat ANIMACOR 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2007. (NB:Content is a machine translation fromoriginal SpanishArchived2007-09-28 at theWayback Machine.)
  6. ^abcdTheOnce Upon a ForestPageArchived2006-07-13 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved July 6, 2006.
  7. ^Once Upon a ForestatReelViews.Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  8. ^Once Upon a ForestJust Politically Correct (1993, June 18).The Times Union of Albany.Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  9. ^Once Upon a ForestWill Enchant Wee Ones (1993, June 19).The Miami Herald.Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  10. ^Once Upon a ForestatBox Office Mojo
  11. ^"Once Upon a Forest".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango.RetrievedOctober 6,2021.Edit this at Wikidata
  12. ^The film is the coming attraction(2005, February 19).Oakland Tribune.Retrieved March 21, 2007.
  13. ^DVD.net:Once Upon a ForestArchived2007-09-02 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  14. ^"21st Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1993)".Annie Awards.Archived fromthe originalon January 2, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 28,2016.
  15. ^Once Upon a Forest - James Horner | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic,retrieved2021-05-01
  16. ^Once Upon a ForestArchived2007-06-13 at theWayback Machineat Movie Music U.K. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  17. ^Profile for Beth AgnewArchived2016-03-03 at theWayback Machineat WritersNet. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
  18. ^Once Upon a ForestArchived2016-03-03 at theWayback Machineat CD-ROM Access. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  19. ^Sheldon (2004), p. 164.

External links[edit]

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