Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When a sprite named Crysta shrinks a human boy, Zak, down to her size, he vows to help the magical fairy folk stop a greedy logging company from destroying their home: the pristine rainforest known as FernGully. Zak and his new friends fight to defend FernGully from lumberjacks — and the vengeful spirit they accidentally unleash after chopping down a magic tree.
FernGully is a earnest but formulaic eco-fable whose plot hits predictable beats: outsider learns to appreciate nature, villain is unleashed, day is saved. The environmental messaging, while sincere, is laid on thick and the story structure is thin. Voice acting is a genuine highlight, with Tim Curry's Hexxus standing out as a memorably theatrical villain and Robin Williams providing energetic comic relief as Batty. The animation is competent and colorful with some imaginative rainforest imagery, though it lacks the technical ambition of Disney contemporaries. Its novelty lies in its independent-studio ecological focus and unusually dark villain for a children's film, giving it a modest distinctiveness. The ending resolves too neatly and quickly after an underwhelming climax, leaving little lasting dramatic resonance.