FernGully is a non-Disney cartoon fairy tale about the importance of protecting forests. It is about a human male shrunk to fairy-size; he learns about fairies, their forest habitat, and soon finds a logging crew he was working with is now threatening their home.

I remember watching FernGully as a kid, I really liked Batty (voiced by Robin Williams) and his song. Rewatching this now, Batty wasn't as hilarious as I remembered but he is one of the better characters of the movie. An insane bat with a radio wired into his head by human scientists, he is quite colourful. The other pretty good character is the villain Hexxus (Tim Curry), who also has a catchy song. He's a poisonous being who apparently thrives on destruction. A shape shifter, he too is well imagined.

Beyond this the fairy characters Crysta and Pips (Christian Slater) and the human Zak are kind of flat. One thing that surprised me is how skimpy Crysta's clothes are (they reveal her hips and midriff)- but I'm not going to pass judgement on whether that's appropriate. Besides flat characters, at times watching this I longed for something more adult. The story was clearly aimed at children. At times this story isn't fully developed- why exactly did Magi disappear? Moreover, the animation is lacking compared to Disney films. Still, 18 years after it came out, families will likely continue to find FernGully enjoyable and its environmental message remains important.

Ferngully is an example of how to do an educational movie without being boring. It is the story of an Australian rainforest endangered by human development. Zak, one of the worker of a team that is destroying the forest to build a road is shrunk by a fairy (Chrysta) and introduced to the magical world that he was destroying.

The animation is good, with rich colors and gorgeous visuals of the forest. The characters are well designed and funny, the bat Batty being the most hilarious. The music is nice, too, with modern rhythms that mix well with the fast pace of the movie. The best song is the one performed by the bad guy, Hexxus, a literaly slimy demon, that perfectly represents the greed of modern society.

This is a little gem in the Disney-dominated world of animation. Don't miss it.

I remember watching this and the sequel as a kid and I have to say, this brings back good memories. Krista is a fairy that learns how to protect the woods. While doing so, she comes across a man who's part of a company cutting down trees. After saving him, she takes him to her home where two worlds collide.

As they try to figure out what's draining their woods, they deal with other characters such as Batty(Robin Williams) a bat that escaped a lab yet still had a machine on its head. The two begin to grow closer while also learning about each other's worlds.

The animation's so vivid. Even today it looks amazing. The characters are decent. Some of them seem a little recycled but to be fair, they still have their own identity. The message is simple yet powerful (and a little heavy handed). It's all about environmentalism. This's a movie I'd recommend you show your kids. It's cool, cute, funny, and has a decent message that couldn't be any more relevant today.