In the forest of Dapplewood, four "furlings" (what the animals call children) wood mouse Abigail (Ellen Blain), mole Edgar (Benji Gregory), hedgehog Russell (Paige Gosney), and badger Michelle (Elisabeth Moss) go to school to learn from their teacher and Michelle's uncle Cornelius (Michael Crawford). When a truck carrying poison gas careens of the road it causes a chemical spill with the gas destroying the forest and killing what animals are unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity. In a panic Michelle runs to find her parents but is poisoned by the gas but saved from instantly fatal exposure by Abigail. With time running out Cornelius sends Abigail, Edgar, and Russell out to find special herbs that can heal Michelle but only within the next two days.
Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated film which itself was part of a wave of environmentally themed projects. Conceived in 1989 by ITV Cymru Wales graphic design head Rae Lambert, the project began as a pitch by Lambert to Hanna-Barbera called A Furling's Story as a possible TV movie. Hanna-Barbera approved the project under the working title The Endangered but eventually David Kirschner who had produced Don Bluth's breakout success An American Tail came on board with the project retooled as a theatrical film instead of a TV film, much like what had happened with American Tail. A large scale international production, the film was subject to budget limitations and time constraints resulting in ten minutes of footage deleted in order to make its deadline including excising a swan character whose lines were recorded by Glenn Close. Upon release the film opened in eight place behind several prominent blockbusters including Jurassic Park and saw itself fade from theaters within two weeks. Critics tended to look unfavorably upon the film with many describing it as "bland" while acknowledging it had its heart in the right place. Of the mainstream American produced environmental animated films from that time Once Upon a Forest does get its message across clearer than say Ferngully, but it's also less memorable and engaging and takes some very strange turns that aren't always in its favor.
The movie follows a pretty standard framework per the standards set for this type of story. Be it Watership Down or The Secret of NIMH you're well aware of this kind of "hero's Journey" quest narrative that is part and parcel to many children's/family adventure films, this one included. Normally I try to avoid talking about the framework and put more emphasis on the characters and interactions because that's where the real "meat" is to a story like this, but there really isn't much to these characters as they're basically placeholders who are there to go through these episodes rather than develop along with them. Despite the voice actors doing a competent job playing the furlings there's really not all that much to their characters as they basically fall into the standard kid's movie archetypes of plucky tomboy, fat one, and nerd with that pretty much being where their characterization begins and ends. I guess maybe some of the supporting characters make a greater impression, but I can't really say in a positive way. Cornelius for instance is supposed to be this wise mentor figure, but the fact he doesn't ask the furlings to go on this journey and orders them to do it really puts his character in a questionable moral position where he's willing to risk their lives for the life of his niece. Then we also have weird tangents like a lengthy sequence where our three characters get involved with a flock of birds whose leader Phineas speaks like a preacher and features not one but two songs in the style of Black Gospel and it's very odd and nonsensical and if you were to cut it out nothing would change about this story aside from being the proper length for the TV movie it was originally intended to be.
I guess the animation is okay in parts at least, some of the computer assisted scenes involving an ornithopter type device look reasonably impressive, but most of the animation is very economical and simple without many standout moments and the character designs feel bland and uninspired. But I will say that the environmental message is handled much better here than it was in Ferngully. Unlike Ferngully where it took a very "black & white" approach to the issue by including a literal pollution demon played by Tim Curry, Once Upon a Forest keeps itself relatively grounded and doesn't broadbrush all of humanity or give the easy out of "magic pollution villain". The threat that comes to Dapplewood comes from negligence and carelessness rather than malicious intent, and while there is some human callousness there are also showcases of humans trying to care for the environment so it is conveying a more balanced take on this issue. It's just a shame it couldn't make a story and characters that were more engaging and had more stakes.
Once Upon a Forest is pretty harmless all things considered and in terms of conveying its message it doesn't "magic" its way out of the harsh truths in the way Ferngully did so it does that well. The biggest problem is just in how indistinct the movie is because it takes a well trodden formula plot but stops at the bare minimum without creating memorable leads or a satisfying story progression. It's perfectly serviceable for small children but I doubt it'll linger with them.
