FernGully 2 - The Magical Rescue
Life in FernGully, a 1,000-year-old rainforest, is idyllic for the woodland animals and two fairies named Crysta and Pips. Still, Pips longs to see the world beyond the forest. When two human poachers steal three baby animals under Crysta's care, Pips is quick to declare his intention to travel to "town" and rescue the stolen animals. A bat (appropriately named Batty) offers much doom-and-gloom advice against the trip, but eventually Pips and his band of Beetle Boys head to town with Batty in the lead. Crysta soon finds the poacher's abandoned dog and follows her friends to town in the hopes of returning the dog to his home. The group's first glimpses of town show a grimy dump and a sewer pipe dumping refuse into a local body of water. A carnival changes their perspective, offers a chance meeting with a young clown-in-training named Budgie, and distracts the group from their mission. Batty and the youngest Beetle Boy eventually locate the stolen animals, and, with help from the rest of the group, battle the evil poachers to win the animals' freedom. This 73-minute, animated musical is entertaining but somewhat lacking in excitement and drive. The film also lacks Robin Williams, who voiced Batty in the first film. The film's message comes across crystal clear--uncaring humans are destroying the rainforests without regard for the larger consequences of their actions. (Ages 3 to 8)--Tami Horiuchi