Once Upon a Forest
| Once Upon a Forest | |
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| Directed by | Charles Grosvenor |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Rae Lambert |
| Based on | A Furling's Story, and Furlings characters) by Rae Lambert |
| Starring |
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| Music by | James Horner |
| Edited by | Pat A. Foley |
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Production
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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72 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $6.6 million |
Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated film based on the Furlings characters created by Rae Lambert. A Hanna-Barbera/HTV Cymru/Wales production released by 20th Century Fox, the film was directed by Charles Grosvenor and produced by David Kirschner.
It tells the story of three forest denizens that go on an expedition to cure their friend, Michelle, who became sick from chemical fumes. The film's environmental theme divided critics at the time of its release, along with the animation and story. The film was a box office bomb, grossing US$6.6 million against a budget of $13 million. It was filmed in 1992.
The story opens in a forest known as Dapplewood, where "Furlings" (a term for animal children) live alongside their teacher, Cornelius (Michael Crawford). The four Furlings central to the story are Abigail (Ellen Blain), a woodmouse; Edgar (Benji Gregory), a mole; Russell (Paige Gosney) a hedgehog and a badger named Michelle (Elisabeth Moss), who is Cornelius' niece.
One day, the Furlings go on a trip through the forest with Cornelius, where they see a road for the first time. Russell is almost run over by a careless driver, who throws away a glass bottle that shatters in the middle of the road. Cornelius orders the Furlings to forget the road and their lesson ends with a boat ride. Afterward, they go back to the forest to find out that it has been destroyed with poison gas from an overturned tanker truck that blew a tire from the broken glass bottle while transporting chlorine gas. Michelle panics and runs to her home to find her parents, breathing in the gas and becoming severely ill. Abigail risks her own life and saves a comatose Michelle, but can do nothing for Michelle's parents. The Furlings go to Cornelius' house nearby for shelter after they find their homes deserted and believe everyone succumbed to the gas. There, Cornelius tells the Furlings of his past encounter with humans that claimed the lives of his parents, hence why he is fearful of all human beings. He says he needs two herbs to save Michelle's life: lungwort and eyebright. With limited time, the Furlings head off for their journey the next day.
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