Once Upon a Forest

Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated adventure film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on the Furlings characters created by Rae Lambert, the film was directed by Charles Grosvenor and produced by David Kirschner, and stars the voices of Michael Crawford, Ellen Blain, Benji Gregory, Paige Gosney, Will Estes, Janet Waldo, Elisabeth Moss, and Ben Vereen. The film is about three "Furlings" – the story's term for animal children – who go on an expedition to cure a friend that has been poisoned by chemical fumes. The film's environmental theme divided critics at the time of its release, along with the animation and story. The film grossed $6.6 million in the US against a budget of $13–16 million. Plot In the forest of Dapplewood, four "Furlings" – Abigail, a wood mouse; Edgar, a mole; Russell, a hedgehog, and Michelle, a badger – live alongside their teacher and Michelle's uncle, Cornelius. 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 Range Rover and a man at the passenger's seat carelessly throws away a glass bottle that shatters in the middle of the road. Afterward, they go back to the forest to find that it has been destroyed by poison gas from an overturned tanker truck that blew a tire from the broken glass bottle. 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, believing everyone else to have succumbed to the gas. 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 make a potion that will save Michelle's life: lungwort and eyebright. With limited time, the Furlings head off for their journey the next day. After facing numerous dangers, such as escaping a hungry barn owl, aiding a flock of religious wrens led by preacher Phineas, and encountering intimidating construction vehicles that the wrens call "Yellow Dragons", the Furlings make it to the meadow, where the herbs they need are. There, they meet the bully squirrel Waggs, and Willy, a tough but sensible mouse who grows a liking for Abigail.