FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue

Last updated

FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue
Ferngul2.jpg
VHS cover art
Directed byPhil Robinson
Co-director:
Dave Marshall
Written byChris Fink
Richard Tulloch
Produced byJeff Fino
Holly Harold
StarringLaura Erlich
Harry Joseph
Gary Martin
Matt K. Miller
Digory Oaks
Westin Peace
Edited byMichael Cavanaugh
Music by Nerida Tyson-Chew
Production
companies
FAI Films
Rosen Harper Entertainment
Wild Brain Productions [lower-alpha 1]
Distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date
  • March 17, 1998 (1998-03-17)
Running time
72 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue is a 1998 American animated fantasy adventure film. It is a direct-to-video sequel to FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). It was produced by Wild Brain Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through the CBS/Fox Video Label. It was directed by Phil Robinson & Dave Marshall and written by Chris Fink and Richard Tulloch. None of the actors from the first movie reprise their roles, the film features a new voice cast, including Laura Erlich, Harry Joseph, Gary Martin, Matt K. Miller, Digory Oaks and Westin Peace.

Contents

Plot

Crysta is taking care of three baby animals and demonstrating greater control over nature. She and Pips begin a small contest over who can grow the more impressive plant, while Pips expresses a desire to see more of the outside world.

Suddenly, Batty Koda arrives in a panic, warning that human poachers are right behind him. These poachers show up with their dogs and capture the three baby animals. The first rescue attempt while still in Ferngully fails, and results in a huge forest fire, destroying a huge part of the forest and scarring Mother Kangaroo. Pips and the Beetle Boys volunteer to follow the humans to town and rescue the babies, convincing the reluctant Batty to be their guide. They arrive at a town amusement park. They are so fascinated by the rides, they are reminded by Batty to resume their mission.

All this time the fairies have been healing the rainforest and Crysta finds and helps one of the poachers' dogs (she called him Boof) abandoned and caught in a trap. She takes him on a journey to the town. Pips and the Beetle Boys meet a girl named Budgie who is hard at practicing for the clown act. Pips flies over to her and introduces himself and his friends. She gives them shelter in her trailer. Batty has located the poachers' place but the others ignore him too fascinated by modern human utilities. Bark and Batty go to make a rescue attempt, but Batty is caught.

Budgie tells Pips that she has been working on her clown act for years, but she has never been all that good. Pips tells her that she is trying too hard, and she should just do it. Back at where the babies are, the animals are very scared and fear they will never get back home. Batty overcomes his terror of the situation and manages to reassure them. Then the poachers take all the cages and load them onto a big truck. At the fair, Budgie goes to a contest stand and wins a stuffed kangaroo, which reminds Pips of the babies he's supposed to be saving. He tells Budgie about them and she offers to help him out.

They all reach the old warehouse. The poachers drive off, and Budgie jumps off a ledge and lands on the truck. They drive past Budgie's grandfather, and he sees that Budgie is hanging on the truck tarp, and he drives after them. Budgie manages to get inside the car and frees all the birds in the cages. The poachers see Budgie trying to get in the car and are enraged seeing all the birds flying away. One of them climbs out of the truck and tries to get Budgie off. She manages to get away from him, but he unlatches the car she's on and sends her rolling backwards on the road. She ends up with one side of the car dangling off a cliff. When she falls, Batty catches her and manages to lift her all by himself up to the top of the cliff (in spite of her being double his size) allowing Budgie's grandfather to catch them in his net and bring them safely to solid ground.

The group then head by clown car to the ship where the animals are being loaded. Pips undoes the conveyor catch so that the cages land in Budgie's grandfather's car. A struggle for the cages ensues between the poachers and Budgie. Boof and Crysta arrive to help. The other dog turns against his former master. The boat gets away and the fairies use their magic to stop it growing a gigantic tree. Nugget almost drowns as he escapes. Budgie and her grandfather adopt Slasher and Boof while all the animals and fairies return home.

Voice cast

Production

The film was produced by Wildbrain Entertainment and animated by Wang Film Productions in Tapei, Taiwan. [1] None of the original voice cast reprised their roles. All pre-production work, including character design, layout, storyboard, timing, background and color key took place at the WildBrain's facility in San Francisco, while its Los Angeles facility worked on post-production, which included editing, music composition, voice talent casting, sound recording and mixing. [1]

The sequel's release was scheduled for the original film's fifth anniversary in 1997, but was pushed back to March 17, 1998 to avoid competition with other VHS releases during the Christmas sales, including Jingle All the Way , A Christmas Carol , Annabelle's Wish , and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas . It received a direct-to-video release.

Songs

No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Here in Fern Gully"Matt McGuire & Sandy Howell  
2."We Belong"Roger P. ClarkLucy Lee with The Forest Chorus 
3."Funner Than The Funnest Fun"Roger P. ClarkBig Teen 
4."Tee Vee Rock"Roger P. Clark & Tommy DunbarBig Teen 
5."Wanna Be Back Home/We'll Make It If We Try"Jo-Carol Block/Leo FrappierJo-Carol Block, Leo Frappier and Doug Boyd 

Reception

The film was less critically successful than the original. Mike Boon from the Calgary Herald gave a negative review, lamenting the loss of Robin Williams and the originality of the first film. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Wild Thornberrys</i> American animated series

The Wild Thornberrys is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, Steve Pepoon, David Silverman, and Stephen Sustarsic for Nickelodeon. The series portrays the zany hijinks of an American family of wildlife documentary filmmakers known as the Thornberrys, which consist of the British nature documentary television host Nigel, his wife and camera operator Marianne, their 16-year-old daughter Debbie, their younger daughter Eliza, their adopted son Donnie, and a chimpanzee named Darwin. The series focuses in particular on Eliza, who has a magical ability to communicate with animals. The Thornberry family travels to every continent and wildlife environment in the ComVee, a recreational vehicle equipped with safety mechanisms to handle any terrain or body of water, to document their journeys in detail, with typical episodes involving Eliza befriending an animal and subsequently finding herself in peril.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Witch</span> Fictional sorceress

Jadis is a fictional character and the main antagonist of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and The Magician's Nephew (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as she is the Witch who froze Narnia in the Hundred Years Winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Pevensie</span> Fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia

Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan. Also, of all the humans who have visited Narnia, Lucy is perhaps the one that believes in Narnia the most. She is ultimately crowned Queen Lucy the Valiant, co-ruler of Narnia along with her two brothers and her sister. Lucy is the central character of the four siblings in the novels. Lucy is a principal character in three of the seven books, and a minor character in two others.

<i>FernGully: The Last Rainforest</i> 1992 animated musical fantasy film by Bill Kroyer

FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 independent animated musical fantasy film. The feature directorial debut by Bill Kroyer, FernGully was scripted by Jim Cox and adapted from the "FernGully" stories by Diana Young. The film is an Australian and American venture produced by Kroyer Films, Inc., Youngheart Productions, FAI Films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars the voices of Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Jonathan Ward, Robin Williams and Grace Zabriskie. FernGully is set in an Australian rainforest inhabited by fairies, including Crysta, who accidentally shrinks a young logger named Zak to the size of a fairy. Together, they rally the fairies and the animals of the rainforest to protect their home from the loggers and Hexxus, a malevolent pollution entity. Wayne Young, the film's producer, said that the film was "blatantly environmental", although he made an effort to avoid "preaching".

<i>Wonder Pets!</i> American educational animated childrens television series

Wonder Pets! is an American animated musical children's television series produced by Little Airplane Productions. The series follows a trio of classroom pets—Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck, and Ming-Ming Duckling—who use teamwork to help animals in need. Most of the characters' dialogue is sung in the style of operetta. Each episode is set to original music by a 10-member live orchestra.

<i>Kangaroo Jack: GDay U.S.A.!</i> 2004 American film

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! is a 2004 animated action comedy film. It is a sequel to 2003's Kangaroo Jack that is directed by Ron Myrick and Jeffrey Gatrall. Released direct-to-video in 2004, it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and was distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>Pinocchio: The Series</i> 1972 Japanese anime TV series

Pinocchio: The Series, also known as Saban's The Adventures of Pinocchio and known as Mock of the Oak Tree in Japan, is a 52-episode anime series by Tatsunoko Productions first aired on Fuji Television in 1972, which was edited by Saban in 1990. The story is based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Fernanda Morales</span> Mexican voice actress

María Fernanda del Carmen Morales Ponce de León is a Mexican voice actress. Morales is most known for the voice of Saori Kido in Saint Seiya, Chip in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Kimi Finster in Rugrats and All Grown Up!, and Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon among other works she has worked on.

<i>Tinker Bell</i> (film series) Animated fantasy film series produced by DisneyToon Studios

Tinker Bell is an animated fantasy film series based around the character Tinker Bell, produced by DisneyToon Studios as part of the Disney Fairies franchise after producing a number of direct-to-video Winnie the Pooh films. Voices of Mae Whitman, Lucy Liu, Raven-Symoné, America Ferrera, Kristin Chenoweth and Pamela Adlon are featured in the films. Six feature films and one TV special were produced: Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Secret of the Wings,Pixie Hollow Games, The Pirate Fairy, and Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast. The series is a spin-off of and prequel to Peter Pan. Originally developed as a direct-to-video franchise, the series was theatrically released from its third film onwards.

<i>Doc McStuffins</i> Animated childrens TV series

Doc McStuffins is an American animated children's television series created by Chris Nee. It was produced and released by Brown Bag Films. It was aired on Disney Junior from March 23, 2012, to April 18, 2020. The series centers on a girl who can "fix" toys, with help from her toy friends. It features songs written and composed by Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis.

<i>Robocar Poli</i> South Korean childrens TV series made by Hyundai

Robocar Poli is a South Korean 3D animated children's television series created by RoiVisual. The series released its first episode on Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) in 2011, and has aired for five seasons. Robocar Poli consists of 120 eleven-minute episodes.

<i>Killjoy Goes to Hell</i> 2012 comedy horror film by Full Moon

Killjoy Goes to Hell is a 2012 American black comedy slasher film and the fourth installment in the Killjoy series of movies by Full Moon.

<i>The One and Only Ivan</i> 2012 book by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Ivan is a 2012 novel written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Patricia Castelao. It is about a silverback gorilla named Ivan who lived in a cage at a mall, and is written from Ivan's point of view. In 2013 it was named the winner of the Newbery Medal. It has won several other awards and is currently nominated to several reading lists. It was followed in 2020 by The One and Only Bob, presented from the point of view of Ivan's best friend, the dog Bob. A second sequel, The One and Only Ruby, was published in 2023.

<i>Blaze and the Monster Machines</i> Animated interactive childrens television series

Blaze and the Monster Machines is an American animated children's television series with a focus on teaching STEM that premiered on Nickelodeon on October 13, 2014. The show revolves around Blaze, a monster truck, and his human driver, AJ, as they have adventures in Axle City and learn about various STEM concepts which help them on their way. Joining them is the human mechanic Gabby and their monster truck friends Stripes, Starla, Darington and Zeg as well as their rival Crusher and his goofy sidekick Pickle. Then later on, Watts and Sparkle join the main cast in Seasons 3 and 5. The show was renewed for a fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth season.

<i>No Mans Land</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

No Man's Land is a 2013 Chinese neo-western thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Ning Hao and starring Xu Zheng, Yu Nan, Huang Bo and Tobgye.

<i>Kong: King of the Apes</i> Animated series

Kong: King of the Apes is an animated television series that is produced by 41 Entertainment LLC, Arad Animation, and animated by OLM, Digital and Sprite Animation Studios. It is the third animated series in the King Kong franchise. The series was released to Netflix on April 15, 2016. The second season premiered on May 4, 2018, and was the final season of the show to be produced.

<i>Witchy Pretty Cure!</i> Japanese anime television series

Witchy Pretty Cure!, also known as Maho Girls PreCure!, is a Japanese anime television series by Toei Animation and the thirteenth installment in Izumi Todo's Pretty Cure metaseries, featuring the eleventh generation of Cures. The series, directed by Masato Mitsuka and written by Isao Murayama with character design by Emiko Miyamoto, aired on ANN television stations between February 2016 and January 2017, succeeding Go! Princess PreCure in its timeslot, and was succeeded by Kirakira Pretty Cure a la Mode. The series' main topic is friendship, while its motifs are magic and jewelry. An adult animated sequel series has been announced by Toei, and is set to premiere in 2024 on ANN's Animazing!!! programming block.

References

  1. 1 2 Marshall, Dave; Robinson, Phil (March 1998). "FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue -Getting the Money on the Screen". Animation World Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 12. Archived from the original on February 26, 2002. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  2. Boon, Mike. "FernGully 2 lacks the voices, originality and laughs". Calgary Herald . p. J7. ISSN   1197-2823.
  1. Animation outsourced to Wang Film Productions.