Review of Once Upon a Forest (2013) by Zarinah H — 25 Jun 2009

I watched this with my 4.5 year-old the other day and I'm glad I did because though this is a great kids' movie with important themes, it also contains some scary parts that may cause sensitive younger children to cry or even have nightmares.

The story centers around some young furlings, woodland creatures, i.e. a hedgehog names Russel, a mole named Edgar, a mouse named Abigail, and a badger named Michelle. They all attend classes conducted by a wise older badger named Cornelius. One day, a terrible tragedy befalls the forest when a tanker carrying toxic chemicals has an accident near the forest and the toxic fumes permeate the forest, causing casualties amongst the woodland creatures, including Michelle. This is the part that is quite scary [SPOILERS]- Michelle and her friends accompanied by Cornelius return from a field trip to find the forest strangely quiet and deserted - Michelle runs into her home only to find her parents dead, and falls victim to the toxic fumes, going into a coma.

It is left to Michelle's friends to help find some herbs that will save her, whilst Cornelius remains behind to watch over Michelle. The animation is enchanting, bringing the forest to vivid life with bold colors. The characters are all endearing. There are some important themes explored here - the threat posed by Man to the environment, the loss of animals' habitat, but the most important message that shines through is the enduring power of friendship, teamwork and perseverance. Abigail, Edgar and Russell work together and coax each other on to help get the herbs necessary to save Michelle's life.

My preschooler loved this movie, though she did cry at the part where Michelle gets hurt, but all in all, if an adult sits with a younger child through those scary parts, this does have many positives to recommend it as a wonderful kids' movie.