Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated film directed by Charles Grovenser and produced by David Kirschner.
Summary[]
The Furlings were having a fun field trip with their teacher, Cornelius, and his niece, Michelle. One of the Furlings went into the road by mistake. Cornelius told the Furlings to stay away from that treacherous place. The Furlings and Cornelius were riding on their boat. Meanwhile the truck came here and the landed on the ground. The truck driver saw what it happened and ran for help. The poison gas was flowing everywhere in the meadow. The animals had fled. The Furlings and Cornelius came home and the animals were gone! Michelle went to find her parents but, her parents are dead. Michelle accidentally breather the gas. Abigail had saved her. At Cornelius's house He told his pupils about his life. He relied on them to find special herbs like Eyebright and Lungwort. Cornelius reminded them that the moon must be full or it will be too late to save Michelle. Cornelius told them to get some sleep. He sang a beautiful song to her and they had a good night's rest. The next morning the Furlings had packed their stuff. Cornelius gave the Furlings a warning about the humans and work together. Late that night they met a encountered Richard the owl and grabbed Abigail!In his nest Abigail used her magnifying glass to scare him. The Furlings had hid under the tree and they were safe. The next morning they heard the singing voice of the birds called Wrens. Their leader is named Phineas. Phineas reminded all his fellows that they were lost and the yellow dragons drained their marshes. Phineas was worried about Bosworth. The Furlings said they could save Bosworth. Phineas thanked them for saving them. Phineas advised them to walk among the yellow dragons. The Furlings escaped the yellow dragons and finally made to Oak Dale Meadow. They met a bully squirrel named Waggs who has a prejudice against species and Willy who Abigail who has a crush on. The Furlings got the Eyebright and Lungwort with the Flap a-wing-ma-thing. After their quest Cornelius asked them if they got the herbs. Then the humans came here to help clean the environment. The Furlings had to hide but, Edgar tripped and went into the cage. The human came to save him. Cornelius and the Furlings had healed Michelle.The next morning Michelle was all better! Then the parents were reunited with their children.Michelle's parents aren't there but, Cornelius will look after her. Cornelius and the animals still need to save Dapplewood and it will be. Willy was seen with Abigail kissing then, Waggs got grounded in the tree.
Characters[]
- Cornelius The Badger A long time ago when he was a Furling, he lived far away in a location called WillowBrook. It was Winter, during their bedtime story when they heard the sound of humans came here to move them out. There was nothing he could do for his family. Cornelius is voiced by Michael Crawford.
- Abigail The Woodmouse The main protagonist of the film. At the beginning she was seen on top of the tree. She has two friends named Russel and Edgar. She rescued Michelle from the gas.She has a good relationship with Willy. No romance developed in the film. In the middle of the film she used a magnifying glass to scare Richard the Owl. At the end she got her bond back from her father.
- Edgar the Mole Edgar is the deuteragonist of the film. At the beginning he was with his mom giving him a scarf. Edgar has a good liking of Abigail. Edgar gets afraid very easy. during the events Edgar saved her from falling from the cliff. At the end he was saved by the human from the poacher's cage.
- Russel the Hedgehog Russel is the tritagonist of the film. At the beginning of the film he was seen getting breakfast. He did not like to be called Roland from his mommy. He didn't had a chance for breakfast. In the middle of the film, he was stuck in the sewer trying to get away from the yellow dragons. At the end he was with his brothers.
- Michelle the Badger Michelle is Cornelius niece of the film. At the beginning of the film she was seen ringing the school bell. In the middle of she got sick from fumes and at the end she was all better. She is voiced by Elisabeth Moss.
- Phineas the Wren Phineas is the supporting protagonist of the film. A long time ago when he was younger he and family got moved out from the yellow dragons. In the film he was seen worried about Bosworth. At the end he thanked the Furlings for saving him. Phineas is voiced by Ben Vereen.
- Willy the Woodmouse Willy is Abigail's love interest of the film. At the middle of the film he was seen getting the acorn from the squirrels then got cornered by Waggs. Then he got grabbed by Abigail and fell down. He never expected a girl so pretty. At the end he was seen with Abigail kissing her. He is voiced by Will Estes Nipper
- Waggs the Bully Squirrel Waggs is the main antagonist though he appears later of the film. He is very mean to Abigail and her friends. He has something against species that are not squirrels. He taunted them to get the Lungwort. It is not told what happened to him after that maybe he got left behind. He is voiced by Charlie Alder.
- Non-speaking characters Richard the Owl Richard the Barn Owl is the secondary antagonist of the film. At night he watched the Furlings coming to his tree. He tried to kidnap Abigail but, got scared by the magnifying glass. It's unknown how he got his left eye injured. His face was covered in scars with a one dead blue eye.
- Yellow Dragons The Yellow Dragons are actually giant bulldozers, used by humans developing the land. The scene they appear in is the only scene in which humans are portrayed in an antagonistic light, though they don't notice the young woodland creatures running past them.
Trivia[]
- Although there are humans in the film, we never see any faces.
- Due to it being realistic, this is one of a few Hanna-Barbera productions that do not include cartoon sound effects at all.
- The characters were created by Rae Lambert--the three main furlings' names have initials that spell Rae--Russell, Abigail, Edgar.
- It is one of two Hanna-Barbera production that is currently owned by Disney due to their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. The other production being Capitol Critters