1. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
An Australian/American Fantasy
1992
UNST 254 Fabey
2. OVERVIEW
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND POLLUTION
Created by:
Lori Clanton
Nancy Alkhouri
Ranya Khory
• Magical residents of a rainforest called
FernGully fight to save their home that is
threatened by logging and a polluting force of
destruction called Hexxus.
• Originally written as a children's book by Diana
Young, and was based in a real part of a forest
in Australia.
Ferngully Clip
3. Story Line
The story begins in FernGully a magical rainforest that is home to
the fairies who only know about humans through stories told
among the fairies. Batty is a friend of the fairies that sees the
humans destroying part of the forest and warns the fairies of the
coming destruction. Crysta is a fairy that is too curious for her
own good. She goes out into the forest to see the humans
destroying the rain forest. Here she meets a human named Zak
that is working for the construction company that is working in
the forest. By accident Crysta shrinks Zak down to fairy size.
Hexxus is an evil oil creature that was once seen long ago in
FernGully and was turned into a tree because he attempted to
unleash chaos in the forest. Crysta, Zak, and Batty join together
and defeat Hexxus and save the rainforest.
4. Characterization
Main Characters:
-Crysta is a fun loving fairy that is learning how to use her magic. She is full of
curiosity about the human world because Magi keeps it very secretive. Once
she befriends Zak, a human, he teachers her about the human world. She is
the main heroine of the movie because she is courageous enough to want to
save her fairy friends from the evil Hexxus. Her motivation to be a Heroine
comes from her desire to protect those she loves.
-Zak Young worked for the lodging company that was destroying the rain
forest. He is a young man that is just working a summer job which he doesn't
take seriously. Crysta accidentally shrinks him to fairy size when she was
attempting to save his life. Once Zak spends time with the fairies he learns
how humans can cause destruction and chaos in the world of nature where
they don't belong. Zak doesn't seem to be the hero type at the beginning of
the movie, but he develops into a hero because of he cares for Crysta and
wants her to be happy.
5. Characterization
Supporting Characters:
-Batty Koda is the crazy companion of Crysta the fairy. Batty was
experimented on by humans in the past and was either released or escaped.
Though out the movie Batty is constantly saying odd things and flying into
trees, because of the side effects of animal testing. Along with pollution this
treatment of Batty Shows another form of humans ruining the natural world
by animal cruelty. Batty is more of a sidekick character, he lacks the obvious
courage, but he does care about the fairies even though he has a great fear of
humans.
-Magi Lune is the elder fairy and she is the one Crysta goes to for counsel. She
was originally responsible for imprisoning Hexxus in the tree. She has a great
control over her magical abilities and a much wider range of knowledge about
the humans and their world.
6. Characterization
Villain:
-Hexxus is the protagonist of the movie and he is a villain that
has once troubled FernGully before. In the past he wished to
bring chaos and trouble to the calm, peaceful, and magical place
that is FernGully. The fairies trapped him in a tree and left him
there so that he couldn't cause harm to them again. The humans
accidentally release him and he instructs them towards
FernGully where they would destroy the fairies and the forest.
7. Technical Aspect
Ferngully was created with
computer animation.
Computer animation creates
an illusion of movement. An
illusion is created by placing
a picture then quickly
replacing it with another
similar picture.
8. Major Themes
Community
• Community is a large theme in Ferngully. You can see
many examples of community with both the humans
and fairy community. Magi, the oldest fairy in the
Rainforest, is the wisest and caring. Crysta is a sociable
and curious fairy. She has a sense of closeness with
Ferngully and her friends and family. The fairy
community is very large and close nit. The very ending
when Hexxus is beginning to turn back into a tree the
fairies use teamwork to help the tree grow faster
destroying Hexxus.
9. Major Themes
Destruction
• Destruction is shown from the very beginning when Batty
shows up and was telling Crysta how he had come back
from a biology lab. He was being tested on. This would
example Batty’s wacky yet at times logical and wise
character. A great deal of destruction takes place in this
movie. The forest and homes of animals are being
destroyed by the humans that only care for their own
gain.
10. Major Themes
Industrialization
• The Leveler is the prime example of the industrialization-
taking place in the forest. At one point during the movie
Batty states that if the humans are coming they would
soon be taken over by shopping malls and grocery stores.
This is an example of industrialization and how the forest
and natural parts of the world are being taken over by
humans and their desire to take over most of the
resources on earth.
11. Major Themes
Deforestation
• When Crysta begins her journey to Mount
Warning she leaves Ferngully and sees trees
covered in red marks. This begins the theme of
deforestation. We can see this when Crysta
places her hand on one of the trees and thinks
she is bleeding. This shows that the destruction
of the trees is being shown as a death in the
forest.
12. Major Themes
Species loss of habitat
• When the Toxic Slime begins to take over the forest
we see that the Rainforest is beginning to be
destroyed. It is a fact that 70 to 90% of species live in
the canopy of the rainforest. So when the forest is
being destroyed most habitats are destroyed.
13. Major Themes
Pollution
• Ferngully is a film based on pollution. Zack speaks of how the humans are
not here to protect the forest but rather destroy it. The song “Toxic Love”,
when Hexxus is released is sung, it is about the glory of pollution. “Oil and
Grime…Poison Sludge. Diesel clouds and noxious muck. Slime beneath
me…Slime up above…Ooh you’ll love my (ah-oh-ah) toxic love.” Hexxus is
supposed to represent pollution itself, and how it can spread and destroy
nature. He is oil and gas and seeks to destroy FernGully which is the most
natural place in the forest. Which is a representation of how pollution is
taking over.
• At the end of the movie Crysta changes Zak back to his original size and tells
him to remember what he has learned when he spent time in FernGully.
This shows that if people were to be exposed to the destruction caused by
pollution and the harm that comes to nature on a personal level they may
change how they view pollution
