“Every actor has to make terrible films from time to time, but the trick is never to be terrible in them” said the great Christopher Lee and Tim Curry probably followed that advice better than any actor barring Lee himself.
Which is not to say that Fern Gully is terrible. It’s a well animated, tonally uneven, achingly sincere environmental parable suffering from a chronic case of Aladdin envy but there are worse things in this life.
EDIT: Well smack my buttocks and call me Susan, I had remembered this movie as coming out after Aladdin and assumed that it had been chasing its coattails with Robin Williams given free reign as a comedy sidekick (and also having Douglas Seale playing the female lead’s cuddly bearded father). But no, Fern Gully actually beat it to theatres by half a year. Thanks to Torchesandaardvarks, Ian David and Abigail Kane for pointing this out.
But this movie (Curry’s first animated feature role) is a great showcase of Grand Theft Curry, the phenomenon of Tim Curry walking into a project and just running away with it. He is the best thing in this movie and it’s not even close.
Fern Gully takes place in the titular Australian rainforest which is ruled over by lovely fairies living in harmony with nature. But a logging company starts cutting down trees including one which just happens to contain Hexxus, the imprisoned spirit of destruction voiced by one Timothy James Curry.
The joy here is that Curry gets to play all his greatest hits. Hexxus starts off as a little, almost cute goo creature, transitions to a lantern jawed, breathy-voiced smoke monster and ends as an absolutely terrifying burning black skeleton. It’s an escalating rollercoaster of comedy, sensuality and menace. It’s basically a speed-run of his entire career in one movie.
Oh, and he gets the best song in the whole movie and audibly orgasms twice.
If they didn’t want him to, they shouldn’t have hired him.
Evil, Sexy, Evilly Sexy or Funny Accent?: Yes.
unshavedmouse 
Now here’s a thought: did Sir Christopher and Mr Curry ever share a screen? (Ha! For some reason a Jeeves and Wooster dynamic occurs to me – or should that be Dracula and Renfield?).
They did! The Colour of Magic!
Any chance of you reviewing that? There’s also an animated version of Soul Music if you want to stay more on brand.
So help me, I watched that one and cannot remember any key scenes featuring Sir Christopher and Mr Curry interacting (Which suggests their dynamic was not key to the plot).
I do recall thinking “Sir Christopher Lee as DEATH of the Discworld” was just spot-on casting (Especially for THE VOICE) and that the rest of the show was rather good.
I admit that THE COLOUR OF MAGIC isn’t my favourite Discworld (Sad lack of Mustrum Ridcully for one thing, not least because he hadn’t been invented yet: Old Ridcully the Brown may actually be my Favourite DISCWORLD character, despite competition from Sir Samuel Vimes & Lady Sybil, Captain Carrot, Cut-me-own-throat Dibbler, William de Worde, Granny Weatherwax and others).
Someday, someday we will have a Mustrum Ridcully who can roar “Bursar!” with the range of a saxophone virtuoso and the volume of a cheerful bull elephant (I’d especially love to see a scene where some zoologist observing Unseen University from a safe distance wonders why The Librarian doesn’t bear the physical features of a dominant male, despite being the only adult male orangutang on the continent – right before Mustrum gives a great cry of “Bursar!” as a Tarzan yodel*).
*Never, ever forget that Mr Johnny Weissmuller invented the iconic Tarzan Yell under the influence of Alpine yodelling, especially when discussing DISCWORLD sets a mood of affectionate parody and sharp satire.
You may be thinking of the animated version. He was in the live action one.
Funny that you mentioned Aladdin, since Robin Williams is in this movie too.
Two installments in and I’m already having to recalculate the impact Tim Curry had on my formative years. Should my parents have been more concerned?🤔
Loved this movie growing up, Curry utterly ruled here. Fun fact, Thomas Dolby, of “She Blinded Me With Science” fame, wrote this song, as well as Robin Williams’ Batty Rap.
In fact, lotta muscle on the soundtrack in general. In addition to a score by Alan Silvestri and songs by Dolby, you’ve got contributions from Tone Loc, Sheena Easton, Raffi, Jimmy Buffett, and Elton John.
Yes, it may have serious Aladdin envy, but Ferngully can truthfully claim to have laid claim to Elton John before The Lion King did.
Ferngully came out 7 months before Aladdin.
Thanks! Amended now.
Okay, so the “Aladdin” envy thing isn’t actually true. While Aladdin was released before Ferngully, it was only by five months, which is not enough time to create an animated feature film that is remotely competent. If anything, it was the other way around when it came to who was envious of who. Lindsay Ellis made a video about the impact of Robin Williams’ casting as the Genie, and if what she said there is still accurate, the Disney team actively meddled with Ferngully’s production because Robin refused to quit the role of Batty Koda. Just thought that was interesting.
Ferngully was his actual passion. Aladdin was a fun side gig.
Thanks! I’ve amended.
“Which is not to say that Fern Gully is terrible. It’s a well animated, tonally uneven, achingly sincere environmental parable suffering from a chronic case of Aladdin envy” Is that a Hook reference? Was that a reference to the original Peter Pan?
Do love me some Tim Curry and the amount of innuendos (some so blatant it’s like a Rated-R film got spliced in) still surprises me.
Maybe he had that in his contract, “I agree to do this film I’m allowed at least two sex jokes.”
This predated Aladdin to release by a few months but I believe Robin Williams was cast in this after that movie. Weirdly, Crysta’s dad in this looks and sounds like the Sultan but it’s not even the same actor!
They’re both voiced by Douglas Seale, surely?
Neil Ross actually.
I knew I wasn’t going insane, it was Seale, he was uncredited.
Tim Curry as the Joker – https://youtu.be/uc3TOa2iAXY?is=Tk8yaq-0TqFCSVd2
Tim Curry as the Joker – https://youtu.be/wEv0TL0UsmU?is=0W2rDHnOEVDKr2m9
Meant to point this out before: Mouse, if you’re still sore at Disney’s DINOSAUR then look up DINOSAURIA on YouTube.
These are, quite frankly, home-made animated documentaries so good they remind me of the original WALKING WITH DINOSAURS.
No, seriously, they’re that Good and in some respects they might even be better. Watch them, watch their making of videos and then you may thank me later.