This 1992 Cult Classic Is The Only Movie You Should Watch This Earth Day

Earth Day is April 22, and you know what that means: It’s time to show our love for the environment and focus on keeping it as pristine as possible. While plenty of movies would be appropriate for this holiday (like John Cusack’s 2012 if you want a cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t take care of the planet), there’s one massive 90s animated movie that’s an absolute must-watch if you care about nature, fantasy romance, or Tim Curry as a sexy pollution demon. We’re talking about a cult classic: 1992’s FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

Even if you haven’t seen FernGully, you might know the plot. When James Cameron’s Avatar came out back in 2009, so many people compared that 3D hit with the 1992 animated movie. Why? The plots are incredibly similar. Both about a white man entering the habitat of an endangered society, FernGully is the cute musical version of the story. So, in honor of this environmental masterpiece, here are four things about FernGully: The Last Forest that you won’t want to miss.

The main characters, who were every Millennial’s animated crush.

Whether you were in love with the chill-axed surfer dude Zak or had fallen for the fairy Crysta’s super cool hair and fun energy, you likely had someone you thought was dreamy. While neither was as arresting as foxy Robin Hood from Disney’s animated adaptation (Am I telling on myself?), these two main characters and love interests were still many people’s awaking back in the day.

Robin Williams, who obviously killed it as the bat, Batty Koda.

We all know how amazing Robin Williams was. While most remember his most popular animated role of the 90s as Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, Batty Koda is the underappreciated character we all need on Earth Day. A former animal test subject, Batty Koda has the one-liners you expect from the late comedian and he totally steals the show.

Tim Curry’s Hexxus, including his great song, “Toxic Love”.

Though you may have crushed on Crysta or Zak as a kid, you might have those feelings for Hexxus now that you’re an adult. Tim Curry crushes it as pollution personified, as he so often did in all his roles. He channels a little bit of the Frank-N-Furter smolder for Hexxus and has even inspired some TikTok fancams in recent years, which comes as no surprise.

The message, which is unfortunately still relevant over 30 years later.

In FernGully, Zak works for a lumber company set on clearing out the rainforest. When he’s magically shrunken to the size of a fairy, he quickly realizes the terrible affect on the planet that all this clear-cutting has wrought. It’s a story from 1992 that sounds like it was written today. And hopefully watching it will have the same transformative affect on you this Earth Day as it had on Zak by the end of the film.

Where to watch FernGully in 2024.

If you want to see the animated movie that informed every 90s kid’s personality back in the day–or you want to connect to your childhood nostalgia–you can stream FernGully: The Last Rainforest on Tubi, FreeVee, and The Roku Channel.