The Elm-Chanted Forest
The Elm-Chanted Forest (Čudesna šuma)[5] is a 1986 Croatian-American animated musical film; in the U.S., it is also known as Fantasy Forest. It was the first full-length film directed by Milan Blažeković, and also the first animated feature produced in Croatia and Yugoslavia.[6]
| The Elm-Chanted Forest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Milan Blažeković Doro Vlado Hreljanovic[1] |
| Produced by | Doro Vlado Hreljanovic Carroll Rue Vlado Teresak |
| Written by | Fred P. Sharkey Suncana Skrinjaric |
| Starring | David Earls Edward Eyrich Charles Forrest Simon Hefter Chris Helmer Eric Needham Francesca Picchi Paul Powers Carroll Rue Fred P. Sharkey Lauren Shanahan David Spelvin Mark Surkin Anna Tornhill |
| Music by | Dennis Leogrande [2] |
| Cinematography | Ernest Gregl |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United States: Celebrity Home Entertainment's Just for Kids United Kingdom: Castle Home Video |
Release date | Yugoslavia: 19 June 1986 United States: 13 March 1987 25 December 1988 (VHS)[4] |
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | Yugoslavia (Croatia) United States |
| Language | Croatian |
Plot summary
After an artist named Peter Palette takes a nap under an enchanted elm tree, he discovers that he now has the ability to communicate with the animals of the forest, and that his paintbrush now has magical powers. To help his new friends survive, he must use his abilities to stop the evil Cactus King from turning the forest into a desert.
Main characters
- Peter Palette: A painter with black hair who gains the ability to communicate with the animals of the forest after sleeping on the magical tree.
- J. Edgar Beaver: A beaver who owns a saloon in the forest.
- Bud E. Bear: A friendly pink bear who becomes Peter's ally. He sometimes goes to J. Edgar's saloon.
- Fifi Fox: A beautiful and delicate red vixen with a French accent.
- Do, Ray, and Mee: A trio of pink, yellow, and blue hedgehog siblings.
- Emperor Spine (The Cactus King): An evil king plans to destroy the forest and replace it with a desert. His axe-like henchmen are called the Spinetinglers.
- Thistle: The Cactus King's timid court magician, who tries everything to please his master. But with friendship of Peter and the others, he helps them to eventually stop the Cactus King's evil plot before the latter changed for good as The Flower King.
Supporting characters
- Baron Burr A spike guy with tornado twister.
- The Mices
- Hot Head
- Mr. Truffle
- Sammy Snail
- Michael J. Mushroom
- Momo
Voice cast
Original
- Cactus Car - Josip Marotti
- Painter Pallet - Vili Matula
- Beaver - Ljubo Kapor
- Mate - Emil Glad
- Wand - Ivo Rogulja
- Additional Voices
- Helena Buljan
- Durda Izevic
- Sven Lasta
- Vladimir Kovacic
- Adam Vedernjak
- Nada Rocco - Lili
- Vladimir Puhalo
- Veronika Durbesic
- Mladen Vasary - And
- Drago Krca
- Slavica Fila
- Richard Simonelli - Guster Gondolar
- Lena Politeo
English
- David Earls
- Edward Eyrich
- Charles Forrest
- Simon Hefter
- Chris Helmer
- Eric Needham
- Francesca Picchi
- Paul Powers
- Carroll Rue
- Lauren Shanahan
- David Spelvin
- Mark Surkin
- Anna Tornhill
Release
In the U.S., Celebrity Home Entertainment's Just for Kids label released The Elm-Chanted Forest on VHS and Beta on 4 January 1989.[4] There was also a 1990 sequel, The Magician's Hat (Čarobnjakov šešir), seldom seen outside its home country.[7]
In 1999, Image Entertainment released only the first film on DVD.[8] [9] To date, this is the only time it surfaced on DVD in the US [10], as reissuing it has yet to be scheduled, as well as not having further plans for a Blu-ray release of this movie.
References
- MUBI
- The Elm-chanted forest (VHS tape, 1988)-WorldCat.org
- "Home Video Guide". The Palm Beach Post. 1988-12-30. p. TGIF 22. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- CUDESNA SUMA-Trailer on YouTube
- BCDB
- The Magician's Hat (1990)-FilmAffinity
- Rotten Tomatoes
- DVD Empire