The Elm-Chanted Forest
Encyclopedia
The Elm-Chanted Forest is a 1986 U.S./Yugoslavian animated
musical
movie; 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 what is now Croatia
. It spawned a 1989 sequel, The Magician's Hat
(Čarobnjakov šešir), which was seldom seen outside its home country.
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
.
's Just for Kids label released The Elm-Chanted Forest on VHS and Beta
on 4 January 1989. In late 2007, both this film and its sequel were released on DVD in the countries of former Yugoslavia by Happy TV.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
movie; in the U.S., it is also known as Fantasy Forest. It was the first full-length film directed by Milan Blažeković
Milan Blažekovic
Milan Blažeković is a Croatian animator.Blažeković began his career at the Zagreb Film studio with short films such as Gorilla Dance , The Man Who Had to Sing and Man: The Polluter...
, and also the first animated feature produced in what is now Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. It spawned a 1989 sequel, The Magician's Hat
The Magician's Hat (film)
The Magician's Hat is a 1989 animated film produced by the Croatia Film company and directed by Milan Blažeković. It is the sequel to 1986's The Elm-Chanted Forest.-Story:...
(Čarobnjakov šešir), which was seldom seen outside its home country.
Plot summary
After an artist named Peter Palette takes a nap under an enchanted elmElm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
tree, he discovers that he now has the ability to communicate with the animals of the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
, 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
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
.
Main characters
- Peter Pallette: The main protagonist of the movie. He has the ability to communicate with the animals in the forest.
- J. Edgar Beaver: A small beaver who is the owner of the saloon in the forest.
- Bud E. Bear: A large yet friendly bear with who is one of the mostly accompanying animals to Peter. He sometimes goes to J. Edgar's saloon in the forest.
- Fifi Fox: A beautiful and delicate female fox who loves the beauty of nature. She has a French accent.
- Do, Ray, and Mee: A trio of hedgehog siblings who join the others in their quest after they are orphaned.
- Cactus King (AKA. Emperor Spine): The main antagonist of the movie. He plans to destroy the forest and replace with a desert. His henchmen are called the Spinetinglers. He also hates beavers.
- Thistle: The Cactus King's timid apprentice. He tries anything possible to please the Cactus King, but to no avail.
Release
In the U.S., Celebrity Home EntertainmentCelebrity Home Entertainment
Celebrity Home Entertainment , founded by Noel C. Bloom , was a home video distributor specializing in mostly obscure material from around the world, as well as B-grade action films and soft-core adult fare, although they also released some material that...
's Just for Kids label released The Elm-Chanted Forest on VHS and Beta
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
on 4 January 1989. In late 2007, both this film and its sequel were released on DVD in the countries of former Yugoslavia by Happy TV.