The Magic of Fern Gully

Fern Gully, for all it seems like a children's tale about forest fairies, has a very clear agenda. It aims to show us, in the guise of a cartoon, the endangered state of nature, and what we as a people have done, and should do, about it. 


In our rush to industrialize and modernize, we tend to rush ahead blindly. The environment is not always given the consideration it deserves. We see this in the evil destructive force in Fern Gully. This destructive force, Hexxus, is not something alien; it is inside and behind the drive towards development and profiteering, regardless of the long-term consequences to the earth. We have to remember that  forests are not endless supplies of lumber or merely extensive plots of land to build on for the benefit of humans. They are alive. While fairies don't exist (unfortunately), that doesn't discount the life that really is in our forests. 


In the film, Magi contains Hexxus. She is unable to destroy him, but sure of their safety, the fairies grow complacent. When he escapes with the help of humans and wreaks havoc on Fern Gully, we realize with Crysta that palliative measures are not enough. We cannot simply contain the problem and hope for the best; nor can we ignore it and leave it for the next generation. Time is running out for that kind of thinking. Crysta is us, the next generation, and we must take responsibility.


This is not to say that development is evil or wrong. We cannot all be tree huggers and value plants more than people; we cannot look at the problem as something romantic and sentimental, the battle between the good of nature and the greed of humans. In this respect, Fern Gully is not something to be taken literally. Animals aren't people, and fairies don't fly around flirting with each other. They don't even exist (oh no, did I just kill Tinkerbell?).What should be taken from the film is that nature, the environment, IS important. It is something beautiful, with its own magic, the magic of creation. 


There is a balance that must be achieved. We appreciate the beauty and conveniences of modern life; in the same way, we should value nature for everything it gives us. We are so aware of the need to sustain development, the need to  produce better and better commodities, in larger and larger amounts, but this isn't enough. We have to be equally aware of the need to sustain the earth, the need to sustain life. Everything comes from nature, one way or another. And in one way or another, everything, each of us, will return to it.