The Top 3 Animated Movies to Watch for Earth Day
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
April 22nd is Earth Day, a day to give back to our environment--and to watch movies. As you may know, we have film recommendations for every holiday and occasion. This week, we're excited to share some of our favorite movies that highlight the importance of preserving our planet and celebrate Earth Day with these beautifully animated films.
1) FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
This was definitely one of our favorites growing up. From the animation and music to the story and message, FernGully is an all-around beautiful film that still holds up today. Producer Wayne Young reported that he was inspired not only by his love for the environment, but also by a series of stories that had been written by his wife, about 15 years prior to the film's creation. FernGully follows a fairy who accidentally shrinks a human logger to her size. Unsure of how to reverse the charm, the pair learns that their two worlds are much more similar than different. Meanwhile, however, the logging company is attempting to release an evil smog to destroy the entire forest. We remember being enchanted by the beautiful animation and love story, while being absolutely terrified of the smog Hexxus. In fact, Tim Curry's original voice recordings for the character were so chilling that it left child test audiences in tears, and the actor had to redo them (if you're interested in more Tim Curry films, check out last week's blog post!). We also love FernGully because the creators were not only passionate about the film's message, but practiced the film's mission in real life. Its posters were printed on recycled paper, and proceeds from the film went to the Sierra Club and Greenpeace.
2) Wall-E (2008)
This Pixar movie imagines Earth in the year 2805; unfortunately, it's not a pretty sight. Audiences are taken to a desolate wasteland, where a single robot is left functioning to clean up the planet. When another robot is sent from a space station to scan the Earth for life, the two fall for each other and are launched into a mission to salvage what's left of the planet. We love this movie for a lot of reasons, but primarily its immersive visual storytelling. With very little dialogue, we learn that consumerism has left the planet uninhabitable. Creators studied images of Chernobyl, Ukraine and Sofia, Bulgaria as conceptual designs for a world destroyed by human technology and waste. Animators used shifts in lighting to show the world become brighter when the second robot joins the first and cold, bright whites for a soulless space station. While the movie clearly explores consumerism and the importance of conserving our planet, filmmakers assert that Wall-E's primary message is that love makes all things possible. Regardless, it's a compelling, heartwarming story and masterfully animated film.
3) Flow (2024)
We cannot stress enough how much this film blew us away. The story is set in a different timeline of a lush, overgrown Earth, right as a monumental flood overcomes the landscape. Flow follows a solitary house cat on their journey to navigate the rising water. Along the way, the cat encounters more animals struggling to cope, eventually accumulating a motley crew. While there was no dialogue in the movie, the creators were determined to keep the animal's voices natural. In fact, to capture the protagonist's audio, sound designer Gurwal Coïc-Gallas spent a day following his pet cat with a microphone. For the capybara's sound, he traveled to a zoo where he was able to tickle one of them and record its vocal response (though Coïc-Gallas ultimately decided the sounds of a baby camel were more apt for the character). In addition to the amazing sound work, Flow's visual storytelling is immersive, expressive, and beautifully crafted. Not only did the creators manage this feat without any storyboards, but also without high-end animation software--they used Blender, which is free and open-source. Even so, it was the first independent film to win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, proving that having a big heart is more important than a big budget. Flow is perfect for Earth Day, because it reminds us not only to preserve the beauty of our planet, but that when we find a way to work together, we can persevere and restore the Earth after disaster strikes.
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