What Happened to Children Movies With an Environmental Message

I remember as a child watching movies like Fern Gully: The Last Rain Forest and Once Upon a Forest then feeling upset about the actions of people. It seems as though there are not enough full length animated films geared to the younger audience. Unfortunately, many of the shows on television are about violence and nonsense. It does not teach our kids anything about our environment. There are several movies that I grew up with that makes a younger audience wonder about the future. Fern Gully is a great example.

The main plot in the movie is the destruction of the tropical rainforest that fairies and other creatures live in. Human have come in and bulldozed the environment that all the living creatures depended on. They cut the trees down and pollute the ecosystem. The only individual who can stop the destruction is a human who has learned the ways of all the living creatures.

There are other movies that I would like to mention that are just as effective in their message: *Once Upon A Forest
*The Rescuers Down Under
*Arctic Tale
*Bambi
*Dot and Kangaroo
*Hoot
*Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Building a Freeway)

There were also television shows that had great messages about environmental issues such as:

• Captain Planet
• The Magic School Bus
• Animaniacs: Up the Crazy River Segment

I think that the entertainment industry needs to bring back these types of program to educate the youth about the environmental impact they create and what they can do to lessen the damage. Animated movies do not have strong moral stories as they once were. It is a shame that they are adding too many adult context to films aimed at the youth. I believe that if more films and television series such as Captain Planet were shown more often, children will grow up more conscious about their impact on the environment.