Once Upon a Forest

Once Upon a Forest is a upcoming computer animated film released by 20th Century Fox Blue Sky Studios and Slimeworks Entertainment for May 2024.

It serves as a remake to the 1993 film Once Upon a Forest and the Furlings Story. It stars David Tennant Millie Davis Jacob Tremblay

Plot
In the forest of Dapplewood, four "Furlings" – Abigail, a woodmouse; Edgar, a mole; Russell, a hedgehog, and Michelle, a badger – live alongside their teacher and Michelle's uncle, Cornelius. One day, the Furlings go on a trip through the forest with Cornelius, where they see a road for the first time. Russell is almost run over by a careless driver, who throws away a glass bottle that shatters in the middle of the road. Afterward, they go back to the forest to find that it has been destroyed by poison gas from an overturned tanker truck that blew a tire from the broken glass bottle. Michelle panics and runs to her home to find her parents, breathing in the gas and becoming severely ill. Abigail risks her own life and saves a comatose Michelle, but can do nothing for Michelle's parents. The Furlings go to Cornelius' house nearby for shelter after they find their homes deserted, believing everyone else to have succumbed to the gas. Cornelius tells the Furlings of his past encounter with humans that claimed the lives of his parents, hence why he is fearful of all human beings. He says he needs two herbs to save Michelle's life: lungwort and eyebright. With limited time, the Furlings head off for their journey the next day.

After encountering numerous dangers, including a hungry barn owl, a flock of religious wrens led by preacher Phineas, and intimidating construction equipment that the wrens call "yellow dragons", the Furlings make it to the meadow with the herbs they need. There, they meet the bully squirrel Waggs, and Willy, a tough but sensible mouse who grows a liking for Abigail. After getting the eyebright, they discover that the lungwort is on a giant cliff making it inaccessible by foot. Russell suggests they use Cornelius' airship, the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing, to get to the lungwort.

The Furlings manage to get the lungwort after a dangerous flight up the cliff, then steer their airship back for Dapplewood. They crash-land back in the forest after a storm, and bring the herbs to Michelle and Cornelius. A group of humans appear and the animals, thinking the humans mean them harm, escape through the backdoor of Cornelius' house. Edgar gets separated from the group and gets caught in an old trap. When one of the workers finds him, the animals are surprised when he frees Edgar and destroys the trap, revealing that the men are cleaning up the gas. The group, especially Cornelius, realize that there are good humans in the world.

Michelle is given the herbs. The next day, she appears unresponsive, but a single tear from Cornelius awakens her from her coma. Cornelius sees the Flapper-Wing-a-Ma-Thing and becomes amazed by how the Furlings have grown up. The Furlings' families and many of the other inhabitants arrive as well, except for Michelle's parents; Cornelius promises to do his best on taking care of her. The Furlings happily reunite with their families, who are relieved to see that their children are alright. Michelle asks Cornelius if anything will ever be the same again. Cornelius looks at the dead trees in the forest and says to her that if everyone works as hard to save Dapplewood as the Furlings did to save Michelle, it will be.

Cast

 * David Tennant as Cornelius a badger who is Michelle's uncle and also the teacher of the furlings.
 * Millie Davis as Abigail, a young wood mouse and leader of the furlings
 * Benji Gregory as Edgar, a young mole and planner of the furlings
 * Jacob Tremblay as Russell, a young hedgehog and doer of the furlings
 * TBA as Michelle, a young badger who becomes sick after inhaling poisonous gas, Cornelius' maternal niece
 * Tracy Morgan as Phineas, a religious bird
 * Nolan Massey as Willy, a young field mouse who becomes smitten by Abigail
 * Owen Teague as Waggs, a squirrel who bullies the furlings
 * Rickey D'Shon Collins as Bosworth, a young bird who was saved from a puddle of oil by the furlings
 * Don Reed as Marshbird
 * Robert David Hall as Truck driver, the man whose truck crashed and released the gas on Dapplewood
 * Paul Rudd as Abigail's father, and adult wood mouse
 * Janet Waldo as Edgar's mother, an adult mole
 * TBA as Russell's mother, an adult hedgehog
 * TBA as Bosworth's mother, an adult bird
 * Jack Dylan Grazer as Russell's brother, a young hedgehog
 * TBA as Russell's sister, a young hedgehog
 * Benedict Cumberbatch  as The Barn Owl enemy to Cornelius and the furlings.
 * Reese Witherspoon as Abigail as an Adult (segment "Once Upon A Time With Me") / The Balladeer (as Florence Warner Jones)

Production

Writing

Casting

Release Date