http://videosift.com/video/Toxic-Love-Fern-Gully-By-Tim-Curry

What now? Let me tell you what now. I'ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin' choppers, who'll go to work on the homes here with a pair of chainsaws and weed-whackers. You hear me talkin', hillbilly tree? I ain't through with you by a d**n sight.

I'ma get Fern Gully on your a**.

Yeah, it's well known. There are so many movies you can say Avatar ripped off, but for some reason, no one seems to suggest they ripped each other off...

There's Pocahontas, Fern Gully, Dune, Dances With Wolves, Firekind (an old comic), The Jesus Incident (another Frank Herbert story), and many more, I'm sure.

So, either Avatar stole the original idea from every single one of these movies/books/comics, or you sort of have to concede that the story is so generic and basic that it's been done and will be done again and again. Avatar just happens to do it really well (and the 3D doesn't hurt a bit ).

If you look hard enough, you'll find similarities everywhere. Examples:

Star Wars - Young warrior joins band of freedom fighters and leads them to victory over the big mechanical empire.
The Matrix - A computer programmer disconnects from the machine he's been hooked up to all his life, discovers he's The (chosen) One and goes on to free his band of freedom fighters from the big mechanical empire (this time with actual machines).

I'm sure I can go on, but this post is long enough, and I've made my point

Saw it today, and it's fantastic. Like dag said, a must see, and a must-see in IMAX 3D.

The characters and story managed to elicit quite an emotional response, the visuals are absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, the ethical resonance is strong and it hits uncomfortably close to home.

BTW, the storyline isn't cliche or classic, it's epic. You've seen it before a thousand times, but it still gets you when it's done right, and this is done right.

Alternatively, if you're like me, and need your expectations lowered, it is a retelling of Fern Gully with giant alien smurfs, with about 90% of the movie in CGI.

Or, it's like the Wizard of Oz for the 21st century.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

The preiews make it look like a movie around elven woodsprites. There is a real message about nature and conservation - but don't think going in that this isn't a SciFi movie - no wizard staffs or spell books present.>> ^NetRunner:
I insist on keeping my expectations low, mostly so there's a chance I will be actually be impressed. Despite that, this is a good sign.
I'm still planning on it being an overly glitzy live action remake of Fern Gully.

I insist on keeping my expectations low, mostly so there's a chance I will be actually be impressed. Despite that, this is a good sign.

I'm still planning on it being an overly glitzy live action remake of Fern Gully.