An unashamedly old-fashioned story about an old hermit living out in the forest and the young boy he befriends in order to teach him about nature. It's a dated, twee and slow moving effort that I managed to catch on TV, although sadly the print used was absolutely horrible.
Animal lovers will be in their element, as the lead, Old John (played with a natural warmth by Harry Davenport) has a DR DOLITTLE-style affinity with animals, particularly in the two familiars he keeps (a German Sehpherd and a crow). At times the film feels like a westernised version of THE JUNGLE BOOK as the good guys come up against some evil loggers determined to exploit the wilderness for their own gains.
THE ENCHANTED FOREST is no classic, but for those who like this sort of stuff it's an efficient time-filler. And it possesses a kind of warming sentimentality that never quite overdoes it in the same way a Disney film would.
Animal lovers will be in their element, as the lead, Old John (played with a natural warmth by Harry Davenport) has a DR DOLITTLE-style affinity with animals, particularly in the two familiars he keeps (a German Sehpherd and a crow). At times the film feels like a westernised version of THE JUNGLE BOOK as the good guys come up against some evil loggers determined to exploit the wilderness for their own gains.
THE ENCHANTED FOREST is no classic, but for those who like this sort of stuff it's an efficient time-filler. And it possesses a kind of warming sentimentality that never quite overdoes it in the same way a Disney film would.