Tim Curry Played A Perfect Villain In A '90s Animated Movie That Still Holds Up Today

It's an understatement to call the late Tim Curry an icon. He was a hero to queer film and theater fans thanks to his defining turn in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," a master of camp to the gaming community for his incredible performances in "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3," a three-time Tony Award nominee, a cult favorite for films like "Clue" and "Congo," and on top of all that, one of the most accomplished voice actors of his generation. From Darth Sidious in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" to Nigel Thornberry of "The Wild Thornberrys," Curry's roster of animated parts was massive, including a credit for a '90s animated film that doesn't get enough love these days.

Directed by computer animation pioneer Bill Kroyer, "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" was released in 1992 to a relatively meager return at the box office. But if you were a kid in the '90s or early 2000s, there's a good chance you saw it on repeat thanks to the local library.

Starring alongside Samantha Mathis, Jonathan Ward, Christian Slater, and Robin Williams (in his first animated film role, prior to "Aladdin"), Curry voiced the supernatural villain of the film, Hexxus — an evil force of destruction that returns to the magical rainforest of Ferngully when humans invade and begin demolishing the forest. Needless to say, it's a film that's message holds up 34 years later.

The premise of Ferngully is as explicit as it gets. The fairies of the eponymous rainforest live in harmony with nature, until industrial logging resurrects the literal spirit of destruction, with Tim Curry delivering his usual "up to eleven" level of delicious sneer and slime as Hexxus. It was a kids' movie from a small studio built around a strong central message, which was enough to make it an underdog, but additional hurdles came from Disney leading up to the film's release.

Part of the conflict came from Robin Williams' casting, as then-Disney Studios head Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly didn't like the idea of the famed comedian appearing in another film so close to his upcoming debut as Genie — something you likely didn't know about Disney's "Aladdin." As "Ferngully" producer Wayne Young told Vanity Fair in 2017, "Katzenberg did not want him voicing two animated characters in two animated movies at the same time, and tried to force Robin not to do it. Robin was steaming, like, 'It's my voice! You can't stop me.'" What Disney could do, according to Young and Kroyer, was outbid the smaller competitor on studio space in an alleged effort to screw with the production.

Despite the odds, "Ferngully" became a cult hit. It's one of Tim Curry's best roles, and a lingering remnant of an era when smaller animated features were determined to punch above their weight.