The Special Magic of Herself the Elf

This was a well animated, good natured bit of early 80's fluff that received so many viewings between my sister and I that the tape eventually snapped. Long forgotten, this animated special never the less contains some great work from Jerry Orbach and stage veteran Ellen Greene heading a fine casting of voice actors. It's evident some hard work was put into this production; it more than holds up to most of what's being produced today in the slap/bang world of children's animation. If by some small miracle you run across a copy of this, by all means pick it up. The kids will love it and their parents -especially children of the 80's- can enjoy a blast of sweet nostalgia.

Here is another grand discovery that I came upon while searching online for something else. This one I came across as I was looking at a blog with one article devoted to '80s cartoons, listed in alphabetical order. Not among what I grew up on watching, so this was another one new to me. A week ago or over a week ago, I became interested enough to watch this on Youtube and I'm glad I did as I always do when I find a true classic. Doesn't disappoint, one of the best '80s cartoons have to offer. I really try to know how to pick them. I'm jealous that I wasn't among those who were aware of this at the time and I wish I had known about it sooner.

I haven't usually gone for the girly 'toons, but as of right now, this has been one of the exceptions and I'm grateful I chose to take a chance. It may be somewhat cutesy, but it's actually better than what it is presumed to be on first sight. As I read and learned more about it, the eponymous, main heroine, originated from a series of greetings cards and there were also some read-along, audio books as well. As some may know, when a cartoon is based on some form of merchandise, they may or may not work out well. In fact, the majority are usually or almost always nothing more than extended advertisements, promotions, or commercials. But not this, this isn't one of them, it's so much more than that. I guess it all depends on how it's handled and in this case, it's one of those things that did work out very well in the end after all.

In addition to Herself the Elf, there are four, other, female elves and they each represent a different part of nature: Meadow Morn (who is responsible for the fauna), Willow Song (who is responsible for music), Snow Drop (who is responsible for the weather, especially rain), and Wood Pink (who is responsible for colors). They are the protectors of the environment and especially their home, which is the forest, and they do anything they can to keep whatever threats that may be to destroy it at bay. The antagonists, Thorn (a wizardly elf), Creeping Ivy (his daughter with vegetative powers) , and Vendetta (Thorn's pet vulture), plan to vanquish all that is wholesome in the world. They capture Herself, steal her wand, and keep her captive for a year. The stolen wand won't work again for a year and a day. After that, the other elves come to her aid, but before that, they meet a male wood sprite named Wilfie, who narrates and accompanies them on their quest. How will they be able to free Herself and restore nature from darkness to brightness?

This is a fantastic animated fantasy movie that has since been added to my favorites list. Everything about it is how a quality work should be. The heroines and hero are lovable whereas the villains are who one would love to hate, the art and animation are well-done and couldn't be any more fluid, the story is written without any problems in it, the voice acting is strong, the music is composed and performed well (with the theme sung by Judy Collins and the villains' song being great as well). Everything about it just falls into the right place. Unfortunately, this was never expanded into a T.V. series, which is another one of those greats that should've been. I would've liked to see other adventures to be had. I read elsewhere a T.V. series never came to be due to it being in the vein of the '80s Strawberry Shortcake specials. Dern that, Strawberry Shortcake has a pastry theme, this doesn't, so how are they in the same vein? So much more could've been explored. Examples for a couple ideas I have are how the five elves were appointed to be guardians as well as the relationship between the elves and the wood sprites. I was surprised to learn a reboot was attempted a few years back despite the '80s Herself the Elf franchise getting only one special, that was unexpected. This seems to be one of the truly overlooked and underrated greats from the '80s or otherwise. Whether it's a Canadian or partly Canadian cartoon, this is one of my favorites made by that country. A paragon of how more animation of recent years ought to be. Like others of their caliber, this deserved so much more that what it got. This shouldn't be so obscure nor forgotten, because it's a spellbinding or enchanting experience. Please don't skip it, recommended.