A Journey Through Fairyland (a.k.a. Yousei Furorensu or Fairy Florence 妖精フローレンス) is a 90-minute 1985 South Korean/Japanese/American animated film by Sanrio (also known for the film Ringing Bell).
The story follows a teen or college-aged boy named Michael, who lives at a music institute where he plays the oboe in the school band. However, his greatest love is tending to the flowers in the greenhouse at the school, causing him to neglect his music practice and constantly arrive late and mess up in class.One afternoon, Michael finds a begonia, barely alive and in a broken pot, and takes it to the greenhouse. The following night, after nursing it back to health, Michael is greeted by a tiny fairy named Florence, who explains she has come to thank him for his care of all the plants and flowers. Since dawn is breaking however, she must go for now, but promises to come back.The next morning, Michael is late again, and while trying his best to sneak in unnoticed, interrupts the rehearsal by knocking over a bunch of instruments and making a mess.The professor is fed up and expels Michael from the school.That night, as Michael says goodbye to his beloved flowers in the greenhouse, Florence calls to him, revealing a special wand that will allow him to travel to her home, Flower Land. A musical, sometimes strange, and vivid journey begins.
This movie includes the following tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: Florence loses her means to go back to Flower Land and can't survive in the human world, so she dissolves into morning dew. But Michael heeds her Last Request, convinces his music professor to give him a second chance and becomes a great musician.
- Company Cross References: Since this was made by Sanrio Animation, midway through the movie popular Sanrio Characters (mainly Hello Kitty, My Melody, the Little Twin Stars, and Tuxedo Sam) show up near the end of the movie.
- The Cameo: Hello Kitty, My Melody, the Little Twin Stars, and Tuxedo Sam are among the Sanrio characters to make an appearance in one scene. Hello Kitty even gets rid of insects by blowing bubbles that trap them in pairs and then pop.
- Flight: The fairies do not have wings and instead just float around to fly.
- Ironic Allergy: Despite having a Green Thumb and loves taking care of plants and flowers, Michael is allergic to them. His sneezes as a result of working in the nearby greenhouse are one of the things that cause problems during his music classes.
- "I Am" Song: "My Name is Florence" essentially the only song that is not a classical tune in this film.
- Our Fairies Are Different: Florence and her fairy pals in Flower Land are your stereotypical pretty, sweet-natured little people. Interestingly, they do not have wings and instead just float around like ghosts.
