FREEZE FRAMES

A weekly update of film releases

* ONCE UPON A FOREST - If the children of the 1990s grow up without a sense of ecological responsibility, it won't be the fault of Hollywood's animated-film business, which has made respect for nature a virtual crusade. The heroes of this feature-length cartoon are young "furlings," or animal children, trekking through the woods in search of herbs that will cure a young badger who's been poisoned by fumes from a chemical truck. The film rarely gets past familiar gimmicks of the cartoon-adventure genre, and

the animation isn't very inspired. Most of the tale is reasonably engaging, though, and there's no quarreling with its message that people should tread lightly in the natural world. Charles Grosvenor directed the Hanna-Barbera production; some sequences may be too intense for the youngest children. (Rated G)

* WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT - The life, times, and career of singer Tina Turner, who achieved fame and fortune in the pop-music world at the cost of a painful and destructive relationship with Ike Turner, her husband and mentor. Brian Gibson directed this terrifically energetic and surprisingly thoughtful bio-pic. The film captures the physical and emotional violence of Ms. Turner's personal life without diminishing her dignity or losing sight of the social and cultural forces that kept her trapped in a terrible marriage. Angela Bassett gives a superbly versatile performance as the heroine, and Laurence Fishburne's portrayal of Ike Turner consolidates his status as one of the most expressive and intelligent actors in movies today. Also worth a cheer are the music numbers, which appear at just the right moments and make eloquent comments on the action surrounding them. Kate Lanier wrote the articulate screenplay, and Jamie Anderson did the vivid cinematography. (Rated R)

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