# The Tales from Sanctuary City

The Tales from Sanctuary City is a media franchise created and managed by Australian children's production company Like a Photon Creative co-founders Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates. The franchise revolves around the anthropomorphic animals who reside in Sanctuary City, which was inspired by the fauna and landscape of Australia. As of 2025, the franchise consists of five overall feature films; a mobile app, titled Sanctuary World, was discontinued in 2020 shortly after its release.
The first three films were directed by Ricard Cussó, with the fourth by Cussó and Tania Vincent. The fifth film was written and directed by Tania Vincent making her the first woman in Australia to write and direct an animated feature. The first film was distributed by R & R Films, and the next two were distributed by Odin's Eye Entertainment; however, as of 2025, the company's films were distributed by Maslow Entertainment. The first film received generally negative reviews from critics, and the following three received mixed to positive reviews.

## Films

| Film | Release date (Australia) | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Story by | Producer(s) | Producer(s) |
| The Wishmas Tree | 27 February 2020 | Ricard Cussó | Peter Ivan & Ryan Greaves | Peter Ivan | Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis |
| Combat Wombat | 15 October 2020 | Ricard Cussó | Matthew James Kinmonth | Matthew James Kinmonth | | Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis |
| Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal | 4 February 2021 | Ricard Cussó | Ryan Greaves | Ryan Greaves | | Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis |
| Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back | 29 February 2024 | Ricard Cussó and Tania Vincent | Dominic Morris | Dominic Morris | | Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis |
| The Sloth Lane | 25 July 2024 | Tania Vincent | Tania Vincent, Ryan Greaves | Tania Vincent, Ryan Greaves | Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves, and Kristen Souvlis |
| The Lost Tiger | 27 February 2025 | Chantelle Murray | Chantelle Murray and Philip Denson | Chantelle Murray and Philip Denson | | Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves, and Kristen Souvlis |
Like a Photon Creative launched the franchise with feature films, starting with The Wishmas Tree in 2020. They were backed and funded by Screen Queensland and Screen Australia.

### The Wishmas Tree (2020)

A young possum's misguided wish for a white Wishmas unintentionally freezes her entire hometown of Sanctuary City and threatens the lives of all who live there. Before the magical Wishmas Tree dies, she must undertake a journey into The Wild in order to reverse the damage she caused and save the city.
Pre-production started in September 2018 and animation in January 2019. It had its world premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 5 October 2019, and was released in Australian theatres on 27 February 2020.

### Combat Wombat (2020)

Lazy wombat Maggie Diggins becomes Combat Wombat, Sanctuary City's new superhero after she begrudgingly saves a citizen from falling to his death, but her rising stardom displeases local superhero Flightless Feather, who hatches a plan for Maggie's demise. Maggie uncovers a conspiracy that could put the city in grave danger, and it is up to her to expose it.
Combat Wombat was released in Australian theatres on 15 October 2020. It had a limited release to 42 screens.

### Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)

The unbearably adorable, eternally optimistic Quokka named Daisy has an impossible dream – to win the World's Scariest Animal competition of Sanctuary City.
The film had its world premiere at the Children's International Film Festival (CHIFF) in Australia on 28 November 2020, and opened in theatres with a limited release in Australia on 4 February 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinemas. The film received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics.

### Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)

A sequel to the 2020 original, titled Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back, was released in Australian theatres on 29 February 2024.

### The Sloth Lane (2024)

The film had its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France on 10 June 2024, and opened in theatres in Australia on 25 July.

## Reception
### Box office performance

| Film | Release date (Australia) | Box office gross |
| The Wishmas Tree | 27 February 2020 | $1,793,562 |
| Combat Wombat | 15 October 2020 | $612,666 |
| Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal | 4 February 2021 | $384,753 |
| Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back | 29 February 2024 | $850,330 |
| The Sloth Lane | 25 July 2024 | $349,698 |

### Critical reception

| Film | Rotten Tomatoes |
| The Wishmas Tree | 50% (6 reviews) |