Back to the Outback

Australian animated filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Australian animated film

***Back to the Outback*** is a 2021 Australian computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, in both their directorial debuts, from a screenplay written by Cripps, and a story by Gregory Lessans and Cripps. An international co-production between Australia and the United States, the voice cast includes Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Keith Urban, and Jacki Weaver. Produced by Reel FX Animation Studios, Weed Road Pictures and Netflix Animation, Akiva Goldsman also served as executive producer.

The film had a limited theatrical release on December 3, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on December 10, 2021 to a mostly positive reception from critics and audiences.

## Plot

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At the Australian Wildlife Park in Sydney, Zookeeper Chaz Hunt has a show that demonstrates 5 scary animals. Maddie, a venomous inland taipan, appears regularly at the show, but is greatly feared by the public, much to her dismay. She is supported by Jackie, a motherly saltwater crocodile, who tells her, and her three best friends, Frank, a lovelorn funnel-web spider, Zoe, a self-assured thorny devil, & Nigel, a sensitive marbled scorpion, about the Outback where she came from, a place recognizable with three mountains, and where creatures like them belong. One day, after an accident involving Jackie and Chazzie, the zookeeper’s son, Jackie is removed from the zoo. Saddened, Maddie remembers what Jackie told them about the Outback. She and Frank, Zoe, and Nigel, escape the park. During the escape, Pretty Boy, a cute and popular koala, who they're jealous of & find actually mean to them, tries to alert the park's security, but is paralyzed by Nigel. Reluctantly, they decide to take him with them.

While crossing Sydney Harbour, they run into Jacinta, a great white shark with barnacles in her teeth, who is part of the Ugly Secret Society (USS) where animals considered "monsters" help each other upon hearing a password. When they reach Circular Quay, Pretty Boy tries to get the attention of the city for rescue, but finds that the authorities believe he is rabid. As a result, he is feared just as much as Maddie is, so he reluctantly tags along with them in the sewage system. After receiving help from some redback spiders in getting around the sewers, Pretty Boy discovers that the world think's he's dead and his popularity has been taken by a Quokka. Chaz and Chazzie find them and attempt to tranquilize them, but they escape via an ice cream truck.

At a school in the outer suburbs, after Maddie frees two lovelorn cane toads, they get a ride on an excursion bus that takes them to the Blue Mountains. Chaz and Chazzie catch up and have the bus pulled over to search the vehicle for the escaped creatures, but a girl gives them an escape, almost relating to them around her classmates. Just after Pretty Boy goes on a tirade about how Maddie and the other "ugly creatures" ruined his life, Chaz ambushes them and almost sedates Maddie, but Pretty Boy, having a slight change of heart, says the USS password, alerting some Tasmanian Devils to their presence. After the animals escape, Chaz reveals to Chazzie that his adventurous and Aussie wildlife expert history was all a lie and he only moved from Florida to Australia after being inspired by television shows featuring Australian zookeepers. He decides to make it up to Chazzie by really going after the animals and bringing them back to the Wildlife Park, though Chazzie is no longer on sure about the mission.

Over the next few days, the animals are helped by many creatures of USS on their way to the Outback, while Pretty Boy bonds more with Maddie and the others. One night, Maddie sings a lullaby that's her only memory of her mother that she sang earlier; she was washed out of the nest as an egg by a flood and was found on the road by Chaz. Pretty Boy reveals that he was also orphaned. The next day, Pretty Boy finds a tree of koalas and leaves the other creatures (without saying goodbye). Eventually, Maddie and the others reach the three mountains, though they receive a light welcome from its inhabitants. Not long after they arrive, Chaz, with the help of some bikers from a pub, round up and capture Frank, Zoe, and Nigel. Chazzie runs into Maddie and is initially scared of her, but warms up to her upon seeing that she is just as scared as he is of her. Chaz captures Maddie as well and places the creatures in boxes in the back of the truck, but Chazzie sets Maddie free without his father looking. Maddie tries to get the animals of the land to help her rescue them, but they initially refuse. However, Pretty Boy, having not found life with the other koalas as great as he thought, returns to join her in a rescue. Using a fire truck, they catch up to the trucks and bikers and break them out. When the chase is taken to the canyon, the animals of the Outback, along with the animals of USS, help with the escape. Eventually, they reach a cliff. When Maddie, Pretty Boy, and the other creatures save Chazzie from falling over the edge from a teetering ladder, Chaz fully sees that these creatures as heroes rather than dangers and decides to let them return to the wild. Not too long after, Maddie molts, with Pretty Boy fully seeing the beauty he had all but ignored previously.

At the three mountains, they reunite with Jackie, who is revealed to have escaped and started USS. The film ends with the characters heading to the Outback, their new home.

## Cast

The cast includes:

* Isla Fisher as Maddie, a blue kind-hearted Inland taipan.
* Tim Minchin as Pretty Boy, a popular but irritable koala.
* Eric Bana as Chaz Hunt, a zookeeper who pursues the escaped animals.
* Guy Pearce as Frank, a purple lovelorn funnel-web spider.
* Miranda Tapsell as Zoe, a dark grey self-assured thorny devil
* Angus Imrie as Nigel, an Orange sensitive marbled scorpion.
* Keith Urban as Doug, a cane toad who lives in a school.
* Jacki Weaver as Jackie, a motherly saltwater crocodile.
* Diesel La Torraca as Chazzie Hunt, Chaz's adventure-seeking son.
* Kylie Minogue as Susan, a Razorback.
* Rachel House as Jacinta, a friendly great white shark with barnacles in her teeth.
* Celeste Barber as Skylar, a vapid and shallow koala.
* Wayne Knight as Phil, a platypus.
* Aislinn Derbez as Legs, a female redback spider.
* Lachlan Power as Dave, a tough Tasmanian devil.

## Production

Writer and director Harry Cripps had previously created the concept for the cancelled "Larrikins" film with DreamWorks Animation, which was also supposed to feature a score and music by Tim Minchin; the project was revived as a short film titled Bilby in 2018. In an interview with TheWrap, Cripps said that Larrikins had "focused on the cute animals, and so I didn’t want to go back down that same road, I went to the dark side.” Clare Knight said "A lot of executives would say to us, ‘A snake? Snakes aren’t huggable. Does your lead have to be a snake?’ And it was a challenge for us that we really wanted to make these animals appealing."

Initially, while Netflix was concerned about the "huggability of the animal cast", both Knight and Cripps said that working for the streaming giant’s animation unit was positively heavenly. “It’s been great. Again, we’re first-time directors, so Netflix is willing to give us a shot and give us a voice, so we really feel great. We would’ve felt if this was DreamWorks, we possibly would’ve been pigeonholed as writer and editor and not necessarily been given this chance. And the fact that we reached such a big, global audience with this great depiction of Australia I think, is a wonderful thing for us.”

## Soundtrack

1. "Hello World"Released: 3 December 2021
2. "Beautiful Ugly"Released: 10 December 2021

The film's score was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Executive producer Akiva Goldsman, as director, had previously worked with Rupert on *Winter's Tale*. Rupert had also previously composed the score for animated films such as *Over the Hedge*, *Bee Movie*, *Open Season: Scared Silly*, and *Abominable*.

The soundtrack features four original songs, including "Hello World" by Evie Irie and "Beautifully Ugly" by Tim Minchin and Irie.

All score tracks composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams.

### Notes

Several other songs were featured in the film but not included in the soundtrack album:

* "Zou Bisou Bisou" by Gillian Hills.
* "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton.
* "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish.
* "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels" by Todrick Hall
* "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" by Phil Collins.
* "Justified & Ancient" by The KLF.
* "Take a Long Line" by The Angels.
* "Sussudio" by Phil Collins.

## Release

On November 30, 2020, Netflix announced that its animated film *Back to the Outback* would make its world debut in late 2021. In October 2021, it was revealed that the film is set for a December 10, 2021 release. It also had a limited theatrical release on December 3, prior to its streaming release on Netflix.

In the week following its worldwide release, the film reached Top 10 Lists on Netflix in 64 countries, including Australia and the United States.

### Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the has an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30/10. On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 , based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Brad Newsome of The Sydney Morning Herald said the "Gorgeous character design and some delightful voice performances elevate this uneven CGI romp in which a bunch of “ugly” Australian animals break out of a zoo and head for the outback." Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times was also positive, writing: "However generic this movie is in premise, there is wit to be found in its details, and warmth in its message."

Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian was more critical, saying "ho-hum animation won’t thrill viewers whose age exceeds their shoe size." He gave the film a 2 out of 5 rating.

## References

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1. ↑ Netflix's Animated Animal Adventure 'Back to the Outback' Will Star Isla Fisher, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce & More (December 1, 2020).
2. ↑ Netflix Lines Up Animated Movie 'Back To The Outback' With Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce & Keith Urban (November 30, 2020).
3. ↑ Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - Back to the Outback.
4. ↑ DreamWorks Ani Picks 'Matilda' Musical's Tim Minchin to Score 'Larrikins' (June 7, 2013).
5. ↑ EXCLUSIVE: Dreamworks Directors On How They Made 'Bilby,' And On The Studio's New Shorts Program (August 13, 2018).
6. ↑ 'Back to the Outback' Filmmakers on Making Snakes 'Huggable' in Their Netflix Animated Film (November 8, 2021).
7. ↑ 'Back to the Outback' Filmmakers on Making Snakes 'Huggable' in Their Netflix Animated Film (November 8, 2021).
8. ↑ Evie Irie’s Original Song "Hello World" from *Back to the Outback* Released (3 December 2021).
9. ↑ News: ICYMI - New single! "Beautiful Ugly" from the #BackToTheOutback soundtrack. (10 December 2021).
10. ↑ Back to the Outback soundtrack (December 11, 2021).
11. ↑ Back to the Outback soundtrack (December 11, 2021).
12. ↑ Eric Bana, Isla Fisher, Guy Pearce Voicing Netflix's Animated 'Back to the Outback' (November 30, 2020).
13. ↑ Netflix Heads Down Under with 'Back to the Outback' Movie in 2021 (November 30, 2020).
14. ↑ Grobar, Matt (October 14, 2021). 'Back To The Outback' Teaser, Premiere Date: Netflix's Starry Animated Pic Sees Deadly Creatures Break Out Of Australian Zoo.
15. ↑ Rivera, Britt (November 30, 2021). Back To The Outback Clip Shows Hilarious Animal Escape [EXCLUSIVE].
16. ↑ Netflix Top 10 - Global.
17. ↑ Back to the Outback (2021). Fandango.
18. ↑ Back to the Outback (2021). CBS Interactive.
19. ↑ In Mayor of Kingstown incarceration is the biggest business in town (December 8, 2021).
20. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Winkelman, Natalia (December 9, 2021). "'Back to the Outback' Review". *The New York Times*. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
21. ↑ Back to the Outback review (December 2021).

## External links

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