Back to the Outback

Back to the Outback is a 2021 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. The voice cast includes Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Keith Urban, and Jacki Weaver. Produced by Weed Road Pictures, Reel FX Creative Studios, Netflix Animation, and distributed by Netflix. The film had a limited theatrical release on December 3, 2021, prior to streaming on Netflix on December 10, to a generally positive reception from critics and audiences. Plot At the Australian Wildlife Park in Sydney, zookeeper Chaz Hunt has a show that demonstrates scary and deadly animals. Maddie, a inland taipan, appears regularly at the show but is feared by the public. Maddie is supported by Jackie, a motherly saltwater crocodile, who tells her and her three best friends —Frank, a funnel-web spider, Zoe, a thorny devil, and Nigel, a marbled scorpion— about the Outback, a place recognizable with three mountains where creatures like them belong. One day, Jackie is removed from the zoo after she tries to save Chaz's son, Chazzie, from a moat; the staff and patrons believed she was trying to eat him. Saddened and in despair, Maddie decides to escape to the Outback with her companions to find a place where they can live happily. During their escape, Pretty Boy, a celebrity koala, tries to alert the park's security but is paralyzed by Nigel. The group decides to take him with them, but not before he is caught on a security camera exhibiting mouth foam from his paralyzing. While crossing Sydney Harbour, they run into Jacinta, a great white shark, who is part of the Ugly Secret Society (USS) where animals considered "monsters" help each other upon hearing a password("I'm ugly, you're ugly, we should all be this ugly, ugly is the new beautiful"). When they reach Circular Quay, Pretty Boy tries to get the attention of the city for rescue but finds that the world misbelieves he is dead from rabies after seeing the footage and his popularity has been taken by a quokka, convincing him to tag along with them on the journey.