"Back to the Outback" Early Review

 

Netflix's newest foray into animated feature territory, Back to the Outback is essentially the Australian version of early 2000s movies The Wild and Madagascar. Both of those flicks featured zoo animals who find themselves in their natural habitat, finding it difficult to adjust. 

Not much besides location changes in Outback, but the stars -- Maddie, the taipan; Nigel, the scorpion; Frank, a funnel web spider; and Zoe, a thorny devil -- are all among the most deadly creatures native to Australia. They're also considered to be among the ugliest animals in the world. While the others follow Maddie's lead, after her heartbreaking realization that they aren't particularly loved by the humans who come to see them, and make their way to the infamous vast, sparsely populated region "down under" in order to live amongst their own kind. The only critter in the bunch who didn't volunteer to make the trek, a cute but pampered koala named Pretty Boy, constantly clashes with the rest of the group, especially Maddie.

It's tempting to think that if you've seen one of these movies, you've seen 'em all but this one lacks the considerable comedic talents of Chris Rock, King Julien and the penguin quartet from Madagascar. Another huge distinction between Outback and its predecessors is that the former, owing to its setting and cinematic heritage, morphs into an animated Mad Max adventure near the end. But the love/hate relationship between Pretty Boy and Maddie is really the only entertaining thing about Outback. One of the most bone-headed decisions here is the fact that native Aussie Eric Bana is cast as a Floridian who's only masquerading as an Australian. Unsurprisingly, his Tampa accent is completely unconvincing. Bana's portrayed American characters before but when your performance is entirely vocal, little things like accents become impossible to ignore. Skip this and watch Madagascar instead.

Available for streaming on Netflix on December 10.

The funniest part of the movie is the following heated exchange:

Pretty Boy: "You koala-napped me you psycho worm!"

Maddie: "You snitched on us you dirty little bear!"