Voices of Barbara Frawley, Joan Bruce, Spike Milligan, and June Salter
Directed by Yoram Gross
Music by Bob Young; Lyrics by John Palmer and Marion Von Adlerstein
We head down under for one of my favorite childhood movies. This and several of its many sequels ran constantly on The Disney Channel in the 1980's and early 90's; we may even have taped it. My sisters and I loved the story of how a Kangaroo helped a little girl lost in the Australian outback and the various native animals she meets on the way. Is it just as much fun today? Let's begin with Dot (Frawley), an animated child in the very real Australian bush land, and find out...
The Story: Dot (Frawley) wanders away from home after a kangaroo rat, falls down a hill, and loses her way. She's found by a kindly mother kangaroo (Bruce), who lost her own joey when she left him alone while escaping hunters. The kangaroo takes Dot across the outback, first in search of water, then to ask the various native animals they meet the way home. On the way, Dot learns about the animals of the Australian outback, as well as the Aborigines who also lived in the area.
The Animation: Fairly simple, but that's its charm. I do wish the characters were better-integrated into the real-life background. The background barely moves at all, not even a ripple. Even the animals swimming and drinking water don't look like they're really doing those things. On the other hand, the characters move fairly well with each other, especially towards the end, when the dingoes attack Dot and the kangaroo.
The Song and Dance: Along with the catchy music, what makes this one is the relationship between Dot and her kangaroo friend. It's sweet and endearing to see the lengths the kangaroo will go to keep Dot safe. Some of the characters they meet on their journey are pretty funny, too. Milligan and Salter are especially funny as the platypus pair who are said to know everything and don't take kindly to those who get their unique species mixed up with lesser creatures. And the ending when Dot actually does get home is absolutely heartbreaking.
Favorite Number: The one I always remembered is Dot's song as she "Rides In the Porch of a Red Kangaroo." The cheerful melody is as bouncy as the kangaroo herself, and so catchy it's heard twice. "Lullaby (Sleep Little One Sleep)" opens the film as a dreamy melody over the credits. "One Day When I Was Walking" is Dot's explanation of how she got lost. "The Platypus," "All We Ever Do Is Quack," and "What Fun It Is to Be a Frog" are the animals telling Dot what they are and why they enjoy being what they are.
The terns opt for showing instead of telling in a non-vocal ballet sequence with some of the film's best animation, including Dot flying. "Beware of the Bunyip" is the kangaroo's song in the cave as she explains what happens to the Aborigines who once inhabited the area and how they encountered one of the great monsters of the Australian outback. "Willie Wagtail," Willie's song of joy when Dot and the kangaroo find him, is also quite catchy.
What I Don't Like: First of all, there's that bittersweet ending. In the original Australian children's book, the kangaroo sticks around the area, becomes friends with Dot's parents, and she does find her joey. Here, they abandon the kangaroo's search for the joey pretty quickly. I don't think she found it until the sequels. The animation is obviously cheap, and as mentioned, not well-integrated with the live-action backgrounds. The backgrounds, while lovely, barely move or do much of anything besides sit there. Some of the animals' numbers, notably the terns' ballet and the frog song, are really extraneous and seem to slow the film down more than anything.
The Big Finale: Despite the cheap animation, it's charming enough to be well-worth checking out for elementary-school-age animal lovers or those who remember those cable showings in the 80's.
Home Media: Easily available on DVD and streaming. Due to its unknown copyright situation, it's free on several sites.
This ran for a long time on Nickelodeon, too, in the 1980s. I remember ads for it when I used to watch LASSIE.
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