Blinky Bill: The Movie

Young kids will enjoy this computer-animated adventure yarn that is set largely in the Australian Outback and features a few familiar names in the vocal cast. The story concerns a koala family living in a forest sanctuary, who are headed up by an inveterate rescuer (Richard Roxburgh) of fellow animals. He also happens to be the father of young Blinky Bill (Ryan Kwanten), who is dazzled by his dad's courage and filled with despair after the latter fails to come home from a desert mission. Although his cautious mom (Deborah Mailman) forbids Blinky to go, he sets out anyway to find his father, leaving their sanctuary under the dictatorship care of the conniving Cranklepot (Barry Otto). In due course, Blinky Bill teams up with a girl koala (Robin McLeavy) who was accidentally released from a zoo, along with a wacky lizard (David Wenham), and the trio continue the mission while trying to survive the many dangers of the outback. The animation is solid—capturing the beautiful but hostile desert environment—and some of the action is edgy, although never frightening. As always, side characters bring extra entertainment, particularly a villainous cat (Rufus Sewell) and a pair of aging birds (both voiced by Toni Collette). Recommended. (T. Keogh)