Director: Harry Cripps & Clare Knight Writer(s): Harry Cripps & Gregory Lessans Genre: Animated, Comedy, Adventure Filming: Budget: Box Office: Runtime: 95 minutes Rating: |
Tired of being locked in a reptile house where humans gawk at them like they’re monsters, a ragtag group of Australia’s deadliest creatures plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback, a place where they’ll fit in without being judged for their scales and fangs. Leading the group is Maddie (Isla Fisher), a poisonous snake with a heart of gold, who bands together with a self-assured Thorny Devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a lovelorn hairy spider Frank (Guy Pearce), and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie). But when their nemesis — Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala — unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no choice but to take him with them. So begins a hair-raising and hilarious road trip across Australia, as they are pursued by a zookeeper Chaz (Eric Bana) and his adventure-seeking mini-me (Diesel Cash La Torraca). Directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, and also featuring the voices of Rachel House, Keith Urban, Celeste Barber, Wayne Knight, Lachlan Ross Power, and Jacki Weaver, BACK TO THE OUTBACK is an animated adventure that proves just because something’s different, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful.
Tim Minchin … as Pretty Boy (a koala)
Eric Bana … as Chaz (a zoo-keeper)
Guy Pearce … as Frank (a funnel-web spider)
Miranda Tapsell … as Zoe (a thorny devil)
Angus Imrie … as Nigel (a scorpion)
Keith Urban … as Doug (a cane toad)
Jacki Weaver … as Jackie (a saltwater crocodile)
Diesel La Torraca … as Chazzy (Chaz’s son)
Kylie Minogue … as Susan (a bushpig)
Rachel House … as Jacinta (a great white shark)
Celeste Barber … as Kayla (a koala)
Wayne Knight … as Phil (a platypus)
Aislinn Derbez … as Legs (aredback spider)
Lachlan Ross Power … as Dave (a Tasmanian devil)
Released in select US cinemas on December 3rd 2021, and then worldwide on Netflix on December 10th 2021
Photos: Gallery at Isla Fisher Web
Videos: Videos at Isla Fisher Web
• Isla said she signed on to the film because she was “homesick” for Australia when she was offered the role.
• Isla says she loves the themes of the movie – ‘that your family is who you journey with not just who you’re born with’, ‘just because you’re different doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful, ‘not to judge a book by its cover and to put aside your differences’, and that ‘home is where the heart is’.
• Isla says it is easier to watch her animated films because she doesn’t have to look at her own face!
• Isla sings in this movie! She said it was “terrifying” and she begged the directors to get someone else to sing, but eventually agreed to do it. Isla added that “some members of the family that will remain unnamed laughed very hard at my rehearsal process”! She said that once she heard the final version in the film she thought it sounded “fine”.
• Isla said her favourite scene in the one where Pretty Boy and Maddie “develop empathy for each other”.
• Isla said that she developed Maddie’s voice to reflect her journey through the film – she gave her voice “more depth and power” as the story went on as Maddie became more confident in who she is.
• Isla said that she related to Maddie in that they were both aware of their differences and learnt to come to terms with them – Isla said that when she was an adolescent she stood out with her red hair and English accent in Australia, but learnt to recognise that its what makes her different.
• Isla said she researched the movements and lifestyles of Taipai snakes as well as the other creatures who make up the main characters.
– Isla Fisher: “”
– Claire Knight (co-director): “I have always been touched by stories of hidden beauty. Maddie is both uniquely beauty and beast, and to get to present that message in comedy is the icing on the cake.”
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• Isla Fisher Web‘s Press page (related: 2021 interviews)
• Isla Fisher Web‘s 2021 Appearances Gallery
• Isla Fisher Web‘s 20 Magazine Scans Gallery
• Isla Fisher Web‘s 20 video interviews (coming soon)
• News & Updates for Back To The Outback at Isla Fisher Web
• Netflix