Netflix on weekends has become a family affair for most of us. It is one of those few times when a family sits back and relaxes without any quarrels. So, a movie like Back to the Outback is perfect for the weekends. The movie will join the already superb list of animated family films/series on Netflix like Vivo, Home, and Maya and the Three.

What is the animated movie about?

The trailer introduces Pretty Boy, a world-famous koala with an unsympathetic attitude. And a ragtag group of supposedly deadly creatures; who live in the zoo alongside him. But Pretty Boy gets caught up in an escape orchestrated by the animals. They flee into the outback, but unfortunately, park rangers trail them.

As the confused zoo animals journey across the outback, they meet a variety of strange and “threatening” creatures. And most of them work together to fend off their predators. In addition, the “scary animals” are incredibly cute.

The cast and crew behind Back to the Outback

The voice cast for this heartfelt animated film is stacked with talent. The movie stars comedian Tim Minchin, Eric Bana (Hulk 2013), Guy Pearce (Momento), Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding), Angus Imrie, musician Keith Urban, Aislinn Derbez, and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook).

Clare Knight and Harry Cripps direct the film. As an editor, Knight has worked on films such as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, for which she has received a nomination for an Annie Award. Cripps co-wrote the live-action drama Penguin Bloom and also penned the screenplay.

The report card of the movie

Reviews are the most reliable way to judge a movie, so let us look at the report card of the movie. Roger E. Bert says: “There’s a decent message in “Back to the Outback” about not buying into false impressions of an entire species and also in how the downtrodden band together—there’s even something called the Ugly Secret Society—but good intentions only go so far in family entertainment.”

Variety says: “It’s consistently busy enough to keep very young kids distracted, with a range of dance breaks, comic exchanges and pop-scored montages thrown in to break up the slightly monotonous chase narrative and sweet but obvious inner-beauty messaging.”

Will you add Back to the Outback to your watch list? Let us know in the comment section.