Blinky Bill: The Movie

This review may contain spoilers!

Quite a cute simple Australian animated film. I would give Blinky Bill: The Movie a 6.5/10.

The animation for this film is pretty good; the figures and objects look nice but what really stands out is the landscapes that are crafted in this film. It's actually quite an accomplishment how they paint Australian landscapes in such a rich colour palette. I also thought that the score for the film was perfectly in time with moments of tension or action in this film; it didn't try to be anything unique but rather worked hard at creating a score that really benefitted the film. The story was grounded in a very light-hearted plot that you empathised with and could get enjoyment out of.

Ryan Kwanten, who voiced Blinky Bill; was a great protagonist; you could hear the enthusiasm and drive from this role. Rufus Sewell, who voiced The Cat, was a really great antagonist; his voicework was exceptional and made me think of classic villains like Scar from the Lion King. Barry Humphries, who voiced Wombo, was a really entertaining character; his crazy nature and unpredictable antics really refreshed the film at a good point. Barry Otto, who voiced Mayor Cranklepot, was another fantastic antagonist figure; if anything his despicable reptile role stole the show in a few scenes.

However the best performance came from Robin McLeavy, who voiced Nutsy. What I really liked about this role and performance is that she was so separate from the protagonist, she was indignant and argued back and had a completely equal footing with Blinky from the get go. We see this character evolve from a koala that's used to living in a zoo to a koala that's learned to manage in the wild. I also think a lot has to be said for McLeavy's delivery of the bushfire story which was one of the most powerful scenes of the film.

If I have any gripes about this story it was that it was too simple; there is a big difference between an animated film and a children's film. What I mean by that is that an animated film can discuss important issues with very well developed characters and cater to both children and adults. A children's film uses basic humour and simple plot and characters to cater to one audience; such as Minions or Penguins of Madagascar. This film felt like a children's film, a really good children's film, but a film that didn't go to any lengths to craft a clever story. There was a lot of unnecessary subplot or characters that dragged the film on and meant that the feature had pacing issues.

Toni Collette, who voiced Beryl and Cheryl, was a really annoying voice performance; there was an attempt with this character to create some mature humour that flopped in a spectacular way. David Wenham, who voiced Jacko, was a really unnecessary main character in this film; in fact this character created a lot of unnecessary scenes, backstory and comedy that did nothing but bring the film down. Richard Roxburgh, who voiced Bill Koala, sounded like he was reading lines as opposed to voicing a character; everything from him was poorly delivered. Deborah Mailman, who voiced Blinky's Mum, was another irritating role with a bad voice actor; her delivery felt very monotone and you didn't care much about this role.