Great news for kids in the US! Now, Australia's favorite childhood friend, Blinky Bill, has come to the U.S. This movie is such fun. I can' wait to introduce it to my young friends. This much-loved children's cartoon character was created by author / illustrator Dorothy Wall and first published in 1933. Many adventures were created in book form and TV cartoons, making Blinky Bill a staple in Australian homes for the past 80 years. Blinky Billis a mischievous, yet endearing, koala who lives in Green Patch with his loving mother and adventurous father. His father takes off to explore the Sea of White Dragons and is gone for over a year. Young Blinky Bill sneaks off to find him, meeting friends and antagonists along the way.
Blinky Bill the Movie gives us everything that kids want from an animation film - heartwarming friendship, adventures, bravery and silly humor. The writing is brilliantly written for kids and for adults, who happen to watch. The dialogue is clearly written with a wink and chuckle and many jokes go unnoticed by younger viewers, but are entertaining for adults. My favorite scene is two female Emus giving each other dating advice repeating, "I'm swerving it!" as they saunter about. The quick pace of dialogue, the Australian accents and adult aimed jokes left me smiling and wondering at times, "Did I just hear that right?”
I love the Australian cultural references throughout the movie. Regional expressions such as, "Blinky's gone bush!” and "Hang on a bilby's whisker!" sent me running to the internet to look up what was being referenced. Seeing the Australian terrain and the indigenous animals that we don’t have in the U.S. provides a fun educational lesson. I rate this film 5 out of 5 stars. This film would be welcome entertainment and perfect for kids ages 3 to 13. As Blinky Bill’s father would say, "Grab your gumnuts" and go enjoy Blinky Bill the Movie! It is playing in select theaters now and is available on DVD on October 11, 2016. reviewed by Ruth A., KIDS FIRST!
KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Morgan B. comments, “This is actually a pretty cool film. I love the animation because it is so crisp and clear and detailed. I like that it’s so simple and colorful but yet has quite a lot of detail. It makes it seem like it’s real.” Linda D adds, “I love this film and think that any young child will absolutely love it too. It is an amazing film to watch as a family, filled with adventure, friendship and an unforgettable journey ona young koala’s quest to find his dad.” See their full reviews below.
Blinky Bill the Movie
By Morgan B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
I love this film. It was very fun to watch. I like that the adventures are comical and it’s
based on an Australian cartoon. It’s a movie based on koalas which I’m very happy
about because they haven’t done that in a long time. Plus, it takes place in Australia so it
has a few Australian words which are actually quite funny. And, of course, they have
Australian accents which I like too
It has quite a cast including Ryan Kwanten as Blinky Bill, an adventurous koala who decides to go look for his dad who has gone to the sea of white dragons to look after him mum and has been gone for almost a year. So, Blinky’s worried about him and decides to go on an epic quest. On his way he meets Nutsy (Robin McLeavy) who is my favorite character. She is very silly and ditzy. Not only that but she’s kinda like a zoo koala, aka a city girl. I think she’s trying to find her inner wild side. She is very funny because she has some quite snotty remarks as well as she pretends that she doesn’t like Blinky Bill most of the time. You can tell that her character is dead. Then there is David Wenham who plays Jacko. Nutsy and Blinky Bill try to find him and they help him out when he gets stuck in a couple of situations. Let’s just say he’s very silly and I like the way that his character is so uppity. He’s very comical and a little crazy. But, that just adds to the excitement.
Then there’s the evil Cat played by Rufus Sewell. He’s actually trailing behind Blinky and everyone else just because he doesn’t like koalas. He doesn’t like them because something happened in his past. This is actually a pretty cool film. I love the animation because it is so crisp and clear and detailed. I like that it’s so simple and colorful but yet has quite a lot of detail. It makes it seem like it’s real. My favorite scene is probably Nutsy decides to finally go to her zoo home, which she’s been trying to do the entire time, but decides to go with Blinky Bill instead and go with his family as well as Jacko. It was very sweet and a very humble moment as well. And, it’s very silly, all because she decided to get over heights. It is actually very funny and the way the two of them bond is very adorable .
I recommend this film for ages 5 to 12. Kids will love the story, the animation and the adventure. Older adults will probably like it too because it is very funny and silly. I give this 5 out of 5 wild outback koala stars.
Blinky Bill
By Linda D., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 12
I love this film and think that any young child will absolutely love it too. It is an amazing film to watch as a family, filled with adventure, friendship and an unforgettable journey on a young koala’s quest to find his dad.
Blinky Bill is an animated film about a young koala, Blinky Bill (Ryan Kwanten) who seeks adventure and goes out to find his father Mr. Bill (Richard Roxburgh) who has been missing for a year. He leaves without telling his mother Mrs. Bill (Deborah Mailman) but informs his friends about his trek into the Australian Outback. Leaving his home in the refuge of Greeanpatch, Blinky heads into civilization where he begins his adventure of dodging a cat (Rufus Sewell) who is intent on getting his revenge on Blinky. He encounters Nutsy (Robin McLeavy), a young female koala who is on her way to her new zoo when Blinky accidently runs into her and Jacko, a nervous frill-necked lizard. With his new friends, Blinky embarks on an adventure to save his dad.
The greatest feature of this film is how the animals appear, because the animals look cute and realistic at the same time. My favorite character is Nutsy, because she is strong and knows what she wants and, although all she knew was Zoo life after being orphaned, she is able to be open to new adventures with Blinky.
My favorite part of this film is when Blinky throws fruit at the new ruler of the town, Mayor Cranklepot (Barry Otto)a lizard and gets him all dirty This is my favorite because everyone is laughing and that scene left me smiling. The moral of this story is that if you believe in something, go for it. If Blinky didn’t go after his father he would never have been able to go on his amazing adventure and meet his new friends.
I give this film 4 out of 5 stars because of its appealing story line that packs a lot of fun into the film. I recommend this film for ages 4 to 6 since older children may get bored of the child-like situations, but adults might like to watch it with their younger children as a family. Blinky Bill is playing in theaters now and will be available on DVD on October 18, 2016.