Back to the Outback

Back to the Outback follows a group of Australia's most dangerous animals, who live in a zoo reptile house where visitors stare at them as if they were monsters. Led by Maddie, a venomous snake, the creatures decide to break out and head for the Outback, hoping to find a place where they will not be judged for their scales and fangs. Her companions include Zoe, a thorny devil; Frank, a hairy spider; and Nigel, a scorpion. Their plans are complicated when Pretty Boy, a koala they cannot stand, joins the escape uninvited. The zookeeper Chaz sets out after them, and the journey becomes a comedic road trip across Australia.

The film is an Australian and American animated adventure directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, with Cripps also writing the screenplay. It is the first animated feature in Knight's directing credits, following her work as an editor on several animated productions. The voice cast includes Isla Fisher as Maddie, Tim Minchin as Pretty Boy, Eric Bana as Chaz, Guy Pearce as Frank, Miranda Tapsell as Zoe and Angus Imrie as Nigel, with 27 credited cast members and 40 credited crew members.

Released on Netflix in December 2021, the film runs 92 minutes. On IMDb it holds a 6.5 rating from around 12,000 votes, while on TMDB it has a 7.6 from about 805 votes, suggesting a warmer response from that audience. A critics' rating of 6.1 from 16 reviews places it below the TMDB audience score but close to the IMDb figure.