IndieWire — December 29, 2021
‘Back to the Outback’: The Netflix Animated Feature Embraces the Beauty of Our Differences

A band of misfits come together to find a home where they’ll be accepted in Netflix’s latest CG-animated adventure, “Back to the Outback.” Except the lovable outcasts here happen to be among the world’s deadliest creatures, all of whom — along with a cute but completely obnoxious koala bear (voiced by Broadway’s Tim Minchin) — escape from a Sydney zoo to find a home in the Australian Outback, where they’ll be loved for who they are and not feared for what they look like.

First-time feature directors Clare Knight and Harry Cripps previously worked together on “Larrikins,” the Outback-themed feature from DreamWorks Animation that was scuttled in the wake of the studio’s acquisition by NBCUniversal in 2016. Cripps was set to co-direct the film alongside “Puss in Boots” director Chris Miller, while Knight, a DWA veteran who had worked on the “Kung Fu Panda” trilogy, was to serve as editor.

“’Larrikins’ had focused on the cute animals, and so I didn’t want to go back down that same road,” Cripps said. “I went to the dark side.” (Read full story…)