Blinky Bill – Film Review by Emily Elphinstone

Directors: Deane Taylor, Noel Cleary
Writer: Fin Edquist
Stars: Robin McLeavy, Toni Collette, Rufus Sewell

The tricky world of animated feature films is a competitive place at the best of times, but becomes even more cutthroat during the summer holidays, as parents struggle to find entertainment for their children, particularly while battling with variable weather conditions. So it is unfortunate that Australian animation Blinky Bill: The Movie will be compared unfavourably against big-studio competition like Finding Dory, The BFG, and Pete’s Dragon.

Based on a series of books written by Dorothy Wall in the 1930s, Blinky Bill tells the story of a young Koala, and his quest to find adventurous father Old Bill, who has been missing from the idyllic town of Green Patch for over a year. In one of the few topical references of the film, Green Patch is now ruled by the tyrannical goanna Mayor Cranklepot; who threatens to build a wall around the town to keep out outsiders. Venturing toward the fabled Sea of White Dragons, Blinky encounters a number of thrilling characters including zoo-koala Nutsy (Robin McLeavy) whom he mistakenly ‘frees’ against her wishes, tracker lizard Jacko (David Wenham), talkative emus Beryl and Cheryl (Toni Collete) and evil cat Sir Claude (Rufus Sewell.)

The traditional charm of the film is also its weakness: its story has old-fashioned wholesomeness, but becomes too predictable. It also seems unfortunate that this latest outing for Blinky Bill (which also had adaptations in the 1980s and 90s) still presents all its female characters as homemakers, chatterboxes, and stereotypical girls who hate dirt and lust after manicures; while the boys are adventurers and leaders.

This is a film certainly targeted at younger children, rather than playing up to its adult audiences; so the reference to ‘A reptile dysfunction’ seems at odds with the otherwise wholesome mood. In the cutting edge world of computer animation, the graphics seem dated compared to the hyper-realistic style used by big studios like Pixar, which gives Blinky Bill the unfortunate feel of an extended episode of a television show. This leads to a dragging pace, which seems much longer than the film’s 90 minutes. Ultimately, it may have its charm, with entertaining characters voiced by an all-star cast; but Blinky Bill’s pace is just too slow to keep the audience fully engaged, and with such a variety of other options in the cinemas, it’s best to look elsewhere.