Bill Koala (Richard Roxburgh) founded the village of Green Patch, Australia as a sanctuary for all creatures. He lives there with son Blinky Bill (Ryan Kwanten) and wife Betty (Deborah Mailman), and often goes on short adventures to the Great Desert to rescue creatures and bring them back to the town. One day Bill Koala says goodbye to his wife and son, and heads off to find the Sea of White Dragons, promising to return soon. However, a year passes and there is still no sign of him. The evil goanna, Mayor Wilberforce Cranklepot, tells Blinky his father is likely dead and that he is taking over the town. He plans to build a wall to block out any new creatures from entering Green Patch, which he will rename Goannasburg. However, Blinky is an adventurer at heart, and believes his father is still alive. So he arranges for his friends—kangaroo Splodge, lyrebird Robert and mouse Marcia—to help cover for him as he sneaks away to the Outback in search of his dad.

Blinky has never been to the outside human world before, and everything is strange and new to him. He first comes to a gas station where British Shorthair cat Sir Claude (Rufus Sewell) instantly takes a disliking to him, and makes it his mission to hunt down and kill the koala, but Blinky is blissfully unaware that he is being stalked. Blinky sees Nutsy (Robin McLeavy) trapped in a cage in a truck and decides to “save” her. However, Nutsy had been raised in the zoo and had grown accustomed to the spa-like treatment. She is furious that Blinky has separated her from her comfy zoo—she is not game for roughing it. Blinky agrees to help her get back to the zoo if she joins him on his quest to find his father, but Nutsy quickly realizes that Blinky has no idea what he’s doing.

Along their journey Blinky and Nutsy pick up a third traveling companion—the ever-nervous frill-neck lizard Jacko, who also seems to be a target of Sir Claude’s. As the trio tries to find their way to the Sea of White Dragons (and Blinky’s dad), the group encounters several other oddball characters, including crazy wombat Wombo (Barry Humphries)—a friend of Blinky’s father—and air-headed sister emus Beryl and Cheryl (Toni Collette). Can this mismatched trio find Blinky’s dad? Will Nutsy ever get back to her comfy zoo? And how will Betty react when she discovers her son is missing?!

While American audiences likely have never heard of Blinky Bill the Koala, he is extremely familiar to Australian audiences, and a huge part of that country’s pop culture. The first book featuring the character was published in 1933 and the series has never been out of print since. There have also been several Australian TV series and films in the the ’80s and ’90s based on these popular characters.

Blinky Bill: The Movie has a fun premise—an adventurous koala going off on his own for the first time to find his father, meeting some other wacky characters along the way. I really enjoyed the sparring relationship between Blinky and Nutsy and how their different personalities clash, but ultimately they end up enjoying one another’s company and learn something from one another. There is also a fun parallel story back in Green Patch as Robert hides in Blinky’s room, mimicking the koala’s voice to fool Blinky’s mother Betty, but the pressure of this ruse starts to get to Robert and the others. There are also some jokes in the film for the adults—like when lizard Jacko blames his poor tracking skills on a reptile dysfunction. I think kids will enjoy the film overall, especially the wackiness of Wombo and the emus, but younger viewers may find Sir Claude’s threats and actions a little frightening.

One of the downsides was that the film is based on a quintessentially-Australian franchise, and it definitely felt like it was primarily made for an Australian audience, without necessarily taking into full account the larger audience. The characters are constantly using all kinds of slang terms that will make no sense to American audiences. While some younger viewers may not care and just enjoy the fun accents, I found it a bit frustrating at times, like I was an outsider who was excluded from fully enjoying the film because I didn’t understand this foreign language. However, there was never a point where the language made the film difficult to follow.

The Blu-ray presentation of this movie is excellent. The animation is crisp, detailed, and full of vibrant colors, with beautiful backdrops, and characters that come to life on screen. The audio track makes good use of the surround and stereo channels to add ambiance and action to Blinky’s adventure. The discs also contain about 15 minutes of bonus material, including cast interviews and a music video for the film’s catchy theme song. The discs are housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case, along with the code for a digital download of the film, and there is a cardboard slipcover over the keepcase.

What’s Included:

Film: (TIME)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English

DVD:

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English

Digital Download (Redemption Deadline 10/11/2017)

• HD and/or SD Digital Download of the film provided via VHX

Extras:
Collection of short featurettes used to promote the film. These include interviews with stars Ryan Kwanten (“Blinky Bill”), Robin McLeacy (“Nutsy”), David Wenham (“Jacko”), Toni Collete (“Cheryl & Beryl”) and Barry Humphries (“Wombo”).

• Blinky Bill The Movie! (1:57)
  The stars recount their childhood memories of Blinky Bill.
• The Plot (1:05)
  The stars talk about the film’s premise.
• The Characters (1:54)
  The stars talk about the characters they play.
• The Evolution (2:21)
  The stars talk about recreating the iconic Australian cartoon character for a modern day audience.
• The Voice Actors (2:03)
  The stars talk about the process of voicing their characters.
• What’s Your Favorite Aussie Animal? (1:29)
  The stars name their favorite Australian animals.
• What’s Your Favorite Aussie Food? (1:29)
  The stars name their favorite Australian foods.
• Music Video (2:52)
  The Blinky Bill theme song is set to clips from the film.

Final Thoughts:

Blinky Bill: The Movie tells the fun story of a koala who goes on an adventure in the Outback to find his missing father, and the various unique characters he meets along the way. I really enjoyed the animation style, and the film looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray. The discs contain a minimal amount of bonus material, but the cast interviews are entertaining and the music video will leave you with an earworm—the film’s theme song is so catchy! This release is worth a look if you’re looking for a fun new animated adventure.