Blinky Bill the Movie | |
---|---|
Directed by | Deane Taylor |
Screenplay by | Fin Edquist |
Based on | The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall |
Produced by | Jim Ballantine Barbara Stephen |
Starring | Ryan Kwanten Rufus Sewell Toni Collette David Wenham Deborah Mailman Richard Roxburgh Robin McLeavy Barry Otto Barry Humphries |
Edited by | Simon Klaebe |
Music by | Dale Cornelius |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Studio 100 (international sales) StudioCanal (Australia) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
Countries | Australia Ireland India |
Language | English |
Box office | $4.3 million [1] |
Blinky Bill the Movie is a 2015 animated adventure comedy film based on the Blinky Bill character created by Dorothy Wall for a children's book series in 1933. The film was produced by Flying Bark Productions and partly distributed and co-produced by Assemblage Entertainment and Telegael. [2]
In the town of Greenpatch, a courageous young koala named Blinky Bill tells a story about his father, Mr. Bill while embarking on a journey across the wild, and dangerous Australian outback in the hope of finding him.
Blinky's dad had created their home of Greenpatch, where every animal could feel safe and live in peace. Blinky has been influenced by the legend of his father, who is on an adventure to the Sea of White Dragons. When Mayor Cranklepot attempts to dominate Greenpatch and become the ruler, Blinky realises that he must go in search of his father. Throughout his adventure he befriends a girl koala named Nutsy, a lizard named Jacko, and a few other creatures who assist Blinky on his quest. He discovers that being a hero is complicated and requires teamwork.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film received generally positive reviews, earning a 73% approval rating, based on reviews from 11 critics. [9]
The book Historical Dictionary of Australian and New Zealand Cinema interpreted the Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 43%, taking to imply that audiences and fans of the original book and the 1990s/2000s animated series had negative reactions to the film. [10]
Award | Category | Subject | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Animated Feature Film | Jim Ballantine & Barbara Stephen | Nominated |
Kids' Choice Award | Favorite Voice in an Animated Film | Ryan Kwanten [11] Robin McLeavy [12] David Wenham Rufus Sewell Toni Collette Richard Roxburgh Deborah Mailman [13] Barry Otto Barry Humphries [14] [15] [16] [17] | Won |
Screen Music Awards | Feature Film Score of the Year | Dale Cornelius [18] [19] | Nominated |
Tumbleweeds Film Festival | Nominated | ||
The film was followed by a 26-episode TV series, The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill that aired on Seven Network in 2016. [20]
Toni Collette is an Australian actress. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and five AACTA Awards, with nominations for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Friar Carl in Van Helsing and Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, Al Parker in Top of the Lake, Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Hank Snow in Elvis. He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange and Price Galese in Les Norton.
Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra, which was illustrated by Wall. Wall then featured Blinky Bill in a series of her own books, including Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian, Blinky Bill Grows Up, and Blinky Bill and Nutsy. The books are considered quintessential Australian children's classics, and have never been out of print in Australia.
Deborah Jane Mailman is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman is known for her characters: Kelly Lewis on the Australian drama series The Secret Life of Us, Cherie Butterfield in the Australian comedy-drama series Offspring, Lorraine in the Australian drama series Redfern Now and Aunt Linda in the Australian dystopian science fiction series Cleverman. Mailman portrayed the lead role of MP Alexandra "Alex" Irving on the Australian political drama series Total Control.
Ryan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series Summerland, portraying Jay Robertson. From 2008 to 2014, he played Jason Stackhouse in True Blood. From 2018 to 2019 he produced and starred in the crime drama series The Oath as Steve Hammond. In 2021 he starred in season one of the horror drama anthology series Them as George Bell. In 2022, he portrayed Thomas Weylin in Kindred, a series adaptation based on Octavia E. Butler's celebrated 1979 novel of the same name.
Secret Admirer is a 1985 American teen romantic comedy film co-written and directed by David Greenwalt in his feature film directorial debut, and starring C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston and Fred Ward. The original music score was composed by Jan Hammer. The film was produced at the height of the teen sex comedy cinema craze in the mid-1980s.
The Boys is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by Rowan Woods. The screenplay by Stephen Sewell is based on the play by Gordon Graham, with Graham influenced by the 1986 murder of Anita Cobby, with the play first performed by Griffin Theatre Company under the direction of Alex Galeazzi.
Barry Mendel is an American film producer. Mendel first produced Wes Anderson’s Rushmore starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, which won two Film Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. This was followed by The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Subsequently, he produced Shyamalan's follow-up, Unbreakable, then went back to work with Anderson on The Royal Tenenbaums, which was Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Their collaboration continued on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which Mendel followed by producing Joss Whedon’s feature film directorial debut, Serenity. Mendel next conceived, developed and produced Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg, which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture. He then produced Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s debut as a feature director, which starred Elliot Page and Kristen Wiig. Mendel produced another film with Page, Peacock, which co-starred Cillian Murphy and Susan Sarandon.
The Adventures of Blinky Bill is an Australian animated television series based on Dorothy Wall's books about Blinky Bill, and is a sequel series to the 1992 film Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala. The series is produced by the Yoram Gross companies: Yoram Gross Film Studios and Yoram Gross-EM.TV, with the main co-production of EM.TV and WDR. All three seasons of the series and the TV film were animated overseas by Colorland Animation Productions Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong. Set in Greenpatch, a fictional Australian bushland town, the series presents stories through the activities and misadventures of Blinky Bill, as well as his family and friends.
Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala is a 1992 Australian animated adventure comedy film directed by Yoram Gross and produced by his Sydney-based production company Yoram Gross Film Studios.
Robin McLeavy is an Australian actress.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is a 2010 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Zack Snyder. Based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series by Kathryn Lasky, the film was written by John Orloff and Emil Stern and features the voices of Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony LaPaglia, Miriam Margolyes, Sam Neill, Richard Roxburgh, and David Wenham. An international co-production between the United States and Australia, the film was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and Animal Logic, following their success with the 2006 film Happy Feet. In the film, Soren (Sturgess), a barn owl, is kidnapped and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls led by Metal Beak and Nyra (Mirren), where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He befriends a fellow owl named Gylfie (Barclay), and they later escape the facility to find the Island of Ga'Hoole with new-found friends and together fight against the evil army.
Mental is a 2012 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film stars Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schreiber, and Rebecca Gibney. It follows a hitchhiker transforming a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five teenage girls whose mother has cracked from her husband's political ambitions and his infidelity.
The Magic Pudding is a 2000 Australian animated musical adventure comedy film loosely adapted from the 1918 book of the same name by Norman Lindsay. Directed by Karl Zwicky, the film features a voice cast of well known actors including Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson, Toni Collette and John Cleese.
Fun Mom Dinner is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Alethea Jones, from a screenplay by Julie Rudd. It stars Katie Aselton, Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Adam Scott, and Adam Levine.
The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill is an Australian animated television series based on the books by Dorothy Wall, and a sequel series to the 2015 film Blinky Bill the Movie.
Them is an American horror series, created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waithe. The series stars an ensemble cast, which consists of Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, and Ryan Kwanten in the first season, and Pam Grier, Luke James, Joshua J. Williams and Jeremy Bobb in the second season, with Ayorinde returning in a new lead role.