Dot and the Kangaroo (film)

Dot and the Kangaroo

DVD Cover
Directed by Yoram Gross
Produced by Yoram Gross
Written by Yoram Gross
John Palmer
Based on Dot and the Kangaroo by
Ethel C. Pedley
Starring Lola Brooks
Joan Bruce
Barbara Frawley
Peter Gwynne
Ron Haddrick
Ross Higgins
Richard Meikle
Spike Milligan
June Salter
Music by Bob Young
John Palmer
Marion Von Alderstein
Edited by Rod Hay
Klaus Jaritz
Production
company
Distributed by Hoyts
Release dates
 15 December 1977 (1977-12-15)
Running time
 86 mins
Country Australia
Language English
Budget A$250,000

Dot and the Kangaroo is a 1977 Australian film which combines animation and live-action. It is based on children's literature book Dot and the Kangaroo by Ethel Pedley.

Plot

When 5-year-old Dot finds herself lost in the Australian bush, a red kangaroo who has lost her joey (baby kangaroo), promises to help Dot find her way home. In the process, the kangaroo introduces Dot to a number of other animals, teaching her a greater appreciation for nature.

Cast

Production

Yoram and Sandra Gross wanted to make an Australian animated feature for the world market. They read a series of books before deciding on Dot and the Kangaroo. Two thirds of the budget was provided by the Australian Film Commission.[1]

The movie backdrop was filmed on location in and around Jenolan Caves and the Warragamba Dam Catchment Area of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Although the film uses many of the same elements as other animated children's musicals involving animals, such as many of the Disney classics from the United States, the film is essentially Australian in its use of icons and accents. It also references Indigenous Australian culture in some scenes which depict animation of cave paintings and aboriginal dancing.[2]

Soundtrack

The movie featured an original soundtrack including several lyrical melodies composed by Bob Young, John Palmer, and Marion Von Alderstein, while Bob Young provided additional lyrics, and they were recorded by Maurie Wilmore.

Lyrics by John Palmer
Lyrics by Marion Von Alderstein

Reception

The film was a success, being screened around the world and returning its cost within three years.[3] It allowed Yoram Gross to enlarge his production company and market his family films in the United States. Additionally, the film's use of animation set against photographic backgrounds established the style for many of his later films.

Release

In the 1980s, the first seven films were released on VHS in the United States, the first three by CBS/Fox Video and the next four by Family Home Entertainment (possibly cartoons to be released on home video by the company). A DVD version of the film was released on 30 October 2001. In Australia there is a complete series DVD set of all the Dot films. They also were released on DVD on Digiview Entertainment

The various films were shown on the Disney Channel in the late 1980s through the 1990s in the United States, and on the Family Channel in Canada.

Sequels

The Yoram Gross Studios followed up the first film with another eight movies between 1981 and 1994. The theme behind all of the films in the Dot series is the negative impact of humanity on animal life in nature. The sequels are as follows:

  1. Around the World with Dot (1981)
  2. Dot and the Bunny (1983)
  3. Dot and the Koala (1985)
  4. Dot and Keeto (1985)
  5. Dot and the Whale (1986)
  6. Dot and the Smugglers (1986)
  7. Dot Goes to Hollywood (1987)
  8. Dot in Space (1994)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900-1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 320
  2. ↑ Rick Thompson, The Oxford Companion to Australian Film, 1999, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-553797-1
  3. ↑ Antoinette Starkiewicz, "Yoram Gross", Cinema Papers, August 1984 p338

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.