This week’s batch of new Netflix movies and shows includes Back to the Outback, a new animated comedy that introduces viewers to a ragtag group of Australian animals hoping to escape their zoo and reach the Outback. The film’s voice cast features an all-star collection of talent, including Oscar nominees Jacki Weaver and Guy Pearce, and Wedding Crashers star Isla Fisher. In an exclusive clip for PopCulture.com, the cast meets a shark who belongs to the U.S.S., the Ugly Secret Society.
Our group of intrepid animals has gound their way into shark-infested waters in the clip. One shark offers to induct them into the U.S.S. and shares a secret password they can use to call on other members for help. The password is surprisingly long. “I’m ugly, you’re ugly, we should all be this ugly. Ugly is the new beautiful,” is the entire password. “That’s a really long password,” Zoe the devil lizard points out.
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Back to the Outback was directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps. The story centers on a group of deadly creatures led by an obnoxious koala who escape a Sydney zoo to reach their home in the Outback, where they hope to be loved for who they are on the inside and not feared for what they look like. The group of animals on the journey are Maddie the taipan snake (Fisher); Pretty Boy the koala (Tim Minchin); Zoe the thorny devil lizard (Miranda Tapsell); Nigel the scorpion (Angus Imrie); and Frank the spider (Pearce). Eric Bana plays Outback Legend park ranger Chaz Hunt and Diesel La Torraca voices Chaz’s son Chazzie. Weaver voices the giant crocodile Jackie.
Along their journey, the main group meets members of the U.S.S. who are also misunderstood animals. These characters include Jacinta the great white shark (Rachel House); the toads Doug (Keith Urban) and Doreen (Gia Carides); redback spider Legs Luciano (Aislinn Derbez); Dave the Tasmanian Devil (Lachlan Ross Power); Clive the dung beetle (Aaron Pedersen); Susan the bushpig (Kylie Minogue); a platypus (Wayne Knight); Skylar the koala (Celeste Barber); and Greg the head frill neck (Jack Charles). Kiara Marr also voices a surprisingly helpful human named Norine.
Back to the Outback hits Netflix on Friday, Dec. 10, giving families a fun story that promises to show that people shouldn’t be judged by their looks, but by the content of their hearts. “At its heart, Back to the Outback is about putting aside our differences, finding out what we all have in common, and working together,” Cripps said in a statement. “As a parent, it’s so distressing to see so much hatred, so much conflict escalating all over the world. It would be great for kids to see the film and recognize, ‘That is not the way to resolve differences.’ It’s about understanding, about taking the time to get to know people. And not to judge them because they are different. It’s about celebrating our differences, and finding out where we are the same.”
