302. Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal; movie review

 

DAISY QUOKKA: WORLD'S SCARIEST ANIMAL

Cert U

89 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild threat, very mild injury detail, rude humour, language

Hold on a minute - quokkas are real animals?

I had thought they were an invention for the benefit of this animated movie but it turns out that they are short-tailed wallabies about the size of domestic cats.

They are also so cute that in the mid-2010s the became known as the 'the world's happiest animals' because of their apparent smiles seen in selfies with the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie and Shawn Mendes.

Inevitably, this is the plank of the ironically titled "Daisy Quokka - World's Scariest Animal."

Apparently, Ricard Cussó's movie is the third in The Tales From Sanctuary City franchise which had eluded me until now.

Its focus is a young quokka (voiced by Angourie Rice) who has ambitions far above those of parents who just want her to use the aforementioned smile and pose with tourists.

Instead, she wants to go off to the big city and take on lots of much-bigger and scarier contestants in a TV game show.

There she will be up against the rough, tough Ronda Scales (Sharnee Tones) and the big and dangerous Franke Scales (Sam Neill).

Anyway, the Quokka has spirit beyond her size and seeks to win at what seems to be insurmountable odds.

Cussó's movie's story is a combo of "anything is possible" and anti-bullying and is fast enough to please the under-sevens who will be cheering for Daisy to win.

And even animated quokkas are cute.

Reasons to watch: fast-moving animation should please under-7s

Reasons to avoid: If you are not under seven

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Quokkas were first discovered by Willem de Vlamingh in 1696 who mistakenly thought he spotted a giant rat. He went on to name the island “Rattennest” which means “Rat’s Nest” in Dutch after his sightings, which was later adapted to the common day, Rottnest Island

The final word. Angourie Rice: "This film is really special to me, because it’s so wonderful to see Aussie animals celebrated in animated film." Instagram

Share this post