• Friendship and romance
  • Adventure all the way

The Koala Brothers: Outback Christmas

  • Tobias Fouracre
  • 2005
  • United Kingdom

Synopsis :

Penny the little penguin can’t join the Christmas festivities in Australia because she’s hurt one of the wings. But wait, the Koala brothers, Buster and Frank, have a plan! They jump in their little plane and set off across the ocean to fetch Penny.

Benshi's review :

When Buster and Frank hear that their penguin friend Penny can’t join them for Christmas because of a sore wing, they decide to fly across the ocean in their little yellow plane to pick her up! Featuring a pair of koala siblings as heroes and set against the South Pole and the Australian desert, this story is a Christmas tale like no other, as well as a lovely fable about friendship and a terrific adventure film for young viewers. Naturally, the trip to Antarctica turns out to be full of all sorts of madcap adventures… Derived from a series that was originally made for television, this cinematic episode is a delight thanks in particular to its meticulously crafted stop-motion. Children will be entertained by the puppets and will appreciate the array of affable allies who help Buster and Frank, including Ned the friendly wombat, who learns to stand up to Mitzi, the enterprising little possum, along with George the Turtle, Sammy the Echidna, Archie the Crocodile, and more. The film, then, is a great opportunity to discover animals rarely seen in a European winter—and a reminder that in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated in bright sunshine.

Suitable for :

The simple plot and the array of lovable characters make this film suitable from age 3-4.

Top reasons to watch the film :

  1. A lovely tale about friendship
  2. The array of original and lovable characters
  3. The novelty value of Christmas down under!

Additional information :

Penguins and auks You can tell Penny really is a penguin because of the yellow feathering around her neck, which is characteristic of certain species native to the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica. If Penny wanted to get to Australia without a plane, she would need to swim rather than fly, as penguins are flightless. Many people confuse penguins with auks, seabirds that look similar but lack the yellow neck markings of some penguin species. Unlike penguins, auks can fly as well as swim and are found at the opposite end of the planet, in the Arctic region. Christmas in the Summer Australia is at the other end of the world to us, in the southern hemisphere, so its seasons are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. December 25th, Christmas Day, falls during the southern summer, which runs from December to February, whereas winter down under is from June to August. So when Buster and Frank leave Australia, the temperature is hovering around a warm 25-30°C... No wonder the koalas were a bit cold when they reached the South Pole!

  • Keywords :

  • Animals
  • Polar Circle
  • Christmas
  • Travel
  • Solidarity