Dot and the Kangaroo (1977)

Such a frustrating disappointment

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Apparently I am swimming against the tide of the glowing comments on this film. I have not seen it since I was 4 or 5 years old but there is one thing I remember distinctly...The Bunyip was TERRIFYING!!! Nightmare inducing terrifying. With the creepy music and the little girl and kangaroo running/hopping away for their lives...As a kid I also remember the animated Hobbit... no worries. Watership down? Didn't blink an eye. Dot and the Kangaroo? It still haunts my dreams. And I have several friends the same age who also think it was massively creepy. Maybe we can get a group rate on therapy.In short: one freaky film for its time.

I can't remember the last time I saw this film, but I must've been 8 or 9. I saw it at a friend's house; they had HBO, but we didn't yet just yet. I remember freaking during the Bunyip scenes. It was weird, scary, and creepy. The song was cool though; I always liked the song...the singer had a low, soothing voice, which only made the Bunyip seem even scarier. I also like the mix of live action and animation; it was the first time I'd seen anything like that. Since I haven't seen the movie in more than...well, let's just say I'm not 20 anymore :o), I don't want to make a judgment as far as which animation is better done: Roger Rabbit or Dot and The Kangaroo. I think Dot... was a little less detailed when compared to Roger...so I'm going to say that Dot...is a better animated/live action film. I'm glad to know that there are others who feel the same way do about a a great film.

I totally agree. It was such a great adventure. Just the amazing idea of going around with different marsupials. I ALSO really got into Australian mammals in a big way as a kid because of this colourful set of films. Used to get up at 6 am to see this on the telly in Winter.My ambition was to have those adventures, and through Dot anyone could.That Bunyip, scary creature though!

This is one of those movies that I watched when I was a kid that looked much better then than it does now (okay, not really, but I *remember* it looking better). In fact, this movie was probably the reason I'm into Australian animals so much.The animation is a little better than Gross' other features, and the songs are all entertaining (at least the first time through), but I have to admit the best scene in any Gross feature is the live action carnival scene at the beginning of Toby and the Koala. Storywise, though, Dot and the Kangaroo is the best--mildly satirical, witty, and, in the end, sadder than any of Disney's tearjerking movies since Old Yeller (since most of them, from The Black Cauldron to Beauty and the Beast, walk up the road to tragedy then jump back at the last possible second--even after characters "die"). *(Spoiler)* DatK doesn't do that, or at least not so shamelessly, since kangaroo is only injured at one point, and she never finds her little joey. She merely helps little Dot get home, as if it were her way of dealing with her loss. *(end spoiler)*In the end, though, the animation does become distracting and detracting. Just about every song is repeated twice in a row, with almost exactly the same animation, and often animation is repeated or recycled (sometimes using "speaking" animation when the character is no longer talking!). And Dot's voice is a little grating at times (I think it's an adult woman trying to sound like a little girl, but with little success--I wish animators would more often take the route of Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies" and hire children for the voices of children!).