As satirized in a reasonably good episode of "the Simpsons", back in the 80's, *EVERYTHING* from Australia was inherently cool.
With the notable exception of the "Dot and (enter name of one of Dot's animal buddies here)" movies.
They used to show these on the Disney Channel all the time. I've seen bits and pieces of the approximately 912 episodes in the series, but until today, I never sat down and watched one all the way through. Having finally done so, I can understand why.
The plot of every Dot movie is essentially the same. Dot wanders off alone into the Outback, she befriends an endangered indigenous animal, they have various adventures as Dot tries to rescue her new friend. I remember some of the movies as more surreal than others. In the one where she meets some insects, she can shrink. In the one where she meets a dolphin, she can hold her breath for hours. And in one otherwise routine entry, Dot is the only human in a world where anthropomorphic animals like pigs and dogs are about to bulldoze a forest where some *wild* (non-Furry) animals live.
"Dot and the Bunny" is a little off as well, but in a more subversive way. The animal friend in question is not endangered. Quite the opposite. The gruesome fact is, so I've heard, that the rabbits that accidentally ended up in the Australian Outback have essentially mutated into fuzzy long-eared locusts. They are such a menace that they are immediately terminated on sight.
Strange, then, that Dot would befriend one. I almost want to see a sequel in which Funny Bunny invites his friends to party at Dot's home, resulting in the entire neighborhood getting eaten alive. Bwahaha!
With the notable exception of the "Dot and (enter name of one of Dot's animal buddies here)" movies.
They used to show these on the Disney Channel all the time. I've seen bits and pieces of the approximately 912 episodes in the series, but until today, I never sat down and watched one all the way through. Having finally done so, I can understand why.
The plot of every Dot movie is essentially the same. Dot wanders off alone into the Outback, she befriends an endangered indigenous animal, they have various adventures as Dot tries to rescue her new friend. I remember some of the movies as more surreal than others. In the one where she meets some insects, she can shrink. In the one where she meets a dolphin, she can hold her breath for hours. And in one otherwise routine entry, Dot is the only human in a world where anthropomorphic animals like pigs and dogs are about to bulldoze a forest where some *wild* (non-Furry) animals live.
"Dot and the Bunny" is a little off as well, but in a more subversive way. The animal friend in question is not endangered. Quite the opposite. The gruesome fact is, so I've heard, that the rabbits that accidentally ended up in the Australian Outback have essentially mutated into fuzzy long-eared locusts. They are such a menace that they are immediately terminated on sight.
Strange, then, that Dot would befriend one. I almost want to see a sequel in which Funny Bunny invites his friends to party at Dot's home, resulting in the entire neighborhood getting eaten alive. Bwahaha!
