Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

This is one of the most enjoyable films I have ever seen. I saw it many years ago in the theater. I'm pleased to see it is being reshown by the Sundance channel. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Check it out.

As the sticker on the front of the movie jacket states, this depiction of the environmental and social issues created by the onslaught of cane toads in Australia has a definite Monty Python spin. Although I am concerned about the damage to the Australia natural resources caused by the opportunistic toads, I enjoyed the movie primarily because it was so funny. A bit of tongue-in-cheek Bristish approach, but extremely effective. For one, a good part of the movie is filmed from the perspective of the over-sized toad. Literally. You're looking at people's feet, car tires, homes from the eye level and location of the toad. The music choices were also very supportive, as well as the players in the film, who are so varied and straight in their presentations that you can't help but be drawn into their lives. Flashes of the shower scene from Psycho come to mind as a tenor singing about cane toads draws hopping toads to his safe (?) haven. I was so intrigued I checked out the director, Mark Lewis, who also has a film on the natural history of chickens. Gotta' get it!

Woah, population explosion of giant poison toads invades Austrailia! No, it's not a late-night 70's B sci-fi, it's real life eco-bizarrity complete with mad scientist wielding a v.w. bus. This is perhaps the funniest piece of celluloid ever to give you the shivers about the seemingly limitless expanse of human stupidity. It traces the history of the cane toad in Australia from the seemingly innocent introduction of forty individuals into an eastern pond to the hopping copulating frenzy that now covers something like a third of the country. This movie gives you the works; their life cycle complete with in depth look at their, shall we say, unique sex lives, a magnetically grotesque interview involving doll clothes, and charming soundtrack integrating late-night 70's B movie effects with bouncy bluegrass. (An extra treat for all you Crowed House fans will be Neil and Tim Finn's piece sung from the point of view of the great cane toad himself.) Some people keep them as pets, put out bowls of catfood, and toad-watch for pleasure, others hate them with a white hot rage. Hear the facts, see the toads, and decide which side of the fence is for you. Either way, nicely paced, scientifically interesting, and well shot; Cane Toads is a feindishly hilarious black comedy of documentary, sure to please.

This is a serious review of the ecologic trauma Queensland, Australia, has suffered after the scientifically foolish introduction of Cane Toads. And, it is a gut-busting look at people (Michael Moore style) talking about the Cane Toads with which they share their corner of the world. And, it is a pretty good parody of some sci-fi monster movies.

A total delight!

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, 1988 6/10, 13th best movie of 1988, 93rd best of the 80's, 613th best overall This was actually a pretty decent movie. Apparently back in the 30s there was a huge problem in Austrailia with some bugs that ate sugar cane. They brought in cane toads from Hawiaii to eat them. The cane toads didn't eat those bugs, but they did eat everything else. And they soon spread over much of eastern Austrailia. Anyway the movie discusses how the movie effects the nation of Australia and the people that inhabit it. It introduces many interesting characters and lets them share their stories of how the cane toads have effected their lives. Now let me be honest with you for a second. If I had sat down and watched a two hour movie about cane toads, I probably would have gotten very bored, and in turn given this movie a bad review. However, this movie is not 2 hours long, it's actually only about 45 minutes long. Just enough time to get you interested, keep you interested, and than end. Was I doing back flips in my chair because I was having so much fun watching this movie? No, but it was still interesting, informative, and overall, a pretty good movie.