Netflix has had a hell of a run with its original animated content lately. The Mitchells against the Machines was definitely one of the best animated films of 2021, streaming or not. Meanwhile, Netflix Esoteric took animation to a whole new level while telling one of the most compelling fantasy stories of the year. But even with all the hype surrounding most Netflix original movies and shows, some still manage to slip through the cracks. This may have been the fate of the new animated adventure Back to the Outback, but apparently out of the blue, it reached the top of the charts on Netflix.

Back to the Outback is now on Netflix

Back to the Outback appears to be the first film co-directors Clare Knight and Harry Cripps have ever made. He has a stacked cast that includes Isla Fisher, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Tim Minchin, Keith Urban, and Kylie Minogue. Here is the synopsis provided by Netflix:

Tired of being locked in a reptile house where humans stare at them like monsters, a motley group of Australia’s deadliest creatures are preparing a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback, a place where they will fit in without being judged for their scales and fangs. At the head of the group is Maddie (Isla Fisher), a poisonous snake with a heart of gold, who teams up with Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a self-confident Thorny Devil lizard, a hairy spider in love with Frank (Guy Pearce). and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie). But when their nemesis – Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala bear – unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no choice but to take him with them. So begins a hilarious and mind-boggling road trip through Australia, as they are chased by zookeeper Chaz (Eric Bana) and his adventure-seeking mini-me (Diesel La Torraca).

How popular is this movie?

Netflix recently updated its top 10 hubs to include the week of December 6. Coming to third place with 16,170,000 hours of viewing was Back to the Outback. This makes it more popular than other recent Netflix originals, including The power of the dog and bruised. The only films that have surpassed Back to the Outback on Netflix were The unforgivable and Red Notice. It is quite an achievement.

As of December 15, the film was still perched in the top three on Netflix. And based on the reviews, it’s easy to see why. Back to the Outback currently has an 87% rating on Rotten tomatoes. Despite the fact that his exit went unnoticed, critics who saw him really seemed to like him.

Other Movies You May Like

If you are looking for other recent animated movies to watch, two come to mind. The first is the one we mentioned earlier: The Mitchells vs. the Machines. It was produced by the studio which made Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, and it’s just as visually spectacular. It’s also very touching and hysterically funny. Netflix also released Vivo this year, with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Zoe Saldana. You won’t go wrong with either of these 2021 Netflix animated originals.