Yoram Gross Movies

In quite a few nations, the childhood experiences of a generation are epitomized by shared memories of favorite stories unique to that location. In Australia, Dorothy Wall's pre-World War II book about a koala bear known as "Blinky Bill" was one of those stories. This feature-length animated feature is based on those stories but departs significantly from Blinky's adventures as recounted in The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, perhaps to make it more suitable for very young viewers. In the story, Blinky gets separated from his mother when he is much too young to be out of the pouch (koalas are marsupials); he is hairless and pink. His many adventures with kangaroos, wombats, other koalas and platypuses reach their culmination when he must rescue his friend Nutsy from the too-great affections of a little girl, who is unable to understand why a live animal might not want to be treated like a stuffed teddy-bear. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this animated film, Dot and her animal friends must work together to stop a gang of smugglers who are preying on the Australian creatures. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In an entertaining and educational foray through the world of itty-bitty bugs, director Yoram Gross has succeeded again in his fifth "Dot" children's film. Once more, his skillful combination of animated figures and scenes from the real world are quite effective. This time Dot is accidentally reduced to the size of a small, teeny critter who has to fend for herself outside the house, as wasps, spiders, ants, beetles, and other denizens of the groundcover loom like the enormous predators they are. Dot is befriended by Keeto the Mosquito who talks like he walks with rhythm and.. well, rhyme. Butterwalk the Caterpillar is also of help, and between the two of them, Dot just might have a chance of regaining her normal little human stature. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Traveling across the Australian desert in the 1920s, a young Arabic boy accompanies his grandfather on camel-back and they encounter numerous dangers together. Years later, the same boy is now a police officer in his own country who finds a young Australian camel-boy thought to be a spy. This children's adventure features animation and authentic Australian scenery. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

A young boy leaves a colony of convicts in Australia with his pet koala bear and learns survival skills from a young Aborigine boy in this live action/animated adventure. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

A bunch of kids fall in love with a moth-balled ferry that is marked for the junk yard. They organize a fix-up committee that sets out to repair the old boat. With the ship's original captain, they make it sea-worthy and take it out for a spin. Of course the encrusted city officials are outraged and call the local police in to capture the vessel-fixing kids who try to elude the cops in a action-packed boat chase. ~ Rovi

In this animated Australian children's feature, a settler's daughter gets lost in the Outback and develops a special friendship with a kindly kangaroo who takes her on a magical journey. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this animated feature, young Dot meets up with Santa Claus while searching for her missing kangaroo and enlists the help of the jolly fellow to find him. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi