Dot and the Kangaroo (film)

An Australian film featuring animation over live-action backgrounds from the 1970s. Based on an 1899 novel by Ethel C. Pedley. An early success for the Yoram Gross studio, with many sequels (diverging further and further from the original source material).

"Bittern 2: We bitterns maybe little birds... Bittern 1:...but we have (in a deep voice) VERY. BIG. VOICES!"
 * A Boy and His X/Adventure Duo/Interspecies Friendship: The titular characters.
 * Adult Fear:
 * Dot is suddenly lost in the gully being scared and then sad as she sits behind a tree and cries until the kangaroo popped out of nowhere and poke Dot in the elbow startling her as they meet each other.
 * Dot's father and grandfather look for Dot as they're worried about her as the promise of Dot breaks. Happened again in her house where it includes Dot's mother as her father and grandfather tell Dot's mother that they can't find Dot anywhere.
 * Angry Guard Dog: The dingoes.
 * Animal Stampede: All of the animals do this when they say that there's danger.
 * Art Shift: The Aboriginal cave drawings in The Bunyip Song.
 * Artistic Licence Biology: In the Council of the Animals scene, there was a rabbit. Rabbits aren't native to Australia. The book has a hare. Hares also aren't native in Australia. Willy Wagtail is shown to be friendly, but in real life, willie wagtails are aggressive to humans.
 * Badass Bookworm: The kangaroo shows Dot on how everything does.
 * Beserk Button: Mr. Platypus dislikes books written about him.
 * Bittersweet Ending: Dot was finally home and tells her parents about where she had been and what she had been doing. She wants to show her parents the kangaroo, but the kangaroo is gone. Dot wants the kangaroo to come back, but the kangaroo didn't. Willy says to Dot to cheer herself up and reminds her that the kangaroo is going home and her home is the bush where she must have her freedom. Dot couldn't help herself and she still wants the kangaroo to come back, then she began to cry over the kangaroo as she will never see her again. After this scene, the credits roll.
 * Big Bad: The aborigines.
 * The bunyip counts this as well during The Bunyip Song.
 * Big Good: The kangaroo.
 * Bloodless Carnage: Played straight with Dot falling inbetween two trees and stepping on something sharp; averted with the kangaroo successfully getting off the cliff, especially in the book with Dot having her bare legs and feet till they bled and the kangaroo having her mouth bleeding.
 * Book Ends: The opening and ending scenes feature Dot crying. Both of which are Tear Jerkers.
 * But Now I Must Go: Played straight in the book, where Dot, the kangaroo and her joey say goodbye to each other. Averted in the film, where the kangaroo just left for her home.
 * Break the Cutie: Dot in the ending.
 * By the Lights of Their Eyes: A pair of eyes appear during The Bunyip Song.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Willy Wagtail. (Although that he's a smart bird.)
 * The kangaroo rats are this as well.
 * The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right: Willy saying to Dot that the kangaroo was going home (which is the bush) and must have her freedom.
 * Cowardly Lion: Dot has odiophobia and the kangaroo has cynophobia. (Kangaroos are well known to be prey of dingoes.)
 * Creepy Crows: Played straight during the part where Dot was lost in the gully. Averted with the crow who was one of the animals that are discovering the kangaroo.
 * Crosscast Role: The Kangaroo is clearly played by a male in the live action footage.
 * The Cutie: Dot.
 * Despair Event Horizon: Dot's parents and grandfather are worried about Dot. Her mother even cries over Dot.
 * Dot also had this during the opening credits, when she got lost in the gully and in the ending where she cries over the kangaroo.
 * Disney Acid Sequence: The Bunyip Song.
 * Disney Dog Fight: The kangaroo anxiously fights with one of the dingoes. (In real life, kangaroos seem to be brave of fighting against dingoes.)
 * Disney Villain Death: One of the dingoes does this.
 * A Dog Named "Dog": A willy wagtail named Willy Wagtail.
 * Downer Beginning/Dream Sequence: During the opening credits, Dot was crying when she got lost in the gully. After the opening credits, Dot thought "Please mother, I won't be long." with "long" echoing. But it turns out that she's dreaming. Dot was actually at her house.
 * Easy Amnesia: The sleepy koala has this twice.
 * Family-Unfriendly Violence: The kangaroo having a cut and bleeding after climbing off the cliff.
 * Expy:
 * Dot is Heidi: They are barefoot and cuties. (Except that Dot has parents and grandfather, while Heidi has a grandfather and aunt.)
 * The kangaroo is Charlotte: They help the protagonists with their goal. (Except that in the end, the kangaroo left without saying "Good-bye" to Dot, while Charlotte dies.)
 * Mr. Platypus is Archimedes: They're grumpy, but helpful.
 * Feather Fingers: Played straight with the ducks, the kookaburra, Mopoke, the cockatoo and Willy Wagtail. Averted with the other birds.
 * Foot Focus: Dot. In the book, she wears shoes.
 * Glad I Thought of It: After Dot stepped on something sharp, the kangaroo solved the problem by having Dot getting in her pouch. Dot liked this idea.
 * Grumpy Bear: Mr. Platypus.
 * Hates Being Touched: Dot touched a bandicoot and scaring him and she laughed at him but the bandicoot doesn't think it's funny.
 * Housewife: Dot's mother.
 * "I Am" Song: "I'm a Frog", "Platypus Duet" and "Clickety-Click".
 * Intellectual Animal
 * Kangaroos Represent Australia
 * Kangaroo Pouch Ride: There is a song about it and it was called In the Pouch of a Red Kangaroo.
 * Literal Cliff Hanger: The kangaroo does this.
 * Mama Bear: The kangaroo acts as a mother figure to Dot besides being her guide.
 * Never Got to Say Goodbye: Averted in the book; Dot and the kangaroo say goodbye to each other. Played straight in the film; when the kangaroo left for her home, Dot has never got to say goodbye to the kangaroo.
 * No Indoor Voice: The bitterns are known to be little birds with loud voices.
 * No Name Given: The titular kangaroo and the other animals.
 * Nobody Poops: Averted; Dot whispers to the kangaroo, which she responds with "Anywhere you like, dear.". It's very obvious what she means.
 * Offscreen Teleportation: The kangaroo first appeared when she pokes Dot in the elbow, startling her.
 * Ominous Owl: During the part where Dot got lost in the gully. Later averted when the owl named Mopoke was just singing his song for he's a great artist.
 * Parental Love Song: Dreamtime; the opening credits song.
 * Even counts this as a Tear Jerker song.
 * Pie-Eyed: Dot got those when thunder strikes and starts to rain.
 * Punctuated for Emphasis: One of the bitterns uses this.


 * Redheaded Hero: Dot.
 * Roger Rabbit Effect
 * Shown Their Work: Mopoke says that he's just a singer at night. This included the song "I'm a Frog", the platypus scene and the bitterns part.
 * Speaks Fluent Animal: Dot. In the book, the kangaroo fed Dot some berries which Dot had to keep eating in order to prolong the effects. In the film, she fed her a root and the effect was permenant, but she must not eat anymore of that and the warning is "If you eat too much, you'll know too much."
 * That Reminds Me of a Song: After Dot got in the kangaroo's pouch, she sings the song "In the Pouch of a Red Kangaroo". The ducks sing a song about themselves being thirsty and frightened called "Quack Ducks". The platypuses show Dot on how it's done with their appearences, what they do and how they're discovered in the song "The Platypus Duet".
 * Thunder Equals Downpour: It does this near the ending of the Council of the Animals scene.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: The titular characters. (Although Dot has no eyelashes, she was averted when Dot behaves like a normal human girl. The kangaroo however plays straight with being the Girly Girl.)
 * Toothy Bird: Played straight with the kookaburra when has this in one shot. Averted with the other birds such as Mopoke, the bitterns and Willy Wagtail.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: Dot's basket appeared once and never seen again throughout the film.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Dot is shown to have a fear of snakes and she got encountered by it.

Tropes the sequels have

 * Art Shift: The sequels
 * Brother Chuck: Dot's parents and grandfather.
 * But Now I Must Go: Danny the Swagman in Around the World with Dot.
 * Fantastic Racism: The Rounds against the Squares in Dot in Space. Dot herself is arrested for not being round enough.
 * Fat and Skinny: The fish store owners in Dot and the Whale.
 * Furry Confusion: Dot and the Koala features anthropomorphic animals and normal-looking animals.
 * Humans Are the Real Monsters
 * Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My!: Dot and the Koala has animals acting and dressing more like humans and even having houses, jobs and their own city.
 * Literary Agent Hypothesis: The Dot and the Kangaroo book in Dot and the Bunny.
 * Remember the New Guy?: Dot's brother in Around the World with Dot.
 * Retcon: The movie appears to take place in the turn of the 20th century, much like the book. But the sequels seem to take place in the 1970s.
 * Shown Their Work: Dot and Keeto correctly identifies male mosquitoes as sap suckers and female mosquitoes as the blood suckers.
 * Snap Back: In the first sequel Dot found the kangaroo's missing joey and brought him back to her. In the next sequel her joey is still gone.
 * Though it is set up as more of an Alternate Continuity, as a dream by a girl who's just started reading the book.
 * Those Two Guys: The two boys in Dot and the Whale.