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IMDb > Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (1988)

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   572 votes
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Down 13% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mark Lewis
Writer:
Mark Lewis (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Cane Toads: An Unnatural History on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 June 1988 (Australia) more
Genre:
Documentary more
Tagline:
The story of a bizarre biological blunder, warts and all!! more
Plot:
A documentary detailing the spread of Hawaiian sugar-cane toads through Australia in a botched effort to introduce them as counter pests. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. more
User Comments:
A monument to human folly and eccentricity. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Tip Byrne ... Himself - Cane farmer from Tully
H.W. Kerr ... Himself - Director of the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations, 1933-1943 (as Dr H.W. [Bill] Kerr)
Glen Ingram ... Himself - Senior Curator Amphibia and Birds, Queensland Museum (as Dr Glen Ingram)
Bill Freeland ... Himself - Wildlife Research Officer, Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory (as Dr Bill Freeland)
E.S. Edgerton ... Himself - Former member Cane Pest Board
Pat White ... Himself - Cane farmer from Gordonvale
John Oakes ... Himself - Resident of Cairns
Patrick Cook ... Himself - Social commentator
David Sondergard ... Himself - Resident of Gordonvale
Rob Floyd ... Himself - Animal ecologist (as Dr Rob Floyd)
Elvie Grieg ... Herself - Resident of Redcliffe
Max Ackland ... Himself - Mulgrave Shire Council (as Councillor Max Ackland)
Brian Hawke ... Himself - Binding conservator, National Library
Bob Endean ... Himself - Associate Professor of Zoology, Queensland University (as Dr Bob Endean)
Dr. Michael Archer ... Himself - Associate Professor of Zoology, University of N.S.W.
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Additional Details

Runtime:
USA:47 min
Country:
Australia
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Australia:PG
Company:
Film Australia more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Spoofs Psycho (1960) more
Soundtrack:
Warts N All more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful:-
A monument to human folly and eccentricity., 8 April 2003
Author: Neil Cammack from Canberra, Australia

"Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" still ranks as one of the funniest movies I've seen. Don't get me wrong: in Australia's tropical North, cane toads themselves are no laughing matter, especially among despairing conservationists. This short film stands as a memorial to human folly in importing the beast from Hawaii in the first place to deal with a sugarcane beetle which in the event it had zero impact on, preferring to lay waste to the local fauna instead. It is also a monument to human eccentricity - less about the despised, amazingly opportunistic cane toad than the reactions it has inspired among the human populace. I still treasure the memory of the local resident who wanted his town council to erect a memorial to the outstandingly ugly amphibian in the main street - presumably on the grounds that nobody could think of anything else worth memorialising there. (Inexplicably, his visionary proposal received scant support.) Overseas viewers may not appreciate that to other Australians, the movie's eccentric cast of characters came as no great surprise. North Queenslanders actually take some pride in being a little different. I'd like to think that the lesson has been learned, but the news that ravenous 400-lb carp are being released into a Texan lake in order to deal with a water weed infestation gives me no confidence.

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