"It looked like Penny was going to spend Christmas
     all on her own... Unless someone, somewhere could help..."
 

    Penny penguin is pining. She'd hoped to spend Christmas in the Outback
    with Frank and Buster Koala and their friends at the Homestead, but the poor
    girl's hurt her wing, which means she's stuck at the South Pole for the holidays.
    That's rough news for her pals, too, because the the Homestead is buzzing with
    Christmas activity, and Buster's busy preparing the spare room for her imminent
    arrival. When he hears she's not coming, Buster's all for hopping in their little
    plane and flying to the Pole to fetch her - a notion scotched by Frank at first.
    But a night of musing later, Frank breaks the news to his pal that they will
    indeed, head south for the girl...

    And so begins this festive special, a spin-off from The Koala Brothers series,
    which takes our stars out of the Outback and all the way to the South Pole,
    where they get themselves lost, encounter biting snowstorms and take up
    skiing before they're guided home by their Antipodean friends, just in time for
    a Christmas party. The action flits back and forth between the brothers' adventures
    in Antarctica and developments at the Homestead. Spunky young Mitzi has taken
    charge of preparations in the brothers' absence, much to Ned's chagrin. How he
    yearns for his chance to shine! But Ned's time in the spotlight is beckoning,
    because he's the one who unearths the brothers' old radio, just in time to guide
    the map-less duo back to the airstrip with their Christmas guest.

     

    Fans of the tv series will recognise the same jolly banter, and bright-hearted
    adventure here. Frank and Buster and their friends are eternal optimists, even
    at the darkest of times. Let's face it, if you'd just crashed in the Antarctic,
    without a map or compass for guidance, you might be somewhat concerned.
    But Frank and Buster can help themselves, just as well as they help others,
    and there's always a happy resolution, just around the corner. The producers
    have had lots of fun, contrasting the Outback settings with the white wilderness,
    and bringing their Christmas theme to the Homestead, and despite all that
    Outback heat and dust this really does feel very snug and Christmasy...

 

    Broadcast info

    The special was originally billed as "Frank and Buster's Christmas
    in the Outback". It premiered on BBC2, on 24th December 2005,
    at 7.00am...
        
 

     

     Awards & nominations

     2006 British Animation Awards - Writer's Award - Dave Ingham
     2006 BAFTA Nomination for Best Animation

 

     See also

    The Koala Brothers (series)

 

     Outback Christmas on DVD

      Koala Brothers Outback Christmas
                Region 2 / Abbey Home Media / November 2006

 

      a Spellbound Entertainment production

     director:           Tobias Fouracre
     producer:          Peter Curtis
     exec prods:         Nick Barrington (Spellbound)
                             Michael Carrington (CBBC)
     originator:         David Johnson
     writer:               Dave Ingham
     music & lyrics:   Kick Production 
     animators:        Dana Behrman, Anthony Farquhar-Smith,
                                    Ben Halliwell, Kim Keukeleire,
                             Brian Leif-Hansen, Andy Joule
     additional
      animation:         Kevin Walton, Christopher Mendham,
                             Malcolm Lamont, Mark Waring
     puppets
      & costumes:      Mackinnnon & Saunders  
     puppet maint.
        & add. costumes:    Deborah J Cook
     assisted by:      Cathy Snelling, Janet Knetchel  
     art director:      Colin Armitage
     sets & props:    Sue Harrison, Ben Weller, Sarah Wells
     set dresser:      Oliver Wells
     first a.d.:          Andy Carne
     prod co-ord:      Jo-Ann Evans
     runner:            Sebastian Barker
        technical
        & visual fx dir:       John Gilluley
     d.o.p.:              Matt Day
     additional
        photography:        Christine Vestergaard, Melissa Byers
     digital fx:          Kelly Bruce, Malcolm Hadley
     editor:              Jane Hodge
     dubbing eds:     James Mather, Dan Lincoln,Paul Ackerman
     dubbing mix:     Doug Cooper
     colourist:          Dan Coles
     creative
      consultant:       David Johnson
     dialogue
      recordist:          Dave Peacock
     voices:              Jonathan Coleman (narrator)
                             Rob Rackstraw
                             Janet James
                             Lucinda Cowden
                             Keith Wickham

 

      On the web


      The Koala Brothers
      The official site, with games and info for fans ...

      Spellbound Entertainment Limited
      The producers' site, with info on the company, and all the latest
      Koala Bros.news ...

      Mackinnon & Saunders
      Mackinnon and Saunders are here to help with all your
      model needs...