Cane Toads : The Conquest

Review by Anthony Morris

In this much anticipated follow‑up to his 1988 documentary Cane Toads : An Unnatural History, director Mark Lewis gives the much‑reviled pest another chance to defend itself.

Beginning with the toads' backstory in Australia - they were meant to eat a bug that attacked the tops of sugarcane, even though cane toads aren't known for their climbing abilities - Lewis quickly finds his real area of interest :

Cane toads vs the people of Northern Australia.

While the environmental impact of cane toads is a serious matter, a travelling sideshow featuring stuffed cane toad dioramas with the toads playing AFL football, is not.

And it's a line this very funny and sharply made documentary walks effortlessly, even when telling the story of a man actually killed by a cane toad (not directly - he was electrocuted trying to spear one).

Pets lick cane toads to get high, which is funny; a dog ate a toad and nearly died, which is somewhat less funny. But even there it's the characters involved (the hen‑pecked husband and the bossy wife who loved her bossy dog) that add just a bit of spice to the story.

The 3D isn't just a gimmick here. It's used to bring viewers into the film, and the ground‑level world of the slow‑moving yet relentless cane toad.

Lewis takes an episodic approach to the cane toad's impact, moving from re-enactments to people talking to camera to toads-eye footage but the film never feels disjointed thanks to Lewis' clear point‑of‑view - one that turns out to be less harsh on the toads than many of the people who deal with them.

4  out of 5

Cane Toads : The Conquest
Australian release: 2nd June, 2011
Official Site: Cane Toads : The Conquest
Cast: A Bunch of Cane Toads
Director: Mark Lewis