COMBAT WOMBAT: DOUBLE TROUBLE
81 mins. Signature Entertainment. Available from April 15 on Amazon and other platforms. Featuring the voices of: Deborah Mailman, Ed Oxenbould, David Wenham, Elizabeth Cullen, Mark Coles Smith, Dan Brumm, Lorenzo Shakhovskoy.
Maggie Diggins (voiced by Deborah Mailman) and sugar glider Sweetie (Ed Oxenbould), aka Combat Wombat and sidekick Gallant Glider, launch the Hero On Demand app so citizens of Sanctuary City can engage their services “anytime, anywhere, for any reason”.
The dynamic duo are rushed off their paws unclogging drains, collecting fast food orders and retrieving frisbees from rooftops.
Thoughts of retirement are put on hold when Police Chief Burbank (Dan Brumm) arrests elderly echidna Reginald (Mark Coles Smith) and pals for orchestrating “a full-on geriatric crime spree”.
Maggie scents foul play and she goes undercover with Sweetie and community service teenager Skylar Bloodface (Elizabeth Cullen) to uncover a diabolical conspiracy behind the revolving doors of Chameleonline run by Lenny Glick (David Wenham).
Combat Wombat: Double Trouble is a goodnatured computer-animated sequel, which starts strongly with a rip-roaring distillation of events since the first film, peppered with crisp one-liners.
Pace slackens with the introduction of Lenny’s glitchy metaverse, Sanctuary+, necessitating infrequent narrative rebounds between his digital utopia and the real world.
The majority of giggles are shoe-horned into the opening half but director Ricard Cusso and co-director Tania Vincent’s walk on the wild side doesn’t outstay its welcome with a running time comfortably under 90 minutes.
Screenwriter Dominic Morris detours from expectations with a surprisingly touching ulterior motive for dastardly deeds that ticks diversity, equity and inclusion boxes without feeling contrived.
Mailman’s heartfelt vocal performance anchors the high-tempo hijinks and allows film-makers to lightly address themes of grief, online privacy and miscommunication within a comedic framework.