This double-dose DVD is good value, and should appeal to a wide variety of people. Nature lovers, documentary lovers, fans of quirky comedies and those who like something a little different will all be well pleased with this effort. Both short films are the brainchilds of Aussie filmmaker, Mark Lewis, and are just two of his quirky Natural History films.
The Unnatural History of Cane Toads is a most unusual film and has developed something of a cult following since its release in 1987. It delivers a history of the cane toad in Australia, the same history that is part of most of our schooling. It was introduced in 1932 into North Queensland all the way from South America (where presumably it is not a problem, or at least not on the same scale), and was supposed to eat the cane grubs and beetles that were destroying sugar cane production. The trouble is, someone forgot to tell the toads what they were there for. Cane toads, we soon learned, have a voracious appetite and will attempt to eat almost anything that moves and can fit in its mouth. This includes insects, mice (be aware that a little white mouse ‘gets it’ and watching it struggle to get out of a toad’s mouth is a little disturbing), and even ping-pong balls!
Their adaptation to the environment has been one of the greatest environmental disasters in our short history. The 102 cane toads released soon became countless hordes. When you consider that one female can lay up to 40,000 fertilised eggs at a time, several times a year, it ain’t gonna take long before they are everywhere, and indeed they are, right through North Queensland, northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
In this film you’ll meet all manner of cane toad lovers, including two senior citizens who should not be out unsupervised (if this is what growing up in Queensland does to you, then I am happy to be elsewhere), Paul the hippie, who partakes of the boiling up and drinking of cane toads for a cheap (plus dangerous and illegal) mind-altering thrill, and a little girl and her pet cane toad, 'Dairy Queen', who is about the biggest and ugliest looking amphibian I have ever seen. Watching this girl stroke its tummy and throw it around like a doll is disturbing, yet compelling. I don’t see Barbie being toppled from the list of most wanted playthings for little girls anytime soon, however.
Of course not everyone dotes on these environmental terrorists and right-minded folk despise them. There are several environmentalists who make no effort to hide their hatred for the monsters, a man that delights in hearing them pop as he runs over them in his Kombi van, and a man who believes gangs of cane toads roam his fish pond strangling his goldfish.
You’ll also learn about ‘amplexus’, which is how they mate, their poison glands that are deadly to anything that tries to make a meal of it, its life cycle from ugly tadpole to ugly adult and its overwhelming desire to mate. The sight of a randy male cane toad humping a flattened and very dead female toad in the middle of the road is unforgettable, like an adult version of Frogger.
Those of us who are not familiar with the cane toad should give thanks, and those of you who live up that way and know the little buggers all too well, put on your golf shoes and get stomping. If you think that sounds harsh, a recent 60 Minutes report will quickly change your mind. The most disasterous cane toad invasion of all, the charge into Kakadu, has begun, and it seems there is nothing that can stop it.
The Natural History of the Chicken was released in 2000 in the United States and features all manner of local yokels, hippies, rednecks, chicken-lovers, chicken eaters, alternative farmers and some seriously weird ‘country’ folk. It has a documentary feel, with some re-enactments and lots of statistics about our endless appetite for chicken.
It seems not all is bland in the chicken world. You will meet an elderly woman who gave one of her pet chooks mouth to beak resuscitation after finding it lost in the snow and snap frozen, and then communicated with it about its near death experience through a medium that can ‘talk to the animals”. There is also a man who does a fair impression of a randy rooster, a man who breeds fighting cocks (much to his neighbours’ disgust), and a woman who dotes on her Japanese silky bantam right down to the ‘diaper’ in case of accidents in the house (not to mention baths and trips in the car). The last two stories are the best however, about a brave hen named Liza, who cheated death and a hungry chicken hawk to save her brood, and perhaps the most remarkable of all, the true story of Mike, the headless chook. I kid you not!
You will also get to see some battery hens doing what they do best (what else can they do in a cage with five others?) under incredibly depressing circumstances, and lots of chickens scratching in the dirt, making little chickens and eating bugs.
If you think chicken is just something that comes in a bucket and tastes good with chips, then a look at this DVD could change your mind. The short was a favourite at several film festivals in 2000 and is a fascinating look at what most of us consider a pretty bland animal (unless it’s well seasoned and crispy brown).
Together, these two short films are a wonderful way to spend just under two hours. They are part documentary, part comedy, part urban legend, and there is never a dull minute. There is a dull human or two, but never a dull minute.
The Unnatural History of the Cane Toad is a full frame presentation and looks like a direct from video transfer, so it's not brilliant, but neither is it a disaster, It was filmed on a budget and it shows. The overall image has a soft look to it, though clarity is never a problem. Colours are generally fine, though a little on the muted side. There is some very mild evidence of bleeding and some mild grain.
Shadow detail is fine and black levels are consistent though not brilliant. There is some very mild evidence of noise, and the occasional artefact, but nothing that should cause concern.
The Natural History of the Chicken is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, but is not 16x9 enhanced. Being more recent it is generally of a much higher quality and is sharper, with a more consistent and solid colouring with few problems and some occasional mild grain.
Black levels are a lot better, but shadow detail is perhaps a little poorer, although not enough to cause any great concern. There is no evidence of compression problems and little to no artefacts.
