Film

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

Name: Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1988
Cast: Tip Byrne, Glen Ingram, H.W. Kerr

Western

A gleefully weird 1988 documentary about how Australia imported giant poisonous toads to solve a pest problem, then watched helplessly as the toads became the actual plague. Narrated with dry wit and stuffed with footage of the creatures themselves, it's a portrait of ecological hubris that's somehow both darkly funny and genuinely alarming. Perfect for anyone who enjoys nature gone wrong.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a dry, deadpan documentary that treats an ecological disaster like a slow-burning absurd comedy, with the joke landing on human folly rather than on the toads.

Skip it if you want a fast, polished, modern nature film; this 1988 documentary is low-budget in feel, talky, and its wry humour depends on patience with its unhurried tone.

What it asks of you: Under fifty minutes and unhurried, it rewards close attention to its interviews and its dry asides rather than offering a steady stream of visual spectacle.

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