Film

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

Steve Irwin plays himself in this absurdist family action-comedy where a satellite accidentally lodges inside a crocodile. It's a genuinely weird artifact: part nature documentary, part spy caper, held together by Irwin's manic charisma and Australia's commitment to the bit. A film that exists entirely in its own logic, endearingly strange rather than polished.

TMDb rating2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a goofy, sun-baked family adventure where Steve Irwin's infectious enthusiasm for wildlife collides with a silly spy caper and a lot of slapstick.

Skip it if you find Irwin's chatter and mugging wearing thin, or want a tight, grown-up thriller; the jokes are broad and the plot is a loose excuse for the set pieces.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes of bright, bustling energy with little dark weight, and a pace that rarely stops to breathe.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Anaconda1997

A creature-feature that treats the animal as a character worth rooting for. Spielbergian thrills, a stacked cast, and real tension—it takes its ridiculous premise seriously without winking at the camera.

But Early CGI animals can look a bit wonky, and some of the human drama overshadows the snake-based chaos you're actually there for.

Anaconda poster

Jungle 2 Jungle1997

Tim Allen as a Manhattan executive with a teenage rainforest son drops deadpan absurdity into every scene. Earnestly goofy in the way that lets kids and parents laugh at different jokes, and it genuinely loves its setting.

But The fish-out-of-water formula is well-worn, and some jokes haven't aged gracefully. It's broad family comedy, not subtle.

Jungle 2 Jungle poster

George of the Jungle1997

Brendan Fraser fully inhabits a man who was raised by apes with such committed stupidity it becomes beautiful. Cartoonish in the best way—a live-action Saturday morning that respects its audience enough to stay silly.

But It's deliberately ridiculous to the point where some people find it exhausting rather than fun. The plot is deliberately inconsequential.

George of the Jungle poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Phantom1996

Both films star men playing larger-than-life action heroes with absolute sincerity, refusing to acknowledge how absurd the premise is. The commitment to the bit is the entire appeal.

Billy Zane as a pulp adventure hero from the comics—sincere, colour-coded, impossible to take entirely seriously but committed to the bit like nothing else. It's Irwin's spiritual cousin: a man in adventure mode treating preposterous situations with unearned gravitas.

But It's genuinely derided and sometimes for good reason: the plot is thin, the dialogue can clang, and it requires you to meet it on its own bizarre wavelength.

The Phantom poster
More like this (8)

Crocodile Dundee1986

Paul Hogan as a crocodile hunter transplanted to New York: the obvious sibling. Fish-out-of-water charm and genuine affection for both Australia and American absurdity. It works because Hogan never breaks character.

But It's from 1986 and wears that era visibly. Some of the humour lands differently now.

Crocodile Dundee poster

Doctor Dolittle1998

Eddie Murphy talks to animals; they sass back. It's chaos with heart, committed to its own weirdness, and populated by voice actors having genuine fun hamming it up.

But The plot is secondary to the bits, which is either liberating or exhausting depending on your mood. Some gags feel padded.

Doctor Dolittle poster

FernGully: The Last Rainforest1992

An animated adventure that genuinely celebrates rainforest ecology while delivering action, humour, and a cast of charming creatures. Tim Curry as an industrial villain is inspired.

But Early 90s animation can look dated, and the environmental message can feel preachy. Kids' films of that era don't always age gracefully.

FernGully: The Last Rainforest poster

Racing Stripes2005

A zebra raised by a horse trainer grows up wanting to race. It's earnest, visually charming, and genuinely emotional about underdog ambition without being cynical.

But It's a talking-animal sports film for kids, so it hits the expected beats without surprise. The humour is gentle to the point of being forgettable.

Racing Stripes poster

Rango2011

A chameleon accidentally becomes sheriff of a desert town. Visually stunning, endlessly inventive, and full of character-actor brilliance. It's a Western, a mystery, and a coming-of-age story all at once.

But It's less interested in plot momentum than in creating a fully realised weird world. Some people find that meandering; others find it refreshing.

Rango poster

The Adventures of Puss in Boots2015

A Spanish-language-influenced swashbuckling series about a cat outlaw. Genuinely inventive, beautifully animated, and funny without being cloying. Treats action as comedy and vice versa.

But It's a Netflix kids' series, so it's episodic rather than built as one story. The tone can shift between silly and sincere in ways that might feel uneven.

The Adventures of Puss in Boots poster

Reno 911!2003

Both use documentary framing for comedy. Both find their laughs in genuine character rather than plot. Both work because the people in them fully commit to their ridiculous situations.

Mockumentary following incompetent desert cops. It's structured like a nature documentary but about humans, finding humour in character quirks and situational chaos. The same energy as Irwin's chaos, just with comedy actors instead of wildlife.

But It's intentionally low-budget and the humour is sprawling—some sketches land, others don't. It requires patience and a tolerance for awkward comedy.

Reno 911! poster

Prehistoric Planet2022

Both treat fantastical encounters (whether fictional agents vs. a crocodile, or dinosaurs) with the earnestness usually reserved for real nature footage. Both ask you to suspend disbelief not through irony but through genuine enthusiasm.

A BBC nature documentary... but the animals are dinosaurs, filmed like they're living today. David Attenborough narrates prehistoric ecosystems with absolute gravitas. It's what happens when you apply documentary seriousness to creatures that never existed—conceptually aligned with Irwin's collision of wildlife passion and pure adventure.

But It's meditative and scientifically grounded, which means zero jokes and long scenes of slow movement. If you want plot or comedy, this isn't it.

Prehistoric Planet poster

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