Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
Directed byMark Lewis
Written byMark Lewis
CinematographyJim Frazier
Wayne Taylor
Edited byLindsay Frazer
Music byMartin Armiger
Distributed byRonin Films
Release dates
  • 9 June 1988 (1988-06-09) (Australia)
  • 11 September 1988 (1988-09-11) (Canada)
  • 30 September 1988 (1988-09-30) (U.S.)
Running time
47 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History is a 1988 documentary film about the introduction of cane toads to Australia. Cane toads were introduced to Australia with the aim of controlling a sugar cane pest, the cane beetle, but they over-multiplied and became a serious problem in the Australian ecosystem. It is often humorous, and is used in high schools and colleges as a complement to curricula in biology, ecology, environmental science, anthropology, geography, and communication.[citation needed] It was filmed in Cairns and Gordonvale in Queensland.

The film was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Film.[1] It is distributed in the United States by Radio Pictures.

Unusual for a film considered a cult classic, Cane Toads performed very well during its theatrical release. Released in March 1988, the film grossed $613,910 Australian dollars (not adjusted for inflation) as of 2012 and has been one of the top grossing Australian documentaries of all time.[2]

  1. ^ "BAFTA Database". 1989 Awards. BAFTA. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Australia: Top documentaries of all time". Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.