The 1977 feature film Dot and the Kangaroo is based on Ethel Pedley’s 1899 children’s book of the same title. The story is set in New South Wales in the 1880s, when a five-year-old girl called Dot gets lost in the bush. A red kangaroo who has lost her Joey helps Dot find her way home. On the way, they meet other local animals, and Dot learns to appreciate nature: the bushland, plants and animals. The film was produced and directed by Polish-born Yoram Gross and shot in the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves west of Sydney. It set animated characters against live-action backgrounds, and an extensive musical score composed by Bob Young. Dot’s voice was that of Australian television and radio actor Barbara Frawley. Other renowned actors included Joan Bruce as the kangaroo (and as Dot’s mother), June Salter as Mrs Platypus, and Spike Milligan as Mr Platypus. The songs were performed by some of the actors as well as by professional singers such as Kerry Biddell. Eight sequels were made, including Around the World with Dot (1981) and Dot Goes to Hollywood (1987). Dot and the Kangaroo carries a strong environmental message. It begins with an appeal from Ethel Pedley’s book ‘to the children of Australia … In the hope of enlisting their sympathies for the many beautiful and frolicsome creatures of their fair land; whose extinction, through ruthless destruction, is surely being accomplished’.