Combat Wombat: Double Trouble (U)

The crime rate in Sanctuary City is at an all-time low thanks to the selfless actions of Combat Wombat and sidekick Gallant Glider but life has become overwhelming. Citizens are asking the duo to unclog drains, collect fast food orders and retrieve frisbees from rooftops. When chameleon technology genius Lenny Glick enacts his diabolical plan to enslave Sanctuary City in a simulation, Combat Wombat joins forces with Gallant Glider and a team of new heroes to save the day.

LondonNet Film Review

Combat Wombat: Double Trouble (U) Film Review from LondonNet

In October 2020, director Ricard Cusso’s computer-animated comedy Combat Wombat romped onto home formats in the UK and Ireland. The briskly paced adventure introduced viewers to lovable wombat Maggie Diggins (voiced by Deborah Mailman), who creates a crime-fighting alter ego in the aftermath of her husband’s death. The grief-stricken marsupial befriends sugar glider Sweetie (Ed Oxenbould) and the duo squeeze into handmade costumes to protect the good citizens of Sanctuary City as Combat Wombat and trusty sidekick Gallant Glider…

A good-natured sequel directed by Cusso and co-directed by Tania Vincent continues the story as Maggie and Sweetie fully embrace their destinies as “an unstoppable force for good” and discover that small acts of kindness and self-sacrifice add up to something far more profound. The original film drew comparisons to Zootropolis and The Incredibles and the amiable follow-up doubles down with the introduction of a sullen teenager and a snot-filled mischievous baby to the central team of anthropomorphic crime fighters under the banner of cross-generational co-operation.

Screenwriter Dominic Morris detours from expectations with a surprisingly touching ulterior motive for the villain’s dastardly deeds that ticks diversity, equity and inclusion boxes without feeling contrived. Mailman’s heartfelt vocal performance once again anchors the high-tempo hijinks and allows filmmakers to lightly address themes of grief, online privacy and miscommunication within a colourful and broadly comedic framework.

Six months into their roaringly successful tenure as Sanctuary City’s resident superheroes, Maggie (Mailman) and Sweetie (Oxenbould) launch the Hero On Demand app, which allows citizens to engage their services “anytime, anywhere, for any reason”. Feathered and furry denizens take the dynamic duo at their word and Combat Wombat and sidekick Gallant Glider are rushed off their paws unclogging drains, collecting fast food orders and retrieving frisbees from rooftops.

Thoughts of retirement are put on hold when police Chief Burbank (Dan Brumm) arrests elderly echidna Reginald (Mark Coles Smith) and his friends for orchestrating “a full-on geriatric crime spree”. Maggie scents a diabolical conspiracy and she goes undercover with Sweetie at Sanctuary City Bowls Club while babysitting Reginald’s granddaughter Matilda (Lorenzo Shakhovskoy) and supervising the community service of teenage outcast Skylar Bloodface (Elizabeth Cullen). The mismatched team follows a breadcrumb trail of clues to the revolving doors of Chameleonline run by technology genius Lenny Glick (David Wenham).

Combat Wombat: Double Trouble starts strongly with a rip-roaring distillation of events since the first film, peppered with crisp one-liners. Pace slackens with the introduction of Lenny Glick’s glitchy metaverse, Sanctuary+, necessitating infrequent narrative rebounds between his digital utopia and the real world. The majority of giggles are shoe-horned into the opening half but Cusso and Vincent’s walk on the wild side doesn’t outstay its welcome with a running time comfortably under 90 minutes.

– Sarah Lee