THE SLOTH LANE Trailer (2025) Adventure

THE SLOTH LANE Trailer (2025) Adventure

THE SLOTH LANE Trailer (2025) Adventure
© 2025 - Vertigo Releasing
The trailer for the homegrown animated film “The Lost Tiger” has dropped, featuring a lineup of Australian and New Zealand comedy stars lending their voices to iconic Aussie animals.

From Brisbane-based production company Like A Photon Creative (“The Sloth Lane”, “Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back”), “The Lost Tiger” will hit cinemas on Thursday, February 27.

The film boasts an impressive voice cast, including Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Celeste Barber (“Runt”), Thomas Weatherall (“Heartbreak High”), Nakkiah Lui (“Black Comedy”) and Jimi Bani.

Written and directed by Chantelle Murray, “The Lost Tiger” is a groundbreaking project—the first Australian animated feature by an Indigenous female filmmaker. The film premiered at the Brisbane International Film Festival and brings to life beloved Aussie creatures like kangaroos, quolls, and koalas.

The story follows Teo, a young tiger—one of the last of his kind—who’s adopted by a family of wrestling kangaroos. Guided by mysterious visions, Teo embarks on a journey to uncover his heritage and save his homeland from destruction.

The official synopsis reads: “Teo is a plucky young tiger and one of the last of his kind. Found abandoned and wearing a mysterious crystal necklace, he is adopted into a big, boisterous kangaroo family of travelling wrestlers. After receiving visions from an unfamiliar land, Teo must suddenly embark on an epic quest to reconnect with his heritage and save his homeland from the clutches of destruction.”

Screen Queensland CEO Jacqui Feeney praised the film: “We are delighted to once again partner with Brisbane’s Like A Photon Creative to support The Lost Tiger through our Development and Production Fund.

“Fostering local stories and storytellers is at the heart of Screen Queensland. We are particularly proud to support The Lost Tiger to be made in Queensland, as Australia’s first animated feature film written and directed by an Indigenous woman. This culturally rich and adventurous story, adds to the incredible animation talents of our local Brisbane filmmakers.”

“The Lost Tiger” offers a colourful, action-packed family adventure that explores themes of reconnecting with heritage and country.
The Sloth Lane

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tania Vincent
Written by
Tania Vincent
Ryan Greaves
Story by
Tania Vincent
Ryan Greaves
Erica Harrison
Produced by
Kristen Souvlis
Nadine Bates
Ryan Greaves
Starring
Leslie Jones
Teo Vergara
Olivia Vásquez
Ben Gorroño
Facundo Herrera
Remy Hii
Matteo Romaniuk
Dan Brumm
Edited by Josef Switak
Music by Ack Kinmonth
Production
companies
Like A Photon Creative
Screen Queensland Studios
Distributed by Maslow Entertainment
Release dates
10 June 2024 (Annecy)
15 June 2024 (Sydney)
25 July 2024 (Australia)
Running time 84 minutes
Country Australia
Language English
The Sloth Lane is a 2024 animated adventure-comedy film directed by Tania Vincent and co directed by Ricard Cussó. It is the fifth overall film in Like a Photon Creative's The Tales from Sanctuary City franchise. The film stars the voices of Leslie Jones, Teo Vergara, Olivia Vásquez, Ben Gorroño, Facundo Herrera, Remy Hii, Matteo Romaniuk and Dan Brumm.

Produced by Like A Photon Creative and Screen Queensland Studios with animation services by Cosmic Dino Studio, The Sloth Lane had its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France on 10 June 2024, and was released by Maslow Entertainment in Australia on 25 July.[1]

Voice cast
Leslie Jones as Dotti Pace, an astute cheetah and fast food magnate
Teo Vergara as Laura
Olivia Vásquez as Gabriella
Ben Gorroño as Luis
Facundo Herrera as Mani
Remy Hii as Platy, Dotti's side-kick technician
Matteo Romaniuk as Arlo
Dan Brumm as Chief Furbank
Production
The film's voice cast was announced in October 2023 that included Leslie Jones, Teo Vergara, Olivia Vásquez, Ben Gorroño, Facundo Herrera, Remy Hii and Matteo Romaniuk.[2] Dan Brumm joined the cast in May 2024.[1]

Release
Ahead of its domestic theatrical release in Australia in July, The Sloth Lane had a premiere screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2024.[1]

References
Milligan, Mercedes (28 May 2024). "Australian Animated Adventure 'The Sloth Lane' Drops Official Trailer". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
Vann-Wall, Silvi (27 October 2023). "The Sloth Lane: Leslie Jones voices a cheetah in Screen Queensland-funded film". Screenhub. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
External links
The Sloth Lane at IMDb
vte
The Tales from Sanctuary City
Original films
The Wishmas Tree (2020)Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)The Sloth Lane (2024)
Combat Wombat films
Combat Wombat (2020)Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)
Categories: 2024 films2020s Australian animated films2024 animated films2024 computer-animated filmsAnimated films about mammalsAnimated films about talking animalsAustralian adventure comedy filmsAustralian animated comedy filmsAustralian animated feature filmsAustralian animated filmsAustralian computer-animated filmsCooking filmsFilms about chefsFilms about food and drinkFilms about trucksFood trucksThe Tales from Sanctuary City
The Tales from Sanctuary City
Created by Kristen Souvlis
Nadine Bates
Original work The Wishmas Tree (2020)
Owner Like a Photon Creative
Years 2020–present
Films and television
Film(s)
Original films:
The Wishmas Tree (2020)
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)
The Sloth Lane (2024)
The Lost Tiger (2025)
Combat Wombat films:
Combat Wombat (2020)
Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)
Games
Video game(s) Sanctuary World (2020)
The Tales from Sanctuary City is a media franchise created and managed by Australian children's production company Like a Photon Creative co-founders Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates.[1][2] The franchise revolves around the anthropomorphic animals who reside in Sanctuary City, which was inspired by the fauna and landscape of Australia.[3] As of 2024, the franchise consists of five overall feature films; a mobile app, titled Sanctuary World, was discontinued in 2020 shortly after its release.[4]

The first three films were directed by Ricard Cussó, with the fourth by Cussó and Tania Vincent. The fifth film was written and directed by Tania Vincent making her the first woman in Australia to write and direct an animated feature. The first film was distributed by R & R Films, and the next two were distributed by Odin's Eye Entertainment; however, as of 2024, the company's films were distributed by Maslow Entertainment. The first film received generally negative reviews from critics, and the following three received mixed to positive reviews.

Films
Film Release date (Australia) Director(s) Writer(s) Story by Producer(s)
The Wishmas Tree 27 February 2020 Ricard Cussó Peter Ivan & Ryan Greaves Peter Ivan Nadine Bates and Kristen Souvlis
Combat Wombat 15 October 2020 Matthew James Kinmonth
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal 4 February 2021 Ryan Greaves
Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back 29 February 2024 Ricard Cussó and Tania Vincent Dominic Morris
The Sloth Lane 25 July 2024 Tania Vincent Tania Vincent, Ryan Greaves Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves, and Kristen Souvlis
The Lost Tiger 27 Februrary 2025 Chantelle Murray Chantelle Murray and Philip Denson
Like a Photon Creative launched the franchise with feature films, starting with The Wishmas Tree in 2020.[1][5] They were backed and funded by Screen Queensland and Screen Australia.[1][6]

The Wishmas Tree (2020)
Main article: The Wishmas Tree
A young possum's misguided wish for a white Wishmas unintentionally freezes her entire hometown of Sanctuary City and threatens the lives of all who live there. Before the magical Wishmas Tree dies, she must undertake a journey into The Wild in order to reverse the damage she caused and save the city.[7]

Pre-production started in September 2018 and animation in January 2019.[3] It had its world premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 5 October 2019,[8] and was released in Australian theatres on 27 February 2020.

Combat Wombat (2020)
Main article: Combat Wombat (film)
Lazy wombat Maggie Diggins becomes Combat Wombat, Sanctuary City's new superhero after she begrudgingly saves a citizen from falling to his death, but her rising stardom displeases local superhero Flightless Feather, who hatches a plan for Maggie's demise. Maggie uncovers a conspiracy that could put the city in grave danger, and it is up to her to expose it.[9]

Combat Wombat was released in Australian theatres on 15 October 2020. It had a limited release to 42 screens.[9]

Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)
Main article: Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal
The unbearably adorable, eternally optimistic Quokka named Daisy has an impossible dream – to win the World's Scariest Animal competition of Sanctuary City.[10]

The film had its world premiere at the Children's International Film Festival (CHIFF) in Australia on 28 November 2020,[11] and opened in theatres with a limited release in Australia on 4 February 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinemas.[12] The film received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics.[10][13]

Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)
Main article: Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back
A sequel to the 2020 original, titled Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back, was released in Australian theatres on 29 February 2024.

The Sloth Lane (2024)
Main article: The Sloth Lane
The film had its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France on 10 June 2024, and opened in theatres in Australia on 25 July.[14]

Reception
Box office performance
Film Release date (Australia) Box office gross
The Wishmas Tree 27 February 2020 $1,793,562[15]
Combat Wombat 15 October 2020 $612,666[16]
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal 4 February 2021 $384,753[17]
Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back 29 February 2024 $850,330[18]
The Sloth Lane 25 July 2024 $350,302[19]
Critical reception
Film Rotten Tomatoes
The Wishmas Tree 50% (6 reviews)[20]
References
Ritman, Alex (2 November 2018) Odin's Eye to Build 'Sanctuary City' Animated Franchise. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Macnab, Geoffrey (24 February 2021) Odin's Eye scores US, UK deals on animation franchise 'Tales From Sanctuary City' (exclusive). Screen Daily. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Whyte, Alexandra (16 December 2019) How to create an Australian animal multiverse. Kids Screen. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Hub. VisitSanctuaryCity.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Croot, James (5 November 2020) Combat Wombat: An entertaining and surprisingly adult animated adventure. Stuff. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Production funding announced for 12 new projects, 19 September 2018. Screen Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Staff (6 December 2019) Trailer arrives for new children's animated film The Wishmas Tree. Cinema Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
The Wishmas Tree. Brisbane International Film Festival – biff.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Groves, Don (19 October 2020) 'The Tales From Sanctuary City' franchise continues with 'Combat Wombat'. IF Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Croot, James (10 February 2021) Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal: Sam Neill's crocodile steals the show. Stuff. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
Daisy Quokka. Children's International Film Festival – chiff.com.au. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
"Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal". The Vore. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
Felperin, Leslie (29 June 2021) Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal review – too cute for the competition. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
Milligan, Mercedes (28 May 2024). "Australian Animated Adventure 'The Sloth Lane' Drops Official Trailer". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
The Wishmas Tree at Box Office Mojo – an IMDb company. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
Combat Wombat at Box Office Mojo – an IMDb company. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal at Box Office Mojo – an IMDb company. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back at Box Office Mojo – an IMDb company. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
The Sloth Lane at Box Office Mojo – an IMDb company. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
The Wishmas Tree at Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
External links
Like a Photon Creative's website
vte
The Tales from Sanctuary City
Original films
The Wishmas Tree (2020)Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)The Sloth Lane (2024)
Combat Wombat films
Combat Wombat (2020)Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)
Categories: The Tales from Sanctuary CityMass media franchisesFilm franchisesFilm series