''Dr Plonk'', also titled ''Dr Plonk: The brilliant Dr Plonk'', is a 2007 Australian

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

silent

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written and directed by

Rolf de Heer Rolf de Heer (born 4 May 1951) is a Dutch Australian film director. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in the Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old.

. It premiered in Australia at the

2007 Adelaide Film Festival The 3rd Adelaide Film Festival took place in Adelaide, South Australia, from 22 February to 4 March 2007.Graham Tardif and performed by the Stiletto sisters. It is also notable for a cameo appearance by the South Australian Premier,

Mike Rann Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and List of Australi ...

, playing the 2007 Prime Minister.

Plot

The story focuses on Dr Plonk, a scientist and inventor who, in 1907, determines that the world will end in 101 years. However, he is ridiculed for his beliefs and so invents a

time machine A time machine is a fictional or hypothetical device that allows time travel. Concept A time machine is a device that makes time travel possible. The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' distinguishes between two different types of time ma ...

in order to collect evidence from the future to prove his case. But each visit he makes to 2007 only causes him more problems, and he eventually becomes a wanted man... One scene satirises

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

old

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

s where "fake natives" threaten the hero, by having

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

members of the cast "overact in silly

grass skirt A grass skirt is a costume and garment made with layers of plant fibres such as grasses and leaves that is fastened at the waistline. Pacific Grass skirts were introduced to Hawaii by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands around the 1870s to 1880s ...

s and fuzzy-wuzzy wigs".

Cast

* Nigel Lunghi as Dr Plonk *

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in '' Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films '' Babe'' (1995) and ...

as Mrs Plonk * Paul Blackwell as Dr Plonk's assistant, Paulus * Reg the dog as Tiberius the dog * Guest appearances by many "familiar faces", including

, playing the 2007 Prime Minister * Cast members from ''

Ten Canoes ''Ten Canoes'' is a 2006 Australian historical drama/docudrama film directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starring Crusoe Kurddal. The film is set in Arnhem Land in northern Australia, before Western influence, and tells the story of ...

Production

De Heer was inspired to make the film after discovering old raw film stock, which prompted him to make a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

. He directed and co-produced the film, with

Julie Ryan Julie Ryan (born February 6, 1984) is an Irish film and TV producer from Cork, Ireland, known for her work on '' The Young Offenders'' (2016), ''I Never Cry'' (2020), and '' Finding You'' (2020). Career Production company Ryan is the managi ...

and Vertigo Productions. Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci, and Bryce Menzies were executive producers. Judd Overton was

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Tania Nehme Tania Nehme (born September 1966) is an Australian film editor. She has edited a number of films directed by Rolf de Heer and won and been nominated for many awards for her editing work. Early life and education Tania Nehme was born in Septemb ...

edited the film, while Beverley Freeman was responsible for production design.

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

assisted with funding. De Heer had originally planned to use the

Wurlitzer organ The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

as accompaniment at the film's world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival, and record the music as well as the sounds in the cinema, such as the audience clapping, to create the score. However, the organ did not work with the film, so they asked the Stiletto Sisters, adding a piano to their line-up of Hope Csutoros on violin, Judy Gunson on

piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deir ...

, and Jo To on

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, to perform instead. Graham Tardif composed the score to suit the performers and their vocals. The score was described by Richard Kuipers in ''Variety'' magazine as a "pastiche of

jig The jig (, ) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It first gained popularity in 16th-century England, Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of the British Isles, and was adopted on mainland Eu ...

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

pickings and sea-shanty melodies". The film is 83 minutes long, and also titled ''Dr Plonk: The brilliant Dr Plonk''.

Release

''Dr Plonk'' premiered in Australia as the closing film at the

2007 Adelaide Film Festival The 3rd Adelaide Film Festival took place in Adelaide, South Australia, from 22 February to 4 March 2007.Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Goteborg and

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

s, as well as the

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

in Spain. A special screening of the film for schoolchildren was arranged at the 2007

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

, and was screened at the launch of Australia's

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

's new cinema, Arc, in the same month. The film was distributed in Australia by

Palace Films Palace Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain that specialises in arthouse and international films. Their head office are based in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra and they operate locations in New South Wales (Central Park, Norton Street, ...

and internationally by

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating in Portugal and Spain, usually in triple metre, triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is u ...

. Its public cinema release in Australia was on 30 August 2007.

Reception

Box office

''Dr. Plonk'' grossed $83,450 at the box office in Australia.

Critical response

''Dr Plonk'' scored 68% on the review aggregator site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, but the score was only based on two reviews. Richard Kuipers in ''Variety'' magazine described the film as "a tribute to silent filmmaking and a sly,

Jacques Tati Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...

-like satire of modern ways", although "not an unqualified success", with the middle section slowing down the laughs. He commented on its references to filmmakers

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

and

Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, ...

, and its use of gags similar to

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

and the

Keystone Cops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History Hank Mann creat ...

. He also praised the technical quality of the film as well as the performances, in particular that of

. Luke Buckmaster, writing on ''In Film Australia'', called it "a feat of inspired lunacy... carr

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

the inimitable charm of a true rarity...", concluding "This irresistibly insane excursion to cinematic la-la land offers a mishmash of old and new delights, and also happens to be one of the most consistently enjoyable time travel movies out there". Michael Adams, writing for

SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS ...

's ''

The Movie Show ''The Movie Show'' was an Australian film review program which was broadcast on SBS TV. Its history is divided into three parts, until it finally wound up in 2008. History The programme commenced on 30 October 1986 with David Stratton and Mar ...

'', gave the film three stars out of five, writing "De Heer could've done much more with the story to justify feature length". Urban Cinefile critic Louise Keller gave a positive review: "Beyond its novelty value, ''Dr Plonk'' is fresh and funny, wacky and outlandish as it combines slapstick, situation comedy and an audacious premise". ''Dr Plonk'' was listed as no. 169 on a list of "The Best and Worst Australian Films – The Critics View", published in 2023 on film buff Peter Morrow's website Ozflicks. The order was based on a survey of 78 Australian and international critics and film websites, which included more than 8,000 ratings of over 1,400 Australian films.

Accolades

Judd Overton, a recent graduate of the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...

, won an award from the

Australian Cinematographers Society The Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a forum for Australian cinematographers to further develop their skills through mutual co-operation. History The Austral ...

. Graham Tardif was nominated for a

FCCA Award The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

for Best Music Score.

References

External links

*
Scenes from ''Dr Plonk''
on the

NFSA The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

website
''Dr Plonk''
on the current Adelaide Film Festival website, including clips from the film {{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor Plonk Australian science fiction comedy films Australian silent feature films Films directed by Rolf de Heer 2000s science fiction comedy films Australian black-and-white films 2000s films about time travel Films set in 1907 Films set in 2007 Australian slapstick films 2007 comedy films 2007 films 2000s English-language films Silent science fiction comedy films 2000s Australian films Films scored by Graham Tardif English-language science fiction comedy films