The Tales from Sanctuary City is a media franchise created and managed by Australian children's production company Like a Photon Creative founders Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates.
Contents
Description
The franchise revolves around the anthropomorphic animals who reside in Sanctuary City, which was inspired by the fauna and landscape of Australia. As of 2025, the franchise consists of six overall feature films and a mobile game titled Sanctuary World, which was discontinued in 2020 shortly after its release.
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 sixth film, The Lost Tiger (2025), was directed, co-written, and co-produced by indigenous filmmaker Chantelle Murray.
The first film was distributed by R & R Films, and the next two were distributed by Odin's Eye Entertainment, but as of 2025, 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
Like a Photon Creative launched the franchise with feature films, starting with The Wishmas Tree in 2020. They were backed and funded by Screen Queensland and Screen Australia.
The Wishmas Tree (2020)
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.
The film was in development during 2018 and 2019. It had its world premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 5 October 2019, and was released in Australian theatres on 27 February 2020.
Combat Wombat (2020)
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.
Combat Wombat was released in Australian theatres on 15 October 2020. It had a limited release to 42 screens.
Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)
The optimistic Quokka named Daisy dreams of winning the World's Scariest Animal competition of Sanctuary City.
The film had its world premiere at the Children's International Film Festival (CHIFF) in Australia on 28 November 2020, 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. The film received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics.
Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024)
A sequel to the 2020 original, titled Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back, was released in Australian theatres on 29 February 2024. In the film, Maggie Diggins is once again in the role of Combat Wombat when an evil tech genius threatens to turn the city into a metaverse simulation.
The Sloth Lane (2024)
Laura Romero and her family of Mexican sloths move to Sanctuary City after their family restaurant is destroyed by the storm. Their food truck soon becomes a hit in the town, which attracts a business entrepreneur Dotti Pace, who wants to save own failed fast food chain by stealing their family recipe book and expand a food business.
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.
The Lost Tiger (2025)
Teo, one of the last thylacines ("Tasmanian tigers"), who is taken by a family of kangaroos, embarks on an adventure to save his homeland from being destroyed.
The Lost Tiger premiered at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 26 October 2024, followed by Australian theatres on 27 February 2025.