Cane Toads: The Conquest

The film combines old newsreels, nature footage featuring cane toads in action, re-enactments of toad-related events, and the first-hand accounts of people's interactions with the toads. The story begins with the toads in full form 15 million years ago, and fast-forwards to the 1935 introduction of 102 cane toads to Australia in an ill-conceived attempt to take on the cane beetle devastating sugarcane crops. The toads' proliferation got out of hand, and they became a seriously invasive species, marching across Australia, capturing huge swaths of territory over the decades. Various characters, including scientists, farmers, and everyday people, provide testimony about the creatures.