Chatter Box Film

Kangaroo is a family film which releases from Studiocanal on 30th January, in UK and Ireland cinemas.

Studiocanal; the production company behind Paddington, aims for more family gold with this release in the UK of the already popular Australian hit ‘Kangaroo’.

Based upon the true story of Chris ‘Brogla’ Burns; who opened a Kangaroo Sanctuary in 2005 and became a viral sensation when his male roo, Roger, started a round of fisticuffs with him. With
the nearest wildlife rescue centre and hospital over 1500km away, Brolga saw an urgent need for a place to care for the many orphaned joeys and injured adult kangaroos he saw – as a result of road trauma in the centre of Australia.

In 2013, the Kangaroo Dundee documentary series by BBC UK/National Geographic USA, followed the daily life of Brolga, the Sanctuary Kangaroo mob and other wildlife, delighting audiences in more than 90 countries and developing a dedicated fanbase worldwide. ‘Kangaroo Dundee’ the book soon followed, with the story then picked up by STUDIOCANAL as the inspiration for a family film.

The script uses a cancelled television celebrity, Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr), a weather man who upon saving a dolphin from what he thought being beached, his actions leads the dolphin to dying from a lung problem.

Chris is fired from his work, and seeks refuge with a new job fronting a Western Australia travelogue show. En route he hits a mother kangaroo and damages his car. He is stranded in Silver Gum near Alice Springs, amidst the hostile environment of the Northern Territrory, while his car is repaired and attempts to make friends with the local folks.

So far, so Doc Hollywood. And yet the film through a mixture of sure handed directing by Kate Woods, a neat little script by Harry Cripps that shows 12 year old Charlie (debutant Lily Whiteley) missing her Dad and seeking a surrogate in Chris – forcing him to hang around for tradition and adopt the roo’s as his children coupled with the fish out of water familiar storyline. Often there is something to keep you entertained and maintain your attention.

The film grows into being more about finding yourself in the unlikeliest of places and becoming a part of a community you did not realise needed you, with the added touch of cute kangaroo’s.

The film cleverly brings in the influence of social media for good and bad reasons; how children use phones implicitly – the search for a good signal – when really talking to an older generation such as Murray the scholar barfly will teach you as much as an internet search.

Some beautiful landscape photography and decent acting by the ensemble cast across the board helps the film, yet Corr, an Australian veteran, as Chris actually does a lot better than can be imagined. His arc is believable and he goes from well-intentioned fool who gets cancelled to frustrated career driven male to nurturing caring adult, growing as much as the roos he cares for do.

When is Kangaroo releasing?

Kangaroo is out from Studiocanal UK in cinemas on January 30th.

My thanks to Studiocanal UK for the opportunity to review and attend a preview screening before general release.