Underrated: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

I have this watchlist full of movies I’ve never seen. On this list was Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Last week, I finally watched this movie from director Taiki Waititi and here’s what I thought of it.

Short summary
Ricky is a bit of a problem child and has been in an out of foster families a lot. He’s yet again been transferred to another foster family in the middle of the New Zealand bush, and starts living with Bella and Hec. When Ricky is forced to go to another family, just when he’s used to life with Bella and Hec, he walks away into the jungle. A manhunt follows where whole New Zealand is looking out for Ricky and Hec, who gone missing.

The humor
If I would label the movie with a genre, I would probably say Adventure with lots of humor. Humor was there, some scenes were really funny. It starts at the beginning of the movie, where you meet the foster parents and Ricky. But it really doesn’t stop there. Ricky is a really funny character. He learned to write haikus when he’s angry. Anger + haikus + Ricky = a great outcome. You really get to love Ricky at the end of the movie, promised! The chemistry between Hec and Ricky starts slow, but becomes great.

The setting
The movie is set in New Zealand and I guess everybody knows New Zealand is beautiful. There aren’t lots of movies recorded there, but the most famous example of a movie that is: The Lord of the Rings. Where as that movie was set in the mountains of the southern island, this movie was set in the northern island, which makes it a whole other setting. I’m not saying that the mountains in The Lord of the Rings aren’t beautiful (they are) but this jungle was a whole new level. I got really exited to visit New Zealand some time!

The cast
I must confess – the cast isn’t made of the most famous people. But that doesn’t mean that they’re bad actors, they really are not.

 You may recognise Julian Dennison from Deadpool 2, where he plays a kid in a orphanage. He’s only 15 years old, but I’m seeing a great future for this kid.

He plays alongside Sam Neill, who is kind of a Hollywood veteran. He played in Jurassic Park and The Piano, and has been nominated three times for a Golden Globe – none of which he won.

Some trivia about the movie
There’s this scene where a birthday is celebrated and an original song is played. Originally, the idea was to sing Happy Birthday, but they couldn’t get the rights to use it, so this song was made by the cast instead.

If you have watched this movie, you may find some similarities between this movie and the Disney Pixar Up. Think about it, you’ll see the similarities!

The director can be seen a in scene in the movie. He’s playing the minister in the church.

The movie is now available for streaming on Dutch Netflix. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

The two main characters – Ricky and Hec