Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

Director:

Taika Waititi

Writers:

Taika Waititi (screenplay), Barry Crump (based on the book "Wild Pork and Watercress" written by)

Stars:

Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata

22 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Neill	...	Hec
Julian Dennison	...	Ricky
Rima Te Wiata	...	Bella
Rachel House	...	Paula
Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne	...	Kahu
Oscar Kightley	...	Andy
Stan Walker	...	Ron
Mike Minogue	...	Joe
Cohen Holloway	...	Hugh
Rhys Darby	...	Psycho Sam
Troy Kingi	...	TK
Taika Waititi	...	Minister
Hamish Parkinson	...	Gavin
Stu Giles	...	Sick Man
Lloyd Scott	...	Tourist

Storyline

Bella and Hector, two reclusive country folk, become foster parents to Ricky, a problem child from the city. After some adjustment, things go reasonably well. However, the death of Bella means Hector now has to look after Ricky, and they didn't get along too well. Moreover, her death causes Child Services to decide to send Ricky back to the orphanage. Ricky refuses to go back and runs away, ultimately sparking a national manhunt for him and Hector.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | foster father foster son relationship | manhunt | new zealand | faked death | 

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Taglines:

Nature just got gangster

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including violent content, and for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 2016 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

Lov na divljake

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$77,298, 26 June 2016

Gross USA:

$5,202,582

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,133,732

Company Credits

Production Co:

Piki Films, Defender Films, Curious Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Neill described the film as very funny with many funny people in it, and one unfunny person. That last one being himself.

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Goofs

Realistically, Ricky Baker would have lost a significant amount of weight when himself and Uncle Hank go on their trek into the bush: They would have been surviving on little food and doing a lot of exercise every day.

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Quotes

Ricky Baker: He's molestering me!

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Crazy Credits

The credits include sections headed "Wildercrew" and "Wildercast", with the latter including the subheading "Wilderdogs".

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Connections

Referenced in Gruen XL: Same Sex Postal Survey (2017)

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Soundtracks

Shchtedrik
Written by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (as M. Leontovych)
Performed by Choeur d'enfants du Bolchoï
Courtesy of FGL Productions

User Reviews

An absolute gem of a film. A must see movie!!!!!

This is such a funny, heartwarming, immensely entertaining, brilliant film for the whole family. I can't wait to go again, and again.... Taika is a genius. The entire cinema clapped when it finished which I've never seen before. It's now my absolute favourite film of all time!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie!!!!!!! It is effortlessly funny with a brilliant cast of very talented Kiwi actors. The scenery is of course beautiful because it's set in New Zealand's stunning landscape. Even though there are serious, universal underlying issues within the script they are dealt with in a way that is from the child's innocent perspective so the film remains light and entertaining throughout. If this film doesn't do exceptionally well off shore and get the global recognition it deserves, it will be a travesty.