Directed by Taika Waititi, who also gave us Boy (2010) and co-produced What We Do in the Shadows (2014), Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the quirky and magical buddy movie you want if you’re in need of an antidote to a bad day or a steady diet of sad movies.
It tells the off-kilter adventure story of misfit, rap-loving city kid Ricky Baker and his crusty and cantankerous foster parent ‘Uncle’ Hec, played by Sam Neill. ‘Very bad egg’ Ricky has been bounced out of more foster families than he cares to remember and is given one last chance of living with a couple out on a farm in rural New Zealand. After tragedy strikes early in the film, the unlikely pair gets lost in the wilderness and becomes subject to a nationwide manhunt.
Full of dead-pan humor and warm-hearted mockery, this audience favorite fuses visual gags delivered by a charming cast with sweeping shots of spectacular scenery!
"We know we're in good hands from the opening moments, when the New Zealand greenery undulates across the screen while an otherworldly choral chant fills the soundtrack."
— Michael Sragow
"Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a fun, funny family yarn."
— Anton Bitel
Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.
I can’t explain what made this movie so amazing to me. I mean it was good – I like quirky movies. But this… captured my attention with the scenery and the music. The bond and story between the boy and the man – so quirky so heartwarming!
I had hoped for a different ending, but it is what it is.
Hilarious and ultimately goofy.
Perhaps I just missed what this film was going for, but I was bored out of my mind despite the impressive turn by the young lead. The zany tonal shifts were jarring and turned me off.
I liked it, it was uplifting, a different plot, and pretty cinematography.
Hilarious, lovely, heart-warming…
a good heartwarming movie with humour and family affection and a bit of survival tones all mixed for a perfect blend
I love this movie! Funny, exciting, heart-warming and with a beautiful scenery too.