Kangaroo Valley (film)

Last updated

Kangaroo Valley is a 2022 nature documentary film made for Netflix, directed by Kylie Stott and written by Tab Murphy. [1] [2] Narrated by Sarah Snook, the film is a coming-of-age adventure starring a nervous baby eastern grey kangaroo named Mala as she faces hungry dingoes and winter snows to survive her first year out of pouch. The film features a debut new track from Australian pop star Sia called ‘We Can Do Anything.’ [3] It was released on December 14, 2022.

Contents

Plot

In a lush valley in Australia, a young kangaroo joey, Mala, emerges from her mother Lowanna's pouch for the first time. Mala is reluctant to leave the pouch, in contrast to the joyful joey Buru, who loves to hop. King of the kangaroo mob is Bamir, the largest buck in the valley and Mala's father.

Bordering the valley is the Black Forest, burnt in recent wildfires and the lair of a dingo pack, led by the white dingo Migaloo. Migaloo's son, Miro, is the same age as Mala and is still learning to hunt. Miro chases a mother kangaroo carrying a joey in her pouch. The joey topples from the pouch during the chase, but manages to escape.

Only one in five kangaroo joeys make it to their first birthday, so Mala has a lot to learn if she's going to survive her first year. Mala's valley is home to many creatures, including the grumpy wombat Warrin, an energetic bird Willie the Wagtail, a koala, sugar gliders and many colorful parrots. A wedge-tailed eagle threatens the joeys but the kangaroo mob is alerted to the threat by the alarm calls of the smaller birds in the valley.

The next time the dingoes return to hunt, Mala is separated from Lowanna in the chaos. The dingoes surround King Bamir and he is brought down to his death. When the chaos is over, Mala finally reunites with Lowanna.

Winter brings snow storms to the valley, and food is scarce for the kangaroos. Miro is forced to leave the dingo pack when a new litter of pups arrives, and he struggles to find food.

When spring arrives, Mala and Miro are both out on their own. In a final hunt, the two go head-to-head. Mala manages to outpace Miro and escape with her life. The new season's babies all begin to emerge, continuing the circle of life in the valley.

Production

In January 2021, it was announced that Kylie Stott would direct the film for producers Ari Mark and Phil Lott for Netflix. [4] Screenwriter Tab Murphy joined the team in his first foray into nature films, a departure from his previous titles including the Disney animated movies including The Hunchback of Notre Dame , Tarzan , Atlantis: The Lost Empire , and Brother Bear , which was nominated for an Academy Award Best Animated Feature. [5]

The main filming location was Namadgi National Park, outside of the Australian capital Canberra. Filming was plagued by lockdowns and border closures caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the production team secured special permissions to continue filming. The team spent more than a year filming, and captured 300 hours of footage. [6]

Reception

Johnny Loftus of Decider gave a positive review, saying "Kangaroo Valley is crisply shot, warmly told, and features a marsupial pouch full of interesting facts." [7] Amanda Guarragi of Ready Steady Cut praised the film's coming-of-age story, saying that is what "sets it apart from the rest of these wildlife documentaries." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangaroo</span> Marsupial of the family Macropodidae

Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae. In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thylacine</span> Extinct carnivorous marsupial from Australasia

The thylacine, also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The thylacine died out in New Guinea and mainland Australia around 3,600–3,200 years ago, prior to the arrival of Europeans, possibly because of the introduction of the dingo, whose earliest record dates to around the same time, but which never reached Tasmania. Prior to European settlement, around 5,000 remained in the wild on Tasmania. Beginning in the nineteenth century, they were perceived as a threat to the livestock of farmers and bounty hunting was introduced. The last known of its species died in 1936 at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The thylacine is widespread in popular culture and is a cultural icon in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingo</span> Canid species native to Australia

The dingo is an ancient (basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a subspecies of dog or wolf, or a full species in its own right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern grey kangaroo</span> Species of kangaroo

The eastern grey kangaroo is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. It is also known as the great grey kangaroo and the forester kangaroo. Although a big eastern grey male can typically weigh up to 66 kg (146 lb) and have a length of well over 2 m, the scientific name, Macropus giganteus, is misleading: the red kangaroo of the semi-arid inland is larger, weighing up to 90 kg (200 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red kangaroo</span> Species of mammal

The red kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as southern Western Australia, the eastern and southeastern coasts, and the rainforests along the northern coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammar wallaby</span> A small macropod native to South and Western Australia

The tammar wallaby, also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small macropod native to South and Western Australia. Though its geographical range has been severely reduced since European colonisation, the tammar wallaby remains common within its reduced range and is listed as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has been introduced to New Zealand and reintroduced to some areas of Australia where it had been previously extirpated. Skull variations differentiate between tammar wallabies from Western Australia, Kangaroo Island, and mainland South Australia, making them distinct population groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingiso</span> Species of marsupial

The dingiso, also known as the bondegezou or bakaga, is an endangered, long-tailed marsupial found only in mountain forests on the west of the island of New Guinea. It is a species of tree-kangaroo, which are mammals native to Australia and New Guinea that feed on leaves or other plant matter. It belongs to the macropodid family (Macropodidae) with kangaroos, and carries its young in a pouch like most other marsupials. Though sacred to the local Moni people, it is still threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis Entertainment</span> American film production company

Davis Entertainment is an American independent film and television production company, founded by John Davis in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western quoll</span> Species of marsupial

The western quoll is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballarat Wildlife Park</span> Zoo in Victoria, Australia

The Ballarat Wildlife Park is a wildlife park in Ballarat, Victoria. Opened in February 1985, it is privately owned by founder Greg Parker and his wife, Julia Leonard. The 10-hectare park holds over 300 animals, including Australian animals—there are over 100 free-roaming kangaroos—and an extensive collection of reptiles. It was once well known for housing Patrick, the common wombat who was the oldest known marsupial in captivity when he died aged around 30 years old in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cats in Australia</span> Overview of the role and status of cats in Australia

Cats are an invasive species in Australia. Because they are not native to Australia and were only introduced by European colonists as pets in the early 1800s, native Australian animals did not co-evolve with them. As of 2016, some 3.8 million domestic cats and up to 6.3 million feral cats continue to live in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Bragg</span> American actor and comedian (born 1996)

Joey Franklin Bragg is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role as Joey Rooney in the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie (2013–2017).

Amanda Marsalis is an American film director and photographer.

Aaron Saidman is an American creator-developer, documentary filmmaker and television producer known for creating or serving as an executive producer on a number of non-fiction television series and documentary feature films, including Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Curse of Von Dutch,Mind Field,Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies, The Pitch,The Seven Five,Free Meek and Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer. Saidman is the President and co-founder of The Intellectual Property Corporation, which he created in 2016 with longtime producing partner Eli Holzman.

<i>Life Overtakes Me</i> 2019 Swedish-American documentary film

Life Overtakes Me is a 2019 Swedish-American documentary film directed by Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas. The film shows how hundreds of refugee children in Sweden withdraw into a coma-like illness called resignation syndrome, apparently because of traumatic experiences they had.

The Most Unknown is a 2018 documentary film, directed by Ian Cheney, that introduces nine researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds to areas of scientific field work new to them. The film has had mixed reviews, with some reviewers focussed on the participants' contagious fascination with research on life's biggest mysteries, while other reviewers criticised the film's coverage of difficult technical concepts as lacking depth.

<i>The Watcher</i> (2022 TV series) American television series

The Watcher is an American mystery thriller television series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. It premiered on October 13, 2022. It is loosely based on a 2018 article by Reeves Wiedeman for New York magazine's website The Cut. Despite being originally conceived as a miniseries, The Watcher was renewed for a second season in November 2022.

Copenhagen Cowboy is a supernatural noir-thriller television series created by Nicolas Winding Refn for Netflix. The first Danish-language work by Refn since Pusher 3 (2005), it follows Miu, a renegade with various psychic abilities who goes on an unknown quest on Copenhagen's criminal underworld.

<i>Island of the Sea Wolves</i> Canadian TV series or program

Island of the Sea Wolves is a 2022 Canadian documentary series nominated for 7 Emmys, and narrated by Will Arnett. Filmed on Vancouver Island, the series focuses on sea wolves and bald eagles, animal species that must forage for food in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. The series premiered on the Netflix streaming platform on October 11, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian McGinn</span> American director and producer

Brian McGinn is an American TV and film director, writer, producer and showrunner.

References

  1. ↑ "Exclusive clip: Ample makes natural history debut with Netflix doc "Kangaroo Valley"" . Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  2. ↑ Guarragi, Amanda (2022-12-14). "Kangaroo Valley review - an eye-opening wildlife documentary". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. ↑ "'Kangaroo Valley' Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It?" . Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  4. ↑ White, Peter (2021-01-28). "Netflix Hops On 'Kangaroos' Feature Doc From Ample Nature". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  5. ↑ Evins, Barri (13 December 2022). "Sublime Storytelling: Screenwriter Tab Murphy on his Foray into Documentary Film". Script Magazine. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ↑ "'You cannot underestimate the power of film': Netflix shows Namadgi to the world". The Canberra Times. 2022-12-27. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ↑ "'Kangaroo Valley' Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It?" . Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  8. ↑ Guarragi, Amanda (2022-12-14). "Kangaroo Valley review - an eye-opening wildlife documentary". Ready Steady Cut. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.