Title – Kangaroo (2025)

Director – Kate Woods (Looking for Alibrandi)

Cast – Ryan Corr, Lily Whiteley, Deborah Mailman, Rachel House, Brooke Satchwell

Plot – Inspired by a true story, down on his luck TV weatherman Chris Masterman (Corr) ends up in a remote outback town where his unlikely friendship with young girl Charlie (Whiteley) leads him on a kangaroo inspired journey of self-discovery and adventure.  

“Two unlikely friends. One epic adventure”

Review by Eddie on 27/10/2025

Inspired by the true story of Australian Chris “Brolga” Barns, who founded The Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs, Looking for Alibrandi director Kate Woods little Aussie hit Kangaroo is a gentle and instantly forgettable family affair that appears to be the only type of locally made feature that makes a dent at the box office in this day and age.

Following the all ages family dramedy rulebook closely without ever threatening to attempt to do anything unexpected, Kangaroo will be entirely predictable to any older viewer who’s ever watched a film with a down on their luck protagonist and a sassy child who are joined by a cute animal, limiting the chances Woods film has of being anything spectacular or noteworthy but its not to say there aren’t nice moments in this well-intentioned film that’s sure to become a new favourite for younger viewers and those wishing for more kangaroo screentime.

Taking us on a journey to the heart of the Australian outback where Ryan Corr’s luckless one time TV weatherman Chris Masterman finds himself in charge of a young kangaroo joey and becoming friends with Lily Whiteley’s spritely young girl Charlie, leading to a journey of self-discovery and life lessons, Kangaroo is an at times long in the tooth experience that doesn’t always do a great job of stretching out its wafer thing plot to over 100 but there’s a pleasantness throughout that has clearly resonated with local Australian audiences.

Becoming somewhat of a small-scale sleeper hit locally with over $6 million in box office receipts from Aussie cinemas, it’s clear that if you build an accessible and digestible local family product audiences will come and while there’s going to be limited scope for Kangaroo to breakout majorly in overseas territories, one suspects that this could become a new family favourite for young viewers once the film hits the streaming/digital space.

Of note in an otherwise fairly unnotable experience and worth mentioning as a standout aspect of the film is the performance of Whitely who brings a lot of energy and heart to her role as Charlie here and while Corr gives a lot of energy in the lead role, the star of the show here outside of the adorable joeys is absolutely her, suggesting she’s a future talent to watch in both the local and international scene.

Final Say –

The exact type of experience promised, Kangaroo is a decidedly middle ground offering that does everything you’d expect it to do and nothing more, undoubtedly appealing most to the young viewers and kangaroo fans that will seek it out.

2 1/2 boat races out of 5