From the author of Jasper Jones and the director of H is for Happiness comes this literal underdog story. Gosh, this looks charming.
When is Runt being released in New Zealand?
Runt scampers into New Zealand cinemas on October 3.
What is Runt about?
A little dog that could!
But, in greater detail, Runt is adapted from the award-winning 2002 children’s book by Western Australian author (and extremely nice guy) Craig Silvey. Set in the fictional Western Australian town of Upson Downs, the film follows plucky kid Annie Shearer, whose delight at adopting the titular Runt, a stray dog of indeterminate heritage, is somewhat muted by the fact that her family is facing eviction from their farm at the hands of their greedy landlord, Earl Robert-Barron (robber baron, get it?).
What’s a precocious battler to do but take a crack at the Agility Course Championships at the world famous Krumpets Dog Show in London? Runt is written by Silvey himself, while John Sheedy directs.
The cast of Runt
Lily LaTorre (Run Rabbit Run) is Annie Shearer; Captain Boomerang himself, Jai Courtney, is dad Bryan; Celeste Barber is mum Susie; Jack LaTorre (yes, he’s her IRL brother) is brother Max; living legend Jack Thompson and the ubiquitous and talented Matt Day are on villain duties as scumbag landlord Earl Robert-Barren and snooty dog breeder, Fergus Fink, respectively; Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires) is Bernadette Box; Tom Budge (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) is Simpkins; and Genevieve Lemon (The Piano) is Dolly Shearer.
And most importantly, we have Squid as Runt, an actual rescue dog adopted and trained for the production. Look at her!
Runt trailer
Why we’re excited about Runt
Look, I don’t know about you, but this kind of slobs vs snobs narrative is like catnip to us. Runt is clearly a kids’ film, which might put off certain subsets of the public, but it looks like it’s going to a fun, charming, and uplifting kids film, which is harder to pull off than you might imagine. We can’t wait.
