Runt

Craig Silvey is a master. His character development is exceptional. Every character in this movie has their own set of unique characteristics that add to this perfect story of love and family. Annie is the star of the show and a great new talent to Australian screens. Fergus Fink! The ultimate bad guy and the performance from Matt Day is exceptional. As the mum Celeste Barber is brilliant. It is as if the role was written for her. Her transition from comedy to this role was incredible. Then, right at the end, after all of the laughs and a few tears in places, there is a little gem of gold from an Aussie icon in the credits!

For a while, I was reluctant to see this silly comedy with frankly cringeworthy trailers - but once I did, I found it was considerably better than I thought, with a lot of good-natured humour, great pacing, and a surprisingly developed cast for such a kid-oriented film. The subplots with both Annie's family members and other people in and around town do a lot to add texture and brighten the mood.

Additionally, it should be noted that besides simply being a sports drama, this film also has a deeper connection to its Australian outback setting as it engages at length with the perennial issue of water availability - although I can't say it does so in a fully satisfying manner. That is, the villain who exploits control over water rights in the area to buy up bone-dry land for cheap is very well-acted and immensely hateable - far more so than the antagonist of the dog sports arc, who is, after all, first and foremost a player of the game.

Yet, not much happens to him, and the implicit suggestion it's easier to win an international competition than to attract attention from other parts of the country to help overturn local injustice is hardly all that optimistic. It stays sufficiently in the background not to spoil the fun of the film. But does add a bitter note to the aftertaste.

And I thought that the Australian film industry may have reached its lowest point. How wrong I was. This totally asinine attempt surely shows once and for all that the people making the film decisions in Australia are totally mad. They have absolutely no respect for Australia and produce 'dumb-downing' tripe like this. Cliche after boring repetitive cliche and all the worst aspects of a nation that is morally bankrupted. Time for the citizens of Australia to say an emphatic NO. Make these people invest every cent they have and the no one shows up and they go insolvent. The only problem is that taxpayer money is also being used to pay for these pathetic films. Yikes Australia. Really? The humor that this fIlm is trying so desperately to create is just not funny -PERIOD!!!

Watched this last night and found it quite entertaining and a must for animal lovers. I noted 1 user who seems to only give no higher than a 2 for his/her reviews has scored this low on the basis that it is not a comedy and is disappointed with that. Obviously saw the word funny or comedy in the description which actually says,-animal adventure -Family. But like any family movie it does have some comical moments. Also i enjoyed seeing it showing one of our oldest west Australian towns which still maintains many heritage buildings. I would say disregard any negative reviews and give this movie a go because i think you will enjoy it with the kids.

So cute!

Well cast.

All the feels for a children's book come to life.

Aussie characters like this do exist, albeit a dying breed. Was an enjoyable film for the whole family!

Loved it.

We watched it at our local country hall, and the giggles from the kids watching made it even more fun to watch.

The mum (Celeste Barber) was brilliant, the Dad (Jai Courtney) was fantastic and way to go with casting Lily as Annie Shearer. Such a nuanced performance from a young kid. Oh and her brother Max (Jack LaTorre) was hilarious!!!

Some great writing, jokes and an over the top performance from Matt Day as Fergus Fink! A great over the top performance!!

We'll be hustling the kids to the car with his arm waving from now on!!