FILM · 2016 · NEW ZEALAND
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
18 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
18 Interesting Facts About Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Interesting Facts (14)
- #001
The huia bird named "spotted" that Rickey and Hec write about in the film is a real species of New Zealand wattlebird. The last confirmed sighting of the bird was in 1907, though there were also some reliable sightings in the early 1960s. It is believed to be extinct.
- #002
Part of the chase scene featuring the red Toyota Hilux copies a 1980s New Zealand TV commercial made for the Toyota Hilux (Crumpy and Scotty).
- #003
The scene featuring the Minister's strange eulogy at Bella's funeral was based on a real experience witnessed by writer-director Taika Waititi.
- #004
The song "Ricky Baker, Happy Birthday" was created specifically for the film because the producers did not have the rights to use the traditional "Happy Birthday" song. The copyright on that song was due to be invalidated in September 2015, only a few months after the film was shot.
- #005
The "Boar" was created using a combination of CGI and a physical costume operated by two people underneath it, one as the front legs and the other as the back legs.
- #006
Ricky Baker does not believe that Uncle Hec's use of "majestical" is correct. The word majestic was used by William Shakespeare and appears in Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 1), when Marcellus speaks of the departing Ghost's monarchical appearance: "We do it wrong, being so majestical, To offer it the show of violence; For it is, as the air, invulnerable, And our vain blows malicious mockery."
- #007
It shares many similarities with Disney/Pixar's Up (2009). A grumpy old man and a complaining overweight child become lost in the wilderness after the man's wife dies. They travel with their dogs, find a bird no one believes exists, and leave the wife's spirit at its final resting place. They meet a man living in the wild who has lost his sanity, and they are hunted by people who want the man dead. In the end they arrive home, where the man has softened and become part of the child's life.
- #008
The song Ricky dances to while listening to his Walkman was Magic What She Do by Dave Dobbyn.
- #009
Ricky mentions a situation resembling Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series, which was shot entirely in New Zealand's wilderness.
- #010
The Uncle is portrayed as illiterate. However, the actor who plays him, Sir Sam Neill, holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature.
- #011
Sir Sam Neill also appeared in Sleeping Dogs (1977) as a man on the run from the government in the New Zealand bush.
- #012
The film was shot over five weeks in locations such as the Central Plateau and the Waitakere Ranges. Almost the entire film was shot using a single camera.
- #013
The magpie seen in Ricky's room toward the end is wearing a Collingwood Football Club jersey.
- #014
Ricky names his dog Tupac, after the famous rapper. Tupac is also the name of Ali G's dog in the film Ali G Indahouse (2002).
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #015
All of the news presenters in the film were real news presenters on New Zealand TV at the time of filming.
Characters & Cast (2)
- #016
An open call was held for a Maori girl between the ages of 12 and 15 to play the role of Kahu, and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne was chosen from among 150 candidates. Ngatai-Melbourne auditioned after her friends thought Kahu's character description resembled her.
- #017
The scene where the wild boar comes to Hec is from the New Zealand film What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999), the sequel to Once Were Warriors (1994), starring Temuera Morrison.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #018
The Toyota that Hec and Ricky use to escape from where Psycho Sam is hiding is named Crumpy, a reference to Barry Crump, the author of the book on which the screenplay is based. The same vehicle had been used by Barry Crump in long-running Toyota commercials in New Zealand, in which Barry played a bushman who takes a city slicker named Scotty on a tour of the bush. Scotty was played by Lloyd Scott, who appears in this film as the "Tourist".
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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