STACK #254 December 2025

MOVIE FEATURE

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HOP ALONG! RYAN CORR ON HIS NEW MOVIE KANGAROO GENRE: Family comedy RUN TIME: 1h 47m

Kangaroo might just be the most adorable film you’ll see this year.

capture what was happening in front of us. We sort of all worked in rhythm with the joeys. And I tell you, the joeys got more breaks than us,” he adds, amused.

W e caught up with star Ryan Corr, who took time out to chat with us about this homegrown gem. Directed by Looking for Alibrandi ’s Kate Woods, based on the true story of Chris ’Brolga’ Barnes, the founder of The Kangaroo Sanctuary, Kangaroo follows a man who, after being stranded in the far reaches of Western Australia, teams up with a young girl to care for and rehabilitate injured joeys. ”I love these sorts of films,” he admits. ”Growing up, it was these films I was watching, whether it be Home Alone, Homeward Bound, Milo & Otis . All the ones that my nanna had on tape that I’d go over and watch every Tuesday. They land on you differently as a younger person. ”They’re not just there to entertain you. They teach you things. They teach you about yourself and about life, and about what’s going on in your world.

Inset: Ryan Corr with director Kate Woods

”I mean, you can’t forget that these are wild, vulnerable and abandoned animals. And part of this film is about rehabilitation and animal welfare. So yeah, it came with challenges, but at the same time, those challenges were the absolute calling

”And that’s always stayed with me, and now getting to be a part of a family film that hopefully brings – the same way it did for me - your grandparents, your parents, and you together to have a shared experience and a journey together. That was definitely the pull for me.” ”Kate Woods, our director, did a wonderful job setting up environments where we could

card to do the film. I mean, when else are you going to have the opportunity to work that closely with these creatures?” Glenn Cochrane

• Kangaroo is out Dec 17

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Red Dog, Runt, Storm Boy, Blueback, A Street Cat Named Bob

GENRE: Romance RUN TIME: 2h 3m

BEST FOOT FORWARD DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRANDE FINALE Although it’s been ten years since Downton Abbey bid farewell on television, the saga of the Crawley family continues in cinematic form, delivering all the spectacle and grandeur fans have come to expect.

DYK?

The Gilded Age was originally conceived as a direct spin-off of Downton Abbey .

from Mrs Patmore without the help of an army of maids behind her. That whole way of life has to be reinvented.” Although those sound like spoilers, they’re far from it. Consider them

the Crawleys who survived into the modern world, had to redefine themselves.” While the future of the franchise remains to be seen, the door has been left ajar for the Crawleys and new adventures. Not only does the family have to contend with a new future, so too does the staff, whose leadership is upturned. “Every generation reinvents how these great houses are lived in,” he offers. “Andy, who takes over from Carson, will find a different way of being the butler. He will not have a footman to help, and they won’t be coming back. “Likewise, the kitchen maids are done, and Daisy will take over

E ven without Dame Maggie Smith – whose character passed away in the previous film (and who herself sadly passed last year) - her presence is still deeply felt as the family navigates sweeping social changes in the ever-evolving world of 1930s England. This third movie finds Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery), the eldest daughter and poised heir to the estate, caught up in a public scandal while the family faces financial trouble and social

disgrace. With an uncertain future for the Abbey, the family and their staff prepare for an unknown and daunting new chapter. For series creator and showrunner Julian Fellowes, returning for a third movie was inevitable. “At the end of the second film, we said goodbye to the beloved Violet [Smith]. We wanted to make the point that this may be the end of a family member, but it wasn’t the end of the family. I also wanted to show that families like

• Downton Abbey: The Grande Finale is out Dec 17

more like Fellowes’ elevator pitch, and the foundation for this new chapter. Glenn Cochrane

The original motion picture soundtrack, also available on vinyl and CD

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

The Gilded Age, Little Women, Emma, Babylon

34 DECEMBER 2025

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