The eponymous character in director John Sheedy’s storybook-like tournament movie is an adorable doggo whose ability to whoosh through obstacle courses might just save the family farm. This crowd-pleasing film is sweet, sentimental and a mite corny – but also delightfully well made and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Our four-legged hero even manages to survive Australian cinema’s long-standing tradition of killing our canine companions, sending them to that great big kennel in the sky in The Road Warrior, Snowtown, Tracks and even Red Dog – the latter’s iconic kelpie couldn’t make it to the end of his own movie.
Adapted by Craig Silvey from his children’s book, Runt signposts an old-fashioned approach from the get-go, opening with the pooch – pawfectly played by rescue terrier Squid – entering a butcher’s shop and running off with a string of sausages (has anybody ever seen this actually happening in real life?). This thievery narratively establishes Runt as a delinquent navigating the dark alleys of doggy adolescence – perhaps experimenting with recreational bones, hanging out with the wrong crowd, sniffing strange butts.
Runt quickly comes good, however, upon meeting Annie Shearer (Lily LaTorre), an 11-year-old who welcomes her into her family. Annie lives on a farm with her father Bryan (Jai Courtney), mother Susie (Celeste Barber), brother Max (Jack LaTorre) and grandmother Dolly (Genevieve Lemon).
Budgets are stretched and times are tough; as in outback farm films such as A Sunburnt Christmas and Bushfire Moon, the family’s livelihoods are terribly affected by a long-running drought. Making things worse for them is their querulous neighbour Earl Robert-Barren, a Mr Burns-like fiend who collects poor people’s properties and steals the town’s water, played with huff and puff by the great Jack Thompson.
Thank goodness Runt has a special skill: navigating obstacle courses. Annie enters her in a local dog agility competition, triggering a story sequence that naturally culminates with the pair competing in an overseas championship, which of course is broadcast on television so the fam can watch from home, cheering them on and hissing at the villain – a nefarious dog handler played with entertaining cartoonishness by Matt Day.
In a cute twist, the pooch performs when only Annie is watching, providing an additional challenge to overcome. The tournament trajectory places Runt within a pantheon of Australian films incorporating niche or left-of-centre sports, including Paper Planes, Spotswood (featuring slot car racing), the early Nicole Kidman movie Windrider (windsurfing), the recent Kid Snow (tent boxing) and 2013’s little-seen Reverse Runner (running backwards).
Sheedy’s tone is playfully twee, the drama bathed in a glow of unreality and infused with a slight air of knowingness. The actors deliver appealingly heightened performances, including the perfectly cast LaTorre, who brings an endearing kind of poise and pensiveness to Annie, her young worried eyes comprehending an at times spirit-crushing world. Jai Courtney softens the knockabout Aussie bloke stereotype, his ripe, bearded cheeks foretelling a future performance as Santa Claus, and Celeste Barber and Genevieve Lemon are fun too, the latter given a “what really matters in life” monologue that could have sounded awfully mawkish but feels earned. Deborah Mailman has a supporting role as a retired tournament champion Annie consults for advice, the actor’s gentle features and quiet gravitas making her a solid, safe choice for scenes in which she imparts wisdom and “reach for the stars” inspiration.
Runt’s colour palette isn’t as juicy and bubblegum-bright as Sheedy’s previous feature, the even more charming H is for Happiness, about an idiosyncratic 12-year-old girl trying to solve all the world’s problems. But it’s certainly gloss-lacquered, with rich warm textures reflecting the film’s optimistic spirit.
A plot tangent involving the potential invention of a rain-making machine could’ve been snipped, feeling like a leftover from the book and pushing the story into a magical-ish space that doesn’t quite fit the rest of it. But I don’t want to nitpick. Despite being steeped in familiar elements, this is a very charming, heartwarming film. Throughout the runtime I could feel my mouth forming a big silly grin.
Runt is in Australian cinemas now
