Julian Dennison and Sam Neill (The Orchard)

A cantankerous New Zealand bushman and a precocious hip-hop orphan become reluctant buddies in director Taika Waititi’s adventure-comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Waititi’s last film was the hilarious mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, about vampires (including Flight of the Conchords‘ Jemaine Clement) living in a group house. Fans of the director’s wickedly dry humor may feel apprehensive about a movie that seems so, well, cuddly. But as soon as its leading orphan extemporizes a haiku about maggots (“It’s called, ‘Maggots.’”) any fears of Disney sentiment disappear into the wilderness.

Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) has been shuffled from a series of foster homes and can’t shake the urge to set fires and run away. His last chance to avoid juvenile detention may be Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hector (Sam Neill), who live on a run-down farm in the New Zealand bush.

Bella, at least, seems like a good match for Ricky, indulging his first runaway attempt (he falls asleep 200 meters from the farm) and even composing a birthday song for him on a toy keyboard. To teach the boy responsibility, they give him a pet dog, which he names Tupac.

The movie’s first act observes the culture clash of the rejected city boy and the country people who accept him—and even delight him. When his foster aunt gleefully hunts down a wild boar and slaughters it with her bare hands, Ricky learns that the great wilderness can be even more exciting than gangsta rap.

Hector is more resistant to his foster child, but when they become the target of a nationwide manhunt, Hector and Ricky build an uneasy and finally heartwarming camaraderie. Waititi gets strong performances from his leads—Dennison’s haikus show good comic timing, and the seemingly absurd recurring device sets up a tear-jerking kicker. The Kiwi landscape is forbidding and gorgeous, but the script keeps it light and silly. A wonderful retro synth-pop soundtrack by Moniker makes this the most hummable bush adventure you’ve ever heard.

Waititi is on the growing list of indie directors that have been tapped for the Marvel Cinematic Universe; his Thor: Ragnarok is due in the fall of 2017. Hunt for the Wilderpeople proves that he can craft an adventure that’s entertaining for all ages—let’s hope a big budget doesn’t spoil him.

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Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Written and directed by Taika Waititi
With Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements including violent content, and for some language
101 minutes
Opens today at the AFi Silver, Landmark E Street Cinema, and Landmark Bethesda Row