You remember that specific feeling when a trailer just clicks? It doesn't happen often. Most of the time, we’re fed these two-and-a-half-minute slogs that give away the entire plot, from the inciting incident right down to the third-act twist. But when the Hunt for Wilderpeople trailer first dropped back in early 2016, it felt different. It was weird. It was colorful. It featured a grumpy Sam Neill and a hip-hop-obsessed kid named Julian Dennison. It promised a "majestical" time, and honestly, it actually delivered.
Taika Waititi wasn't the household name he is today. Back then, he was the guy who did What We Do in the Shadows, a cult hit, sure, but he hadn't touched the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. This trailer was the world's real introduction to his specific brand of "deadpan whimsy." It’s a delicate balance. If you lean too hard into the quirk, it gets annoying. If you’re too dry, people tune out. The trailer managed to thread that needle perfectly by focusing on the friction between Ricky Baker and Uncle Hec.
What made the Hunt for Wilderpeople trailer actually work?
Most trailers rely on a massive, booming orchestral score to tell you how to feel. This one? It used a mix of synth-pop and rhythmic chanting that felt earthy and modern at the same time. It’s catchy. It stays in your head. The editing follows the beat, snapping between Ricky dabbing in the bush and Hec looking like he’d rather be anywhere else on Earth.
It starts with a simple premise. A "real bad egg" is sent to the middle of nowhere. We see Ricky Baker, a foster kid with a penchant for haikus and arson, getting dropped off at a remote farmhouse. The trailer doesn't waste time with heavy exposition. Instead, it uses quick cuts to show his transition from a city kid to a "bushman." You see the red tracksuit. You see the dogs. You see the vast, intimidating green of the New Zealand wilderness.
The humor is the real hook here. It’s not "set-up, punchline" comedy. It’s situational. When the child welfare officer, Paula (played with terrifying intensity by Rachel House), describes Ricky as a "ticking time bomb," the trailer cuts to him gingerly kicking a fence. It’s a visual gag that tells you everything you need to know about the tone. This isn't an action movie, even though there are helicopters and guns. It’s a character study masquerading as an adventure.
The "Majestical" factor in marketing
If you look closely at the comments on the original trailer uploads from companies like Madman Entertainment or Piki Films, you’ll notice a trend. People were obsessed with the word "majestical." It’s a fake word. Ricky makes it up. But the trailer editors knew it was gold, so they leaned into it.
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That’s a smart move.
Great marketing identifies the "sticky" parts of a story. By highlighting Ricky’s unique vocabulary, the Hunt for Wilderpeople trailer signaled to the audience that this wasn't going to be a standard, saccharine movie about a boy and his surrogate father. It was going to be slightly offbeat. It felt like something Wes Anderson might make if he grew up in Wellington and spent more time in the mud.
Why we’re still talking about a 2016 teaser
Context matters. In 2016, the film industry was already deep into the "gritty reboot" phase. Everything was dark, desaturated, and serious. Then this trailer comes along with bright greens, high-saturation blues, and a kid talking about how he and his uncle are "basically like gangsters" because they’re on the run from the law.
It felt human.
There’s a shot in the trailer—one that actually became one of the film’s most famous scenes—where the camera pans 360 degrees around a campsite to show time passing. It’s a clever bit of filmmaking that the trailer didn’t hide. It showed off Waititi’s technical skill without being pretentious about it. It promised a visual feast that matched the emotional core.
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Critics from The Guardian and Empire at the time noted that the trailer succeeded because it captured the "Kiwi" spirit without making it inaccessible to global audiences. It’s hyper-local but feels universal. Everyone knows a grumpy old man who refuses to show emotion. Everyone knows a kid who’s just trying to find where they belong. The trailer sold that relationship as the primary engine of the film, and it worked.
Breaking down the music and the "skux" life
The music choice in the trailer is worth a deeper look. "Ricky Baker Birthday Song" became a viral hit in its own right, but the trailer used a more driving, percussive track to build momentum. It creates a sense of urgency. Are they actually in danger? Maybe. But the music suggests it’s more of an epic quest than a tragedy.
Julian Dennison’s performance in those two minutes is a masterclass in screen presence. He has this way of looking at the camera—or just past it—that makes him feel like a real person, not a child actor playing a part. When he says he’s "living the skux life," he believes it. The trailer makes you believe it too.
The impact on Taika Waititi’s career
You can draw a straight line from the success of the Hunt for Wilderpeople trailer to Waititi landing Thor: Ragnarok. Marvel executives reportedly saw his work on this film and realized he could handle big landscapes and "found family" dynamics with a sense of humor.
The trailer acted as a proof of concept.
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It showed that you could take a small, independent New Zealand story and give it the scale of an epic. It proved that Sam Neill, known for Jurassic Park, could be a rugged, silent bushman just as effectively as he could be a scientist running from dinosaurs. It reinvented him for a younger generation.
Common misconceptions about the film vs. the trailer
Some people go into the movie thinking it’s a pure comedy because the trailer is so funny. Honestly, the movie is a bit heavier than the teaser suggests. There’s genuine grief. There’s a scene involving a dog that is... well, it’s a lot sadder than anything in the promotional clips.
But that’s the job of a trailer. It’s an invitation. It gets you in the door with the jokes so that the emotional beats can hit you harder once you’re seated. If the trailer had been a somber meditation on foster care and isolation, half the people who saw it probably would have skipped it. Instead, it promised a riotous adventure, and then snuck in the heart when we weren't looking.
What to do if you’re just discovering it now
If you haven’t seen the film, watching the Hunt for Wilderpeople trailer is still the best way to see if the vibe fits your taste. It’s currently available on various streaming platforms depending on your region—usually Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
- Watch the trailer first. Even if you plan on seeing the movie, the trailer is a piece of art in its own right.
- Pay attention to the background. The New Zealand bush is basically a third main character.
- Look for the cameos. Taika Waititi actually appears in the trailer (and the film) as a minister. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it moment.
The trailer isn't just an advertisement; it’s a snapshot of a specific moment in cinema when indie films were starting to take back the spotlight from the big-budget giants. It’s a reminder that a good story, told with a bit of "skux" attitude and a lot of heart, can travel further than any multi-million dollar marketing campaign.
To get the most out of your viewing experience, try to find the high-definition version of the trailer on the official Piki Films YouTube channel. Seeing the lush New Zealand landscapes in 4K vs. a compressed social media repost makes a massive difference in how the "majestical" tone translates. After watching, look up the "Ricky Baker Birthday Song"—it’s the perfect companion piece to the trailer’s energy and helps you understand why this film became such a massive cultural touchstone in the Southern Hemisphere before taking over the rest of the world.