Bullet Points: The Real Macaw

W.C. Fields is famous for saying never work with children or animals. I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but sit on it, Mr. Fields. Action movies aren’t always for the whole family, but you throw in a youngster on an adventure and an animal with a ‘tude and that is probably smarter than half of the real world population and you have a movie that all ages can enjoy. The Real Macaw is an Australian adventure treasure hunt film that is for the birds… in a good way. 

• Amazon Prime – The Real Macaw opens in the Amazon jungle in 1850 with pirates looking for treasure. The pirates find the treasure, and also a macaw and take both back to their ship out into the Pacific. The bird manages to set fire to the boat (which is slightly more impressive than when it poops on a pirate’s face) and manages to follow the washed ashore pirate and see him bury the treasure on the deserted island.
• Sk8er Boi – Fast forward to modern day and we meet Sam Girdis (Jamie Croft), just you uber cool skateboarding Australian teen. Jamie is too cool for school and struggling which has caused a rift between him and his father, but Jamie has a good time hanging with his eccentric grandfather (Academy Award winner Jason Robards who is not given a name other than grandpa). Grandpa Girdis rescues injured birds and has a beautiful pet macaw named Mac. That can’t be the same parrot from the jungle, can it?

• Bury My Treasure at Wounded Knee – Turns out grandpa is in major debt. His bird rescue doesn’t pay the bills. Sam’s dad has had enough of grandpa’s acting like a kid and decides to sell his house and put grandpa in a nursing home. Only if someone, or something, knew about some treasure to pay off the creditors. Mac is the bird from the beginning, and he can talk (and voiced by John Goodman, no less)! He only talks to who he wants to, namely grandpa and now Sam and he plants the seed in Sam’s mind to go to the island to get the buried treasure to save grandpa. That is not before Mac causes some shenanigans for the Girdis family with an excellent sound effect scene that has Mac doing his best Michael Winslow impersonation.
• Coral Island – Sam and Mac travel to the island with the buried treasure. They are able to afford a plane ticket because Sam sold an Amazonian ring that Mac had to an incredibly shady museum man. If casting John Waters wasn’t enough to let you know that Lance Hagen was evil, The Real Macaw has him smoke cigars and wear a bolo tie. Are bolo ties a thing in Australia? The big twist comes when Mac and Sam realize that a lot can happen in 150 years, like Coral Island going from a deserted island to the site of a major hotel.

• La Cage aux Folles – The Real Macaw enters into the hotel hijinks portion and I couldn’t be happier. There has to be one hotel staff member that hates kids in every hotel movie, but I hope this one likes coconuts to the noggin and seeing Sam do a little cross-dressing, all with some snappy Zydeco music playing. Sam and Mac not only need to avoid the hotel staff but also Hagen that has followed them to make his move for the treasure. Luckily, Sam and Mac are saved from hotel trouble when they accidentally end up on stage and perform what the audience thinks is a ventriloquist act. And let me tell you that Mac had the potential to be one of the greatest insult comics if not for the need to find the treasure. Bonus points for Mac referring to himself as the real macaw!
• Bird Brain – The treasure ends up being under the hotel, but Hagen really wants the treasure. He wants it so bad that he is not opposed to a little kidnapping and attempted murder of a child. But wait, did I just see a bird try to murder someone also? We get a dramatic finish to The Real Macaw. I won’t give too much, but Sam’s parents (Deborra-Lee Furness and Joe Petruzzi) make their way to the island with grandpa and you better believe any of the family issues will be resolved. But what about Mac, the treasure, and grandpa’s home? It is a family movie so I am sure it will end up ok, but you might want to find out for yourself. There might even be a cultural appropriation message.

The Real Macaw is proof to me that there should be more work with kids and animals. I love a good treasure hunt adventure movie, and Mac is one smart mouthed bird that I can get behind. It is extremely rare to have a family friendly movie not have a happy ending and The Real Macaw is no exception as it is easy to feel upbeat after watching. The Real Macaw Bullet Points are exceptional because I am going to leave you with some The Real Macaw Bonus Bullet Points

• Mac Attack – Mac was played by four birds, Tango, Harpo, Groucho and Chico. That doesn’t include the puppets used in some scenes and the CGI used to show Mac flying.
• Note So Good Man – John Goodman only did the voice of Mac in the U.S. version, as Daniel Murphy voiced Mac in the Australian version. Murphy still shows up as the pet shop worker.
• If You Ever… – Wanted to see a bird get drunk on rum cake than The Real Macaw is for you. Don’t drink and fly!
• Soundtraxx – The music is a huge plus, not surprising as another Academy Award winner, Bill Conti did the music for The Real Macaw. However, my favorite was the cover of “You Talk Too Much” that plays during the movie and especially during the credits with Mac giving it a little extra spice.