Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!
Promotional poster
Directed by	Ron Myrick Jeffrey Gatrall
Screenplay by	Adam Scheinman Andrew Scheinman
Based on	Characters by Steve Bing Barry O'Brien
Produced by	Ron Myrick
Starring	Jeff Bennett Josh Keaton Keith Diamond Phil LaMarr Kath Soucie Ahmed Best Steven Miller
Edited by	Susan Edmunson
Music by	Randall Crissman
Production companies	Warner Bros. Animation Castle Rock Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Home Video
Release date	November 16, 2004 (2004-11-16)
Running time	77 minutes
Countries	United States Australia
Language	English

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! (also known as Kangaroo Jack 2 or Kangaroo Jack 2: G'Day U.S.A.!) is a 2004 animated action comedy film. It is a sequel to 2003's Kangaroo Jack that is directed by Ron Myrick and Jeffrey Gatrall. Released direct-to-video in 2004, it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment and was distributed by Warner Home Video.

Plot

Two years after the events of the first movie, Charlie Carbone (Josh Keaton) and Louis Booker (Ahmed Best) find themselves back in Australia, filming a commercial for their successful shampoo company with various animals. The director of the commercial, Kangaroo "Jackie Legs" Jack (Jeff Bennett), isn't satisfied with the results, which in turn causes the animals starring in the commercial to turn against him.

After finding out that it was a dream, Louis wakes up, claiming that Jackie Legs is in trouble. He, Charlie, and Jessie Carbone (Kath Soucie) are back in Australia searching for the variety of their new shampoo. Jessie brings up Chief Ankamuti (Obba Babatundé), the leader of the local Aboriginal tribe, who claims to have an idea of their new shampoo. Claiming that Charlie and Louis are the chosen ones, Ankamuti then tells the three to return a set of ancient gems in exchange for the new shampoo.

While searching for the gems, the three stop and find their old friend, Jackie Legs, along with his family. He recognizes Charlie by kicking him a second time, giving a nod to the gag in the first film. The six reunite for the first time in two years.

After a brief reunion with their old friend, a group of illegal animal smugglers raid the area, causing Jackie Legs to be separated from his family. After getting captured by the poachers, Jackie Legs was hauled away in one of the poachers' trucks. Jackie's family was seen worried, scared, and heartbroken. Charlie, Louis, and Jessie plan to rescue Jackie Legs and the rest of the animals held captive by the poachers.

The three sneak into the back of a truck, where they found Jackie Legs wearing a suspicious collar. Once a group of smugglers brings in one more animal, Charlie, Louis, and Jessie hide in a crate with an emu. When one of the smugglers attempt to find out what is hiding in the crate, Louis lures the smugglers out and the three get hauled away.

The next day, Charlie, Louis, and Jessie get shipped away on an airplane from Sydney to Las Vegas, where Jackie Legs and the other animals are headed to. The animals are being sent to Outback Ollie (Jim Ward), a TV show host and zookeeper. The three end up in a warehouse in Las Vegas with the animals. While a group of criminals are spying on them, Charlie, Louis, and Jessie break out Jackie Legs, who is seen tranquilized. The four find a golf cart and drive out of the warehouse.

The four run into limousine driver and exterminator Ronald Booker (Keith Diamond), Louis's rowdy cousin. They get in his limo in an attempt to avoid further attention. Jackie Legs wakes up, finding himself in the limo. He hops out of the limo and heads towards other vehicles on the highway, causing a major traffic jam. When they found out he was going to a casino, Charlie, Louis, and Jessie search the casino in an attempt to find Jackie Legs.

Jackie Legs is seen for a while at the singing lounge, missing his family. After their search turned up nothing, the three find him at the salad bar where they chase after him. A chase ensues, causing chaos to erupt in the casino. They lose Jackie Legs again, causing Charlie and Louis to meet at the janitor's closet, where they find a black panther. The two suddenly avoid the panther and both men escape. Ronald and Jessie return with the limo, and the four drive away.

Louis dreams about Jackie Legs against Killer Putulski in a boxing match. Jackie sings a rendition of the LL Cool J song, "Mama Said Knock You Out" while fighting him. Jackie Legs wins the fight and is declared the champion. After waking up, Louis ends up in an apartment building with Charlie and Jessie. They turn on the news, seeing that they are wanted for jewel theft and animal smuggling. Two cops enter the apartment, looking for Charlie. After the conversation between the group, Louis attacks and knocks out both cops, revealing that the cops were fake. Ronald leaves the crew on their own. The three use his limo to follow Ronald, damaging his vehicle in the process. They end up in Mrs. Sperling's backyard, where the crew find Jackie Legs. He then escapes and goes to the boating resort and the three catch up with him, with the help of Outback Ollie.

Outback Ollie promises that he'll return Jackie Legs back to Australia, but later betrays the three. After dropping the crew off at the boating resort, Ollie returns to his station, revealing that the henchmen are working for Outback Ollie. Charlie, Louis, and Jessie chase after Jackie Legs at the boating resort. After Ronald interrupted the chase, Jackie Legs got away and was captured again by Outback Ollie's henchmen. With the fake gems planted in his jacket, it was returned to Louis, along with Charlie and Jessie, who were all arrested. While at the police station, the three have enough evidence to determine that the real enemy is Outback Ollie. Ronald comes into the police station and lures the guards away, breaking out the three.

The crew then head over to Outback Ollie's zoo, where he is about to demonstrate the extermination of the captured animals. Charlie, Louis, and Jessie, along with the help of Ronald and the FBI, expose the truth about Outback Ollie. Jessie was then being held hostage by Ollie, threatening her to get eaten by the crocodiles. Once he sees this, Jackie Legs jumps into the air and attacks Ollie, then kicks him into the river. As a result of this bust, Ollie and his henchmen were arrested. The real gems were returned to Charlie, Louis, and Jessie.

A few days later, Jackie Legs and the rest of the animals are all returned to Australia. Charlie, Louis, and Jessie return to Chief Ankamuti to give him the ancient gems. The power of the gems gives all three of them to be "one with nature." The three were unsatisfied with this result at first. The three find Jackie Legs with his family, where they hear him speak for the first time. Charlie, Louis, and Jessie then appreciate the gift of being "one with nature."

Voice Cast

• Jeff Bennett as Kangaroo "Jackie Legs" Jack, a rapping red kangaroo. He was previously voiced by Adam Garcia in the first film.
  • Jeff Bennett also voices Larry, an echidna on Outback Ollie's show.
  • Jeff Bennett also voices a lounge singer.
• Josh Keaton as Charlie Carbone, the owner of a shampoo company and stepson of Salvatore Maggio. Unlike the previous film where he had black hair, Charlie has light brown hair. He was previously portrayed by Jerry O'Connell in the first film.
• Ahmed Best as Louis Booker, Charlie's slow-witted, but good-hearted best friend. He was previously portrayed by Anthony Anderson in the first film.
• Kath Soucie as Jessie Carbone, Charlie's wife and former wildlife preserve worker. Unlike the previous film where she was blonde, Jessie has red hair. She was previously portrayed by Estella Warren in the first film.
  • Kath Soucie also voices Mrs. Sperling, a crazy elderly woman who is one of Ronald's customers.
• Keith Diamond as Ronald Booker, Louis' selfish and unintelligent cousin who works as an exterminator by day and a limousine driver by night.
  • Keith Diamond also voices Killer Putulski, a heavyweight boxing champion that appears in Louis' dream of being defeated by Jackie.
• Jim Ward as Outback Ollie, a park owner and TV show host who covers up his illegal smuggling activities.
• Phil LaMarr as Rico and Mikey, the henchmen of Outback Ollie. Rico has a scar that looks like a smile on his forehead while Mikey has a snake tattoo on his left arm.
• Obba Babatundé as Chief Ankamuti, the leader and medicine man of the Aborigines.
• Dorian Harewood as Agent Jackson, an FBI agent who thought Charlie and his friends were behind the gem smuggling.
• Carlos Alazraqui as Dude #1
• Jess Harnell as Frilled Lizard, an unnamed frilled lizard who appears in Louis' first dream and the film's epilogue.
  • Jess Harnell also voices Dude #2.
• Jeannie Elias as Elderly Woman
• Wendee Lee as Limousine Girl
• Steve Miller as the Emu, an emu that was caught by Rico and Mikey.

Crew

• Jamie Simone - Casting and Voice Director

Songs

The film featured a rendition of LL Cool J's single "Mama Said Knock You Out" during the dream boxing scene. The film also featured a few lines from "I Only Have Eyes for You" when Jackie is in the lounge. Jeff Bennett performed both songs, and the song that plays when Jackie is causing havoc is The Ohio Players song "Fire".

Reception

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! was met with mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences, but received a much better score than the first film, including a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Most consider it an improvement over the original.

See also

• List of films set in Las Vegas

External links

• Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! at IMDb
• Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.! at Rotten Tomatoes