The Laughing Kangaroo

1995 1h 35m JA

DramaMysteryCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A love triangle turns deadly during an awards ceremony in Australia. Unfortunately for the killers, however, Furuhata and Shintaro are on a well-deserved holiday in the same hotel.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Masakazu Tamura
Ninzaburo Furuhata
Takanori Jinnai
Masahiko Nishimura
Maki Mizuno
野田ひかる
Hiromasa Taguchi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Keita Kono
Writers: Koki Mitani
Languages: Japanese

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Furuhata Ninzaburo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Masakazu Tamura and Takanori Jinnai and Masahiko Nishimura carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt6054738 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Keita Kono directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Furuhata Ninzaburo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Masakazu Tamura and Takanori Jinnai and Masahiko Nishimura carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt6054738 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Laughing Kangaroo (1995)

Part of

Furuhata Ninzaburo Collection

Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.