What would happen if Sydney’s Dapto had a middle-aged koala superhero who fought petty crime? You’d probably get Disney+’s newest offering Koala Man.
The comedy centres around a ‘Strayan dad Kevin and his not-so-secret identity, whose only superpower is a burning passion for following rules and snuffing out petty crime in the Australian suburban town of Dapto.
And if the tagline is anything to go by, “average dad, below average superhero”, we’re certainly in for a thrilling ride.
From Aussie creator creator/animator Michael Cusack — who also voices Kevin — the series is executive produced by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit.
Koala Man is a relatable, Aussie “hero”
Kevin — an anti-hero of sorts — will do whatever it takes to defeat villainous masterminds, supernatural horrors, or worse: jerks who don’t take their rubbish bins down on the proper days. Lol!
During a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, creator Michael said the idea came from there being “a specific type of dad that almost wishes they were a police officer”, however, since they did not fulfill their dreams, they “decide to take the law into their own hands.”
“They’re always like, ‘Someone’s got to do something about this behaviour’, and that’s usually how a traditional superhero story starts.”
While most superheroes have some sort of exciting superpower, according to the Wollongong born animator, “the key to keeping this one Australian” is that our hero has none.
Who is the in the Koala Man cast?
Alongside Michael is truly an all-star cast including Succession’s Julie Snook as Kevin’s wife Vicky, Flight of the Concord’s Jemaine Clement as Bazwell and The Greatest Showman’s Hugh Jackman as the most well-liked man in Dapto (and head of the Town Council), Big Greg.
But more importantly, Aussie colloquialisms and humour is the real star here, something that will hopefully prove to be successful with a US audience.
“Sometimes when the Americans are baffled it’s even funnier for them,” Michael told the outlet.
“I was a little worried, but I was also confident that we grew up on The Simpsons and that had words we didn’t understand, but I still got it and it was still funny.
“I hope the flipside is still the case – it’s funnier to them if they don’t know whether something’s real or I made it up. They can be baffled and amused, I’ve discovered.”
Koala Man streams on Disney+ from January 9.
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