| “ | My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos, ruined dreams, this wasted land. | ” |
– The Feral Kid (in adulthood) | ||
The Feral Kid is a feral child who appears in Mad Max 2. He is portrayed by Emil Minty. His voice as an old man is played by Harold Baigent.
Origin
Feral Kid's backstory was coined by Emil Minty (with help of his dad) as part of the auditioning process.[1][2]
| “ | We were asked to come up with a story on how we thought we became The Feral Kid out in this Wasteland and, you know, my short story was we were flying with my parents in a plane. Landed, no fuel, dad went to find fuel (and) never came back. Mom went to find dad, never came back and I was left to fend for myself and ... well that's how it all began! | ” |
– Emil Minty | ||
This idea was particularly entertained by Terry Hayes, who wanted to include a whole tribe of feral children in Mad Max 2. Due to budget constraints, the tribe was reduced to just one child - the Feral Kid. The same concept later became inspiration for The Lost Tribe of children in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
Biography
The Feral Kid was taken in by Pappagallo's tribe. He is apparently 9 or 10 years old during the events of the film, hardly old enough to remember the collapse of civilization but deeply affected by it. He has grown up communicating only by bestial noises. The Kid is fascinated by the newcomer Max Rockatansky, who gives him a small wind-up music box scavenged from the road. Having lost his own son in the previous film, Max remains aloof.
The Kid proves his mettle against Lord Humungus' gang by using a sharpened boomerang to kill the Golden Youth, sending Wez into a murderous rage. When he is in danger of being killed it is Max who notices, saves him, and gives him a hand up into the fort.
At the very end of the film, we see him on the bus with the surviving villagers, gazing out the window. The narrator's informs us that he was that child, and that he writes this history so that the Road Warrior, whoever he was, would be remembered for saving them all, and that someday he, this child and now adult narrator, would become the leader of the villagers, who would go on to re-establish civilization.
Appearance
Originally, the Feral Kid was supposed to have yellow eyes, signifying his feral nature. The color of his eyes was also a plot device revealing that the narrator of the story is in fact the Feral Kid himself, as seen in the original script[3]:
180. INT. SCHOOL BUS. DUSK.
The FERAL KID, sitting in the back of the bus, turns to
face us. His bright yellow eyes stare directly into
camera...
181. THE NARRATOR'S FACE. For the first time we see the Narrator's eyes. They are bright yellow.
The color of Feral Kid's eyes was changed from yellow to one blue and the other green. Emil Minty recalls that wearing contact lenses on the dusty set caused his eyes to become sore.[4]
Feral Kid wears a fur vest and briefs with a tail attached. He also wears a belt for his metal boomerang and shoes made of fur as well. The gauntlet looks to be a welding glove with chain links on the palm side to allow the Feral Kid catching his metal boomerang.
His hair have a white streak, much like Max's. In reality Emil's real hair went only halfway, the rest was attached.
Abilities
Feral Kid is an adept survivor and a vicious warrior. Armed with a razor-sharp boomerang, which he can throw with astonishing range and accuracy, and possessing both effective cover and infiltrating skills, he is an invaluable asset to the stronghold.
Trivia
- Emil Minty, the actor playing the Feral Kid found a box of metal washers and put them on a string. He gave this necklace to actress Arkie Whiteley playing the Lusty Girl. She was wearing that necklace in the movie.[5]
- Minty had a really bad flu on set, almost bordering on pneumonia.
- He also owns the boomerang he used on set, he keeps in in his office.
- The backflip done by Feral Kid was actually performed by a local Broken Hill gymnast girl Melissa. That was the only stunt not performed by Emil Minty.
- Minty's sister put him in the acting agency, he starred in one commercial before Mad Max 2.
- In the scene where Max is told he couldn't even drive a wheelchair, Mel told Minty to growl at the person who said that to Max. After the scene was filmed, Mel asked Minty why he didn't growl, and Emil replied "Because George told me not to".
- Minty was picked on in school after his role in Mad Max 2, but he recalls is as normal experience that any kid in school has to go through in one way or another.
- "Road to Alice" was the last acting role for Emil Minty. Emil has been the owner of a jewelry store for 24 years now.