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TNT’s Animal Kingdom is based on the 2010 film of the same name, which notably drew inspiration from a real-life Australian crime family.
Season 5 of Animal Kingdom continues to spotlight the Codys’ drama and criminal outings. Jonathan Lisco’s TNT drama follows high schooler J (Finn Cole), who moves in with his estranged family after the death of his mother. The matriarch Smurf (Ellen Barkin) controls the Codys’ heists and assets. And as J adjusts to his new life, he must earn his grandmother’s respect while also deciphering who he can trust. Animal Kingdom is based on the 2010 Australian film of the same name. In turn, David Michôd’s movie was inspired by the real-life crime family, the Pettingills. While the Codys primarily dabble in robberies and (mostly) follow a family-first code, the Pettingills’ sinister history goes a step above their fictional counterparts.
The Real Family Behind Animal Kingdom
The Melbourne-based crime family was headed by Kath Pettingill and included her ten children, who were ladened with criminal offenses ranging from armed robbery to murder. Kath was, directly and indirectly, involved with many of the crimes, earning her the title, “Evil Granny.” However, her oldest son Dennis Allen, nicknamed Dr. Death, became one of Melbourne’s most infamous criminals. After serving a shortened prison sentence for rape, Dennis — a speed addict himself — primarily dealt in drug trafficking and distribution. Although, he earned his sinister nickname from allegedly and brutally carrying out the murders of 15 people.
While Dennis garnered the majority of infamous glory, Kath’s other children were far from innocent. Her two sons, Victor Pierce and Trevor Pettingill, were charged with the murder of two Victorian police officers in 1988, although they were both acquitted. Peter Allen was another notable name, serving 28 years in prison for his crimes. Along with being a violent armed robber, Peter also ran a lucrative heroin empire. As far as Kath’s other children, they all have minor criminal records or have allegedly been involved with various crimes. However, Kath’s oldest daughter, Vicki Brooks, later turned against the family and gave evidence for the prosecution in Victor and Trevor’s murder trial.
Animal Kingdom’s Loose True Story Roots
When Michôd set to work on the Animal Kingdom film, he drew inspiration from Australian gangland crimes of the ’80s and ’90s and the Pettingill family’s twisted history, specifically Victor and Trevor’s involvement with the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings. While the film was a huge hit, earning it a plethora of awards and a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for Jacki Weaver’s Smurf, the real Kath Pettingill remained unimpressed. She maintained the film’s events were largely untrue and took fault with her fictional counterpart kissing her sons on the mouth.
TNT’s Animal Kingdom creator loosely based the series on the film. Therefore, it’s not actually based on the Pettingill family, but Michôd’s dramatized interpretation of them. Overall, the series puts an entirely different spin on the film while keeping its bones. As such, Animal Kingdom includes the same character names and follows the basic premise of seventeen-year-old J linking up with his estranged criminal family after his mother’s overdose. While the series makes fundamental changes, it retains certain things. For example, it doubles down on Smurf’s propensity for kissing her sons on the mouth for just a little too long and Pope’s edgy, unstable personality (likely partially drawn from Dennis Allen).
With five seasons for character development, Animal Kingdom expertly traverses the balance of delivering a likable cast despite their frequent misdoings. The Codys primarily commit robberies and mostly shy away from murder, the gun trade and drug trafficking. In that regard, they lack the more serious offenses present in the Pettingills’ various rap sheets. While Lisco’s drama has made it clear they are doing their own take on the source material, the story that inspired it all can’t be ignored for its stranger than fiction status.
Witness Jonathan Lisco’s take on the “true story” in Animal Kingdom. Season 5 is currently airing, and episodes drop each Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.
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