# Die Känguru-Chroniken
**Die Känguru-Chroniken** (full title *Die Känguru-Chroniken: Ansichten eines vorlauten Beuteltiers*) is a satirical episodic novel by the German author and kabarettist Marc-Uwe Kling, first published by Ullstein in 2009, and the starting point of the *Känguru-Werke* series about a talking, communist kangaroo who moves in with a small-time Berlin artist named Marc-Uwe.[1](https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-kaenguru-chroniken/paperback/9783690860406) • [2](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik) The stories began as a radio column, became bestsellers in print and audio, and were adapted into a 2020 feature film directed by Dani Levy.[3](https://www.visionkino.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Unterrichtsmaterial/FilmTipp_ZOOM/Viki-Filmtipp-ZOOM-Die_Kaenguru_Chroniken.pdf) • [4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First publication | Ullstein Verlag, Berlin, 2009; subtitle *Ansichten eines vorlauten Beuteltiers*; a SPIEGEL bestseller[1](https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-kaenguru-chroniken/paperback/9783690860406) |
| Origin | Weekly radio column "Neues vom Känguru" on Radio Fritz (Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg), taken to the stage and podcast before the book[3](https://www.visionkino.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Unterrichtsmaterial/FilmTipp_ZOOM/Viki-Filmtipp-ZOOM-Die_Kaenguru_Chroniken.pdf) • [5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/263095/kritik.html) |
| Premise | A communist, Nirvana-loving kangaroo with a taste for Schnapspralinen moves uninvited into the Kreuzberg flat of the small-time artist Marc-Uwe[6](https://hoerbuchheld.de/hoerbuch/die-kanguru-chroniken/) |
| Series | First of the *Känguru-Werke*, which grew to four books[1](https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-kaenguru-chroniken/paperback/9783690860406) • [7](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/604350/die-kanguru-chroniken) |
| Film | Directed by Dani Levy, German theatrical release 5 March 2020, 92 minutes, FSK 0, X-Filme Creative Pool / X Verleih[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c) |
| Film cast | Dimitrij Schaad (Marc-Uwe), Rosalie Thomass (Maria), Henry Hübchen (Jörg Dwigs); the kangaroo performed by Volker Zack with Kling's voice[8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) |
| Awards | Deutscher Hörbuchpreis 2013 for the audiobook; LOLA 2020 for Best Visual Effects and Animation, the first year the category existed[6](https://hoerbuchheld.de/hoerbuch/die-kanguru-chroniken/) • [9](https://www.trixter.de/projects/die-kaenguru-chroniken/) |
## Spoilers
### Content and characters
The premise is a forced flat-share. A talking kangaroo appears at the door of the unsuccessful Kleinkünstler Marc-Uwe, first asking to borrow ingredients for pancakes, then moving in rent-free as a work-shy communist.[2](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik) • [8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) The kangaroo is an avowed communist and Nirvana fan, addicted to Schnapspralinen (booze-filled chocolates), fond of lying in the hammock, and given to wordy battles over everything from fish sticks to world affairs.[6](https://hoerbuchheld.de/hoerbuch/die-kanguru-chroniken/) • [8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) Nobody in the stories finds a talking kangaroo remarkable; the comedy comes from the arguments, running gags, and footnoted references to politics, science, and films such as *Star Wars*.[2](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik)
The book is built as a satirical episodic novel of 83 short stories, with the cheeky marsupial as the anarchic alter ego of the patient author-narrator.[2](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik) Kling's literary alter ego and the marsupial recur across the series, which grew to four books; the first volume carries more than 60 illustrations by Bernd Kissel in the expanded edition.[7](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/604350/die-kanguru-chroniken) • [10](https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1082125326)
## Origin on stage, radio, and page
The kangaroo stories reached their audience in stages. In 2008 they hopped from the stage into radio under the title "Neues vom Känguru"; in 2009 Ullstein brought out the first text collection as *Die Känguru-Chroniken*, written for Radio Fritz, the station belonging to Rundfunk Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg).[3](https://www.visionkino.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Unterrichtsmaterial/FilmTipp_ZOOM/Viki-Filmtipp-ZOOM-Die_Kaenguru_Chroniken.pdf) • [4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c) The following year Kling, who lived in [Kreuzberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/kreuzberg) himself, received the Deutscher Radiopreis for the column.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c) The book became a nationwide cult success, and the material also circulated as podcasts, live recordings, and audiobooks.[2](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik) • [5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/263095/kritik.html)
## Audio versions
The audiobook, read by Kling himself, runs 4 hours 52 minutes and won the Deutscher Hörbuchpreis 2013.[6](https://hoerbuchheld.de/hoerbuch/die-kanguru-chroniken/) The audio form matters to the property: reviewers and the director Dani Levy both note that many fans know the stories primarily through Kling's own readings, and the film's credits list the Hörbuch adaptation alongside the novel as its source.[8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) • [11](https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/neu-im-kino-die-kaenguru-chroniken-ein-beuteltier-gegen-100.html)
## The 2020 film adaptation
Dani Levy directed the feature film, with a screenplay by Kling himself, produced by X-Filme Creative Pool in co-production with ZDF and Trixter, and released by X Verleih on 5 March 2020.[4](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c) • [12](https://www.mdm-online.de/film-commission/drehreport/die-kaenguru-chroniken-1) Levy said his own children, who read and listened to the books at school, drew his attention to the material.[11](https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/neu-im-kino-die-kaenguru-chroniken-ein-beuteltier-gegen-100.html)
**From sketches to a plot.** The episodic books do not supply a continuous storyline, so the filmmakers built one: the kangaroo and Marc-Uwe, together with neighbors including the IT specialist Maria, the pub landlady Herta, and the Späti owner Otto, found the "Asoziales Netzwerk" to resist the right-populist property shark Jörg Dwigs, who wants to demolish their building for a tower that would serve as the headquarters of his party, the "Alternative zur Demokratie" (AZD).[8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) • [13](https://www.deutscher-filmpreis.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/) Levy explained that the right-wing populism theme was chosen in the screenplay phase, fed by the electoral successes of right-wing parties, and rendered as a comic-book dystopian conspiracy plot rather than realism.[14](https://filmpluskritik.com/2020/03/04/interview-dani-levy-die-kanguru-chroniken/) The film also works as a buddy movie, with pop-culture references to *Pulp Fiction*, *The Big Lebowski*, and the punch-up comedies of [Bud Spencer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bud-spencer) and [Terence Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/terence-hill) woven in.[8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) • [7](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/604350/die-kanguru-chroniken)
**Bringing the kangaroo to the screen.** The photorealistic animal was created by the VFX studio TRIXTER, whose artists delivered 393 kangaroo shots and 74 environmental VFX shots, plus 3D set extensions of a Berlin construction-site wasteland.[9](https://www.trixter.de/projects/die-kaenguru-chroniken/) On set, the comedian Volker "Zack" Michalowski, known to film audiences from a small role in [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s *Inglourious Basterds*, wore a sensor suit with an attached kangaroo tail so the human actors had a partner to react to; Kling supplied the voice.[8](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf) • [15](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18531582.html) In April 2020 the German Film Academy made TRIXTER the first-ever recipient of the LOLA for Best Visual Effects and [Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/animation).[9](https://www.trixter.de/projects/die-kaenguru-chroniken/)
## Reception and box office
The film opened shortly before the COVID-19 cinema closures and still drew more than 500,000 viewers within ten days in roughly 700 cinemas; a re-release with a 3D scene, *Die Känguru-Chroniken reloaded*, followed on 2 July 2020 in about 400 theaters.[16](https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/das-kaenguru-darf-alles/) Critics split along a consistent line. Filmdienst called it a congenial, rousing adaptation with delightful exaggeration and an ensemble that bridges anarchic humor and political enlightenment.[7](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/604350/die-kanguru-chroniken) FILMSTARTS rated it solid at 3.0 of 5, praising the animation and the cameo scenes but finding the invented plot unable to match the brilliance of the books, which it said offer more slapstick and a much fuller portrait of the relationship between the two protagonists.[5](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/263095/kritik.html) • [17](https://www.nrwision.de/mediathek/roettcast-die-kaenguru-chroniken-film-und-buecher-im-vergleich-201021/) On the audience side, [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) lists a user score of 5.3 from about 3,700 ratings.[18](https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/Die-Kaenguru-Chroniken)
The property continued: a second film, *Die Känguru-Verschwörung*, followed in 2022, and Ullstein's publisher materials note that Kling received the Kasseler Literaturpreis für grotesken Humor in 2026.[1](https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-kaenguru-chroniken/paperback/9783690860406) • [19](https://content.ullstein.de/assets/ww/misc/e6/4b00648ea9a2e7a582e32a111262d888052752.pdf?v=1777469534)
## References
1. [Die Känguru-Chroniken (Die Känguru-Werke 1), Ullstein](https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-kaenguru-chroniken/paperback/9783690860406)
2. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, Filmkritik, choices](https://www.choices.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/filmkritik)
3. [Die KÄNGURU-CHRONIKEN, VISION KINO Filmtipp (PDF)](https://www.visionkino.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Unterrichtsmaterial/FilmTipp_ZOOM/Viki-Filmtipp-ZOOM-Die_Kaenguru_Chroniken.pdf)
4. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken_69e38964698346c98a285f49bc77680c)
5. [Kritik zu Die Känguru-Chroniken, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/263095/kritik.html)
6. [Die Känguru-Chroniken Hörbuch, HörbuchHeld](https://hoerbuchheld.de/hoerbuch/die-kanguru-chroniken/)
7. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, Filmdienst](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/604350/die-kanguru-chroniken)
8. [Die KÄNGURU-CHRONIKEN, kinofenster.de Unterrichtsmaterial (PDF)](https://www.kinofenster.de/system/files/pdf/47566.pdf)
9. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, TRIXTER](https://www.trixter.de/projects/die-kaenguru-chroniken/)
10. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, Thalia](https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1082125326)
11. [Neu im Kino: "Die Känguru-Chroniken" – Ein Beuteltier gegen rechts, Deutschlandfunk Kultur](https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/neu-im-kino-die-kaenguru-chroniken-ein-beuteltier-gegen-100.html)
12. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, Drehreport, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung](https://www.mdm-online.de/film-commission/drehreport/die-kaenguru-chroniken-1)
13. [Die Känguru-Chroniken, Deutscher Filmpreis](https://www.deutscher-filmpreis.de/film/die-kaenguru-chroniken/)
14. [Interview mit Dani Levy zu „Die Känguru-Chroniken“, Film plus Kritik](https://filmpluskritik.com/2020/03/04/interview-dani-levy-die-kanguru-chroniken/)
15. [So entstand der "Die Känguru-Chroniken"-Star, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18531582.html)
16. [»Das Känguru darf alles«, Jüdische Allgemeine](https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/kultur/das-kaenguru-darf-alles/)
17. [Roettcast: "Die Känguru-Chroniken" – Film und Bücher im Vergleich, NRWision](https://www.nrwision.de/mediathek/roettcast-die-kaenguru-chroniken-film-und-buecher-im-vergleich-201021/)
18. [Die Känguru-Chroniken – Stream, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/Die-Kaenguru-Chroniken)
19. [Bonnier Verlagsvorschau, Ullstein (PDF)](https://content.ullstein.de/assets/ww/misc/e6/4b00648ea9a2e7a582e32a111262d888052752.pdf?v=1777469534)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Animated films by technique and form*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license