Ricky Baker
Ricky Baker is a kid with a checkered past, having bounced around in the New Zealand foster-care system for his entire childhood, unable to find a family he could connect with. He fancies himself a "gangster," someone who is tough, cool, and resilient, even though he is actually a chubby and oftentimes dorky young man. When he is placed in Uncle Hec and Aunt Bella's home, Ricky feels belonging and a sense of family for the first time.
One of the humorous elements of Ricky's personality is both how dorky and awkward he is, as well as how annoying he is to the more serious Hec. Where Hec is stoic and competent, Ricky is unwieldy and clumsy, which creates a humorous contrast. For all his ridiculousness and posturing as a "gangster," Ricky is a sensitive and thoughtful child, who often expresses his feelings through haikus. He is the big-hearted protagonist of the film, the chubby misfit with whom the audience feels most aligned, and who we just want to see end up in a happy home.
Uncle Hector ("Hec")
Affectionately called "Uncle Hec" by Ricky Baker, Uncle Hec serves not only as Ricky's mentor, but as the co-protagonist of the story. An older and somewhat gruff man, Hec is initially mean to Ricky, unsure of how to relate to the unwieldy boy. That quickly changes, however, as the two become close friends in the wilderness. In fact, Uncle Hec starts to reveal his sensitive side to Ricky during the duo's adventures, including the fact that he is illiterate. Ricky helps Hec open up about his lack of education, and by the end of the film, Hec is teaching himself to read and writing haikus just like Ricky. He teaches Ricky how to survive in the wilderness, just as Ricky teaches him to show his feelings and to connect, after years of self-isolation.
Paula
Paula is the dedicated and militant child welfare worker who is first tasked with putting Ricky into a good foster home. She is presented as someone who is committed to maintaining order and discipline above all else, often to villainous and humorous extremes. While she purports to have Ricky's best interests in mind, she is actually the least tender and sensitive adult in his life, and seems to like working for Child Services primarily for the rush of power and control it gives her. She and Ricky share an overblown and comic sense of their own importance.
Bella Faulkner
Bella Faulkner is Hec's wife and Ricky's foster mother. She connects with Ricky in sensitive ways, even though he is exceedingly antisocial when he first arrives at her house. She listens to him and teaches him to hunt and connect with nature, which leads him to open up and feel loved in a way that he never has before. Bella is quirky, playful, tough, and very loving.
Kahu
Kahu is a Maori girl who Ricky encounters when he goes to get help for a dying man he and Hec find in a cabin. She is tough and talkative, and she becomes an adolescent romantic interest for Ricky. She rides horseback and is exceedingly straightforward and blunt in her communication style.
