Original subtitles

The wilds of Australia,

an ancient world of desert and dust,

hidden amongst the highest mountain peaks lies a secret valley.

Here, in this magical oasis, countless animals gather to escape the desert dry.

For every creature that calls this valley home, this is

paradise. But there's one animal whose numbers dominate the

landscape.

Eastern grey kangaroos.

There are over 2,000 kangaroos in the

valley, and this is the story of one of them.

Meet Marla.

She's about to embark on the greatest challenge of her life.

Up till now, her mother, Luana, has kept her warm and protected.

Now, for the very first time, Marla prepares to leave the safety of the pouch.

Welcome to the world, Marla.

From this point on, Marla will face many obstacles.

She has just 12 months to learn everything she needs to survive on her own.

And the odds are not in her favour.

Only one in five joeys makes it to their first birthday.

For this paradise is haunted by danger.

The Black Forest.

It encircles the valley.

Ravaged by wildfires, only the largest trees remain.

The scorched remnants of a once thriving habitat.

The kangaroos do not come here.

For it is home to their greatest enemy.

The dingo pack.

Migalu has been head of the pack for years.

He's the best hunter in the family.

His son is a young black dingo called Miro, who

was born at the same time as Marla last winter.

Miro has been learning how to hunt.

It's now time to prove himself.

Luana has been here many times before. An experienced

mother, she won't flee with Marla unless the hunt comes to

them. Panic can prove deadly.

Miro is still new to this game. He's learning adult

kangaroos can outrun and outmanoeuvre a dingo.

What he should be looking for is something slower and more vulnerable.

Like a joey.

Or a mother carrying a joey in her pouch.

This is his chance.

The mother is weighed down by a joey much larger

than Marla, but she has everything to fight for.

At this pace, it's very hard for the mother to keep her joey secure.

Miro just doesn't have the focus.

He's inexperienced and easily distracted.

And it shows.

Miro must learn to fend for himself. He's running out of time.

Miro will eventually leave the pack and start his own family.

When that time comes, he'll have to be a better hunter.

The joey that escaped is lucky to be alive.

It's an important lesson for Marla.

Luana's pouch is no longer a safe haven.

It's summer in the valley. The days are long, the grass tall

and golden. Spiderlings take flight on streams of gossamer

webbing, coating the landscape in a silky veil.

It's been a month since Marla took her first tentative steps out of the pouch.

She now has a gorgeous pale gray coat, just like her mother.

Marla has been born into a family of kangaroos known as a

mom.

She's the youngest joey and she's still learning who's who.

Each and every one of her relatives has their own unique personality.

The roos communicate to one another through a language of clucking noises and grunts.

Bamiya, the largest buck in the valley and Marla's father, is king of the mob.

A rip in his left ear is a battle scar from his struggle to the throne.

As king, Bamiya is the only buck who's allowed to flirt openly with the ladies.

When he passes by, the other males must

crouch down and cough to show their respect.

And he's not above reminding them who's in charge.

On the edge of the mob is a bouncy brown colored joey named Buru.

Born around the same time as Marla, Buru's an adventurer.

While Marla has been dragging her feet leaving the pouch,

he's been out exploring the world and has already mastered this whole hopping thing.

The problem is, Buru only has one speed,

flat out full tilt boogie.

Marla would ride in the pouch all the time if she could but that's no way to learn.

A kangaroo that cannot hop is a kangaroo that cannot escape danger.

The mob shares the valley with many neighbors, some friend and some foe.

Who can Marla trust?

Living beneath the valley floor is someone Buru's try not to disturb.

This is Warren the wombat, the neighborhood grouch.

After his daily morning scratch, it's time for Warren to get to work.

Like all wombats, Warren lives alone.

And he's very protective of his prized patch.

Warren doesn't tolerate trespassers.

So today, he's in for a lot of bother.

An intruder is cutting in on his turf,

eating Warren's grass,

acting like he owns the place.

It's an outrage. Warren needs to show this upstart who's boss.

You have to feel for Warren. Not everyone has

a family to look after them, to protect them.

In the midday sun, temperatures soar.

The kangaroos lick their arms to cool down.

And then it's time to relax.

But the roos only nap a few minutes at a time,

with one ear always listening out for danger.

Marla is learning the meaning of different sounds.

A valley full of song is a signal all is well.

But a screech is a warning.

A wedge-tailed eagle. This one has caught a rabbit.

With a wingspan over seven feet, they are capable of attacking an adult kangaroo.

The buru hasn't even noticed.

And the eagle is on the hunt.

Riding the thermals high in the sky, it searches for a target.

An inexperienced joey would make an easy meal.

Luckily, not much gets past the neighborhood watch.

To protect their territory, the magpies and ravens will

harass the eagle all the way to the valley borders.

Marla has seen how important it is to tune into the world around her.

Next time, buru may not get a second chance.

During the long days of summer, the air fills

with swarms of biting insects. And millions

of them.

It's enough to drive a kangaroo crazy.

Marla can't figure out how to escape these minuscule marauders.

But there's one little creature who can help a kangaroo out.

Meet Willy the wag-tail. A tasty winged insect is

irresistible to Willy. They're just hard to catch. But Willy

has a little trick up his wing.

As the roos move about, they stir up the bugs.

Willy hops from roo to roo, striking at just the perfect moment.

When it comes to pest control,

Marla has found a new best friend.

As autumn approaches, and the days begin to shorten,

as night falls, a spectacular new world emerges.

Under the moonlight, the valley is a tapestry of strange new sights and sounds.

Marla is starting to understand the rules of her world.

And it's dangerous.

But there's still so much to discover.

It's enough to make even a nervous young joey feel a little adventurous.

A new sight appears before Marla.

Glowing fungi bloom into magical umbrellas.

This is a forest that lights up with life.

Hidden in the deepest caves, glowworms shimmer in the dark.

A sea of a thousand twinkling torches.

Each and every one creates its own light.

While something even stranger is seen deep in the forest.

A trick of the moonlight transforms the landscape and

many of its creatures.

Scales, fur, and feathers absorb ultraviolet light to create vivid new hues.

A splash of pink on a quall's chest.

Or a cockatoo in his neon crest.

This rare phenomenon is found in abundance

only in the forests surrounding Marla's valley.

With a new dawn, Marla is a whole new joey.

She has finally found her feet and the confidence

to enjoy the world beyond her mother's pouch.

But this is just the first step.

In six short months, she'll be on her own. There's still so much to learn.

With the arrival of autumn, the tiring hot days of summer come to an end.

Buru can't stop staring at this new phenomenon called fog.

There's a change in the air.

The cooler weather has heralded the start of the boxing season.

And Buru is keen to join in. There are several moves to be mastered.

There's headlocks,

wrestling,

and grappling with extremely sharp claws.

But a kangaroo's ultimate weapon is the most difficult to master.

Their powerful kicks can break bones.

Buru is finding that landing kicks take strength and balance.

At his age, Buru is just practicing his skills.

But one day, he will need to leave the mob and fight to become the dominant buck.

King Bamir once made this very same journey.

After years of boxing his way to the top, now he will only

fight if someone is bold enough to challenge the king.

And there's one, a rising youngster who believes he should

be wearing the crown. He's certainly acting that way with

the ladies.

His name is Doan.

Bamir's stiff-legged walk is kangaroo for back down.

If Doan won't submit, Bamir will have to fight him.

And Buru has a ringside seat.

Bamir tries for a headlock but is unable to throw Doan to the ground.

He tries again.

A bad miscalculation, but it's not over yet.

An embarrassing, unforced error by Doan all but ends the fight.

Bamir celebrates his victory.

The crown remains his for now.

It has been three months since Mala first

emerged into the world. She's now outgrown the

pouch.

Mala's learning all the best paths and shortcuts that

have crisscrossed this valley for thousands of years.

When they reach the top of a hill, Luana teaches Mala to stop, look, and listen.

For a kangaroo that listens carefully, a warning can whisper through the trees.

A scent picked up on the wind.

A sound heard deep in the forest.

They are coming.

Mala is caught up in the panic of the hunt.

She's separated from Luana.

She's lost.

Having failed before, Miro really needs to get it right this time.

With so many kangaroos in flight, it's hard for him to pick out a target.

One kangaroo has chosen not to run. The king of the Mala, Bamir, stands his ground.

Aroo, his size, can deliver a deadly kick.

The sandy dingo is taking a huge risk. She needs

the rest of her pack, but her backup is elsewhere.

Miro, it seems, has made another poor choice. An adult female.

He could hardly have picked a harder target.

Once again, Miro has been outmaneuvered.

Mala has made a costly mistake of her own.

The other females all have their own joeys to look after.

Mala's only hope of survival is to follow sound and scent back to Luana.

The only thing a joey truly needs is her

mother. And the dingo pack is still on the hunt.

Bamir has held his ground.

But the rest of the pack now heeds the sandy dingo's call.

Together, they have Bamir surrounded.

Rarely do dingoes take on the greatest of the kangaroos.

But even mighty Bamir can't keep fighting forever.

The mob has lost their king.

Mala has still not found her mother.

She searches.

And searches.

And then finally, a familiar scent.

This time, it's really her.

Cool air, trapped by the surrounding mountains, collects in the valley.

The land begins to freeze.

As winter arrives, Bamir's death has left the valley without a king.

The mob is unanchored.

Mala's world is in upheaval in more ways than one.

Luana is growing a new baby inside her pouch.

Mala is a big sister.

But Luana no longer has enough milk to share.

It's bad timing for Mala.

Winter frost pierces leaves and even cells of grass,

splitting it apart from the inside.

In the bitter cold, food becomes scarce.

And the grass Mala is now forced to eat will soon have little nutritional value.

Many joeys will not survive the winter. For the dingoes, these are easy meals.

The pack has many more mouths to feed.

A new generation of warriors.

These pups will be ready to hunt in the spring when most

of the mob's new joeys will emerge from their pouches.

But someone is missing.

Mera is no longer welcome in the pack.

For the first time, he's on his own.

With the arrival of the new pups, Mera has been forced out.

Without the support of his family, his future is uncertain.

And winter is far from over.

Deep snow shrouds the mountains surrounding Mala's valley each year.

The valley is usually protected from the worst of

the weather. But the earth's climate is becoming more

unpredictable.

The mob is caught in a blizzard.

Even Mighty Doan is forced to take shelter.

Mera is no longer welcome in the pack.

Mala will need all her resolve to survive until spring.

Mera is no longer welcome in the pack. The mob will

be in survival mode until winter comes to an end.

Mera is no longer welcome in the pack.

Mera is no longer welcome in the pack.

Spring arrives.

Mala has made it through her first winter.

She's now eight months out of the pouch, and

she's becoming more and more independent.

Her baby sister Jira is now commanding all of Luana's attention.

Buru's looking more and more like a maturing young male.

No longer satisfied with boxing his mum, he's

kicking around with the other young bucks.

The mob has all the food they can eat. It's a

smorgasbord of riches that requires very little effort.

But Mala discovers that the warmer weather also brings on a

case of the itchies. The thick fur she needed to get through

the winter now has to shed.

No one in the mob is immune from their springtime makeover.

Willie the Wagtail, ever the opportunist, seizes the

moment to collect building material for his nest.

Constructed from woven grass and spiderweb, a bit

of soft fur will make it feel even more homey.

It's already attracted the eye of a female.

Soon, Willie may have a family to look after.

Courtship is also on Doan's mind. He's waited a long time for this moment.

But with Bamiya gone, and the throne up for

grabs, there's a lot of suitors to compete with.

One of the young females in the mob has come

into season. Doan is the first male to court her.

But the female is not quite ready to commit.

She promenades across the valley to advertise herself,

just in case there's a larger, more attractive male around.

Doan is going to be put to the test.

Many other males also fancy their chances and join in the chase.

This is known as a mating train.

The female will choose the male who can stay in control of the train.

If Doan can stay in the lead, this could be his

moment to establish himself as king of the mob.

With the top position up for grabs, all the males in the valley are here.

With all of the females twists and turns, the lead

amongst the males changes over and over again.

Things are really heating up.

The female takes refuge in the

rocks. Doan is

exhausted, but the stakes are too high.

He starts picking off the competition.

The younger males are turning this into a brawl.

And the female is determined that none of these young upstarts will mate with her.

So she makes a clever escape.

But Doan has not been left empty handed. With

his performance today, he has won the crown.

One day, it will be Marla's turn to join in these rituals. But Doan

will be the first to leave the valley. Buru will start even

sooner. The adult world beckons. Not long from now, Buru

will leave the valley, as is the way of young bucks.

The whole valley is getting into the spirit of spring.

A time of love and new life.

Warren, however, is still on high alert.

There's been no further trespassers on his patch.

But one can never be too vigilant.

Uh oh.

Here comes trouble.

Never fear.

Warren is more than prepared. He's run through his drills. He knows what to do.

Hold on. This grass thief seems different. Could it be?

Oh, sweet goddess of the glade. It's a she-wombat.

Life is full of surprises.

The neighborhood grouch has found true love.

And it's Marla who now finds herself alone, without her

mother's protection. For the first time in her young life,

she is truly on her own.

She's gone. She's gone. She's gone. She's gone.

She's gone. She's gone. She's gone.

She's gone. She's gone. She's gone. She's gone.

She's gone. She's gone. She's gone. Miro has

been out of the pack and on his own for three months.

He hasn't got any backup either.

He can't afford to keep making mistakes. For Miro and Marla,

everything in the last 12 months comes down to this moment.

Marla and Miro are now one-on-one.

Miro is completely focused.

Marla is being pushed to her limit.

She's being pushed to her limit.

She's being pushed to her limit.

There are no higher stakes than the duels between hunter and hunted.

Miro was driven by a primal urge, hunger.

But Marla was driven by something far more profound, the will to live.

Things didn't go Miro's way today,

but with persistence and determination, he'll

eventually become a great hunter, just like his father.

I've been let down, and they left me full of doubts. So I

heard that I was certain I was gonna drown. But something

got me from the tide. My tears got me near as they dried.

I've been let down, but I feel the sun is coming out. It's

never too late to love again, baby. Your heart may break.

You might think you're crazy, but I fly to you. Oh, look,

and I know there was a water fire as I walked through. It's

you and me, baby. One kiss and you were kissing. I was on my

knees, and you gave me all your love. Together we can do anything. I'm gonna live

again, I'm gonna live again, I'm gonna live again, I'm gonna live again.

Marla has beaten the odds and reached an important

milestone, her first full year outside the

This season's new crop of joeys have emerged, trying

out their first awkward hops, just as Marla once did.

It seems like a lifetime ago. Oh, look, and I know there was

a water fire as I walked through. Someday, Marla will teach

her own joeys the lessons that she has learned. Baby, one

kiss and you were kissing. The rituals and ways of kangaroos

that have remained unchanged for eons in this secret valley

of great wonder and magic. I'm gonna live again, I'm gonna

live again, I'm gonna live again, I'm gonna live again.

I'm gonna live again.

I'm gonna live again.

I'm gonna live again.