Charlie Carbone is one of the two main human protagonists (alongside Louis Booker) in Kangaroo Jack.
In the original film, he is played by Jerry O'Connell (who also played Vern Tessio in Stand By Me) while in the animated sequel, he is voiced by Josh Keaton who also voiced Spider-Man video games, etc.
History[]
In 1982, a boy named Charlie Carbone is about to become the stepson of a crime boss named Salvatore Maggio. The mobster's apprentice Frankie Lombardo tries to drown Charlie, but a boy named Louis Booker saves him, and they become friends.
Twenty years later, Charlie is running his own beauty salon set up by Sal, whose henchmen take 80% of the salon's profits, barely leaving Charlie enough money for maintenance. After they botch the job of hiding some stolen TVs, Sal gives Charlie and Louis one more chance.
Under instructions from Frankie, they are to deliver a package to a man named Mr. Smith in Coober Pedy, Australia. Frankie also warns them against opening the package and provides them with Mr. Smith's number. Unbeknown to the duo, Sal has cancelled their return trip.
Meanwhile, Louis opens the package on the plane and finds $50,000 cash.
Upon landing in Australia, Charlie and Louis rent a car and head to Coober Pedy. Along their way, they accidentally run over a red kangaroo. Louis thinks it is dead and puts his jacket and sunglasses on the kangaroo and poses for photographs as a joke, saying the kangaroo looks like Jackie Legs which they use that name later on.
The kangaroo suddenly regains consciousness, kicks Charlie, and hops away with the $50,000 in the jacket. Charlie and Louis take chase, but crash the car, and the kangaroo escapes.
At the pub in Alice Springs, Louis manages to call Mr. Smith and tries to explain their situation. Mr. Smith, however, thinks they stole his package and threatens to kill Louis and Charlie.
Back in New York, Sal gets the call from Mr. Smith complaining that Charlie and Louis haven't arrivel. Then, Sal sends Frankie and some henchmen to Australia to investigate. Meanwhile, Charlie and Louis attempt to reclaim the money from the kangaroo by shooting it with a tranquilizer in a plane.
The attempt fails when Louis accidentally shoots Blue, the pilot, and strands the duo in the desert. They spend hours wandering in the desert, during which Charlie hallucinates finding a jeep and they soon meet an American woman named Jesse from the Outback Wildlife Foundation who Charlie fall in love with despite that he once admit to Louis that he’ll never find the right girl until now.
The following day, the trio then track the kangaroo to the Todd River and try again to catch it with bolas, but Louis accidentally botches their attempt when ants crawl up his pants.
While waiting for the next opportunity to catch the kangaroo, Charlie begins developing feelings for Jessie. The next day, Mr. Smith and his henchmen shortly arrive and capture the trio.
Charlie and Louis outsmart them, but find Frankie has tracked them down and is prepared to kill them. The kangaroo suddenly returns, causing a fist fight between Mr. Smith's henchmen and Frankie's crew, who outmatch them.
The distraction allows Charlie, Louis and Jessie to escape. A final chase ensues, with the duo chasing after the kangaroo while being pursued by Frankie and his goons. Louis finally manages to retrieve the money from the kangaroo, but nearly falls off a cliff and is narrowly saved by Charlie.
Charlie tries to hand the money to Frankie, but the latter angrily declines and reveals that Sal sent them to Australia to pay for their own execution at the hands of Mr. Smith. The Australian Federal Police led by an undercover cop (disguised as an Outback guide) arrive and arrest Frankie, Mr. Smith, and their henchmen. Then, Charlie reclaims Louis' jacket from the kangaroo.
One year later, Charlie and Jessie are married and have used Sal's $50,000 to start a line of new hair care products bearing a kangaroo logo, along with Louis.
Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.[]
The movie takes place some time after the first film. Charlie Carbone, his wife Jessie, and his best friend Louis Booker travel to Australia once again and it is up to them to save the animals of the outback from danger by poachers along with the help of their old friend Jackie Legs.
Trivia[]
- Jerry's character's name is Charlie and in real life, he has a brother named Charlie.
- Jerry O'Connell had to wear extensions for re-shoot scenes since he cut his hair short once initial filming was over. You can clearly see (if you look closely) an awkwardness to his hair in particular scenes.