The Chilling True Story Behind Animal Kingdom: 5 Shocking Facts About The Real-Life Crime Family

Is the adrenaline-fueled drama of the Cody family in TNT’s Animal Kingdom based on a true story? This question has captivated fans since the series premiered in 2016, and the answer is a chilling "yes," though the connection is more complex than a simple adaptation. As of , the series remains one of the most compelling crime dramas, and its foundation lies in the real-life exploits of a notorious Australian crime dynasty whose reign of terror makes the fictional Cody family seem like a tame comparison.

The series, which ran for six intense seasons, is a loose adaptation of the acclaimed 2010 Australian film of the same name. Both the film and the subsequent television show draw their dark, matriarchal energy from a genuine Australian underworld legend: the Pettingill crime family of Melbourne, a group so violent and influential that their story became a cautionary tale in Australian criminal history. The fictional Janine “Smurf” Cody and her sons are terrifying, but the real-life figures who inspired them were, by many accounts, even more ruthless.

The Real-Life Inspiration: The Pettingill Crime Family Biography

The Cody family’s criminal empire is rooted in the history of one of Australia’s most infamous and violent dynasties. The parallels between the fictional characters and their real-life counterparts are striking, particularly concerning the family structure and their criminal activities.

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• Matriarch (Smurf Cody): The character of Janine "Smurf" Cody, played by Ellen Barkin and later by Leila George in flashbacks, is directly inspired by Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill.
• Kathleen Pettingill’s Profile: Born in 1935, Kath Pettingill became the notorious, one-eyed matriarch of the Melbourne crime family. She was a former brothel owner and headed a brood of ten children, many of whom became habitual offenders. Her criminal history includes involvement in armed robberies, drug trafficking, and arms dealing. She earned the chilling nickname "Granny Evil" due to her ruthless reputation and influence over her criminal sons.
• The Sons (Pope, Baz, Craig, Deran): The Cody brothers are a fictionalized version of Kath Pettingill’s male offspring. Her sons, including Dennis Pettingill, Victor Pettingill, and Trevor Pettingill, were widely known to be involved in a wide range of nefarious activities, from drug deals to violent assaults.
• The Setting: While the TNT series relocates the action to the sunny, surf-centric setting of Oceanside, California, the true story is set in the gritty, dark underworld of Melbourne, Australia.

The Pettingill family’s reputation was so formidable that their story became the basis for the 2010 film, written and directed by David Michôd, who was careful to stress that the film was a fictional work, despite the clear inspiration. This distinction is crucial, as the TNT series takes even greater liberties, using the original premise as a mere jumping-off point for its own six-season narrative arc.

From Melbourne Underworld to Oceanside Heists: The Adaptation Process

The journey of the true-crime inspiration from the Melbourne streets to the American television screen involved significant changes, yet the core themes of family loyalty, betrayal, and the corrupting influence of the matriarch remained intact. The original film, a critical darling, focused primarily on the perspective of the young protagonist, J Cody, as he navigates the terrifying new reality of living with his criminal family.

When the story was adapted for the TNT series, showrunner John Wells and his team expanded the scope, giving more backstory and depth to the Cody brothers and Smurf herself. The move to Oceanside, with its surf culture and beach houses, provided a stark, beautiful contrast to the family’s dark activities, a key element that makes the TNT series Animal Kingdom visually distinct from the Australian film.

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Despite the change in location and the addition of new plotlines, the DNA of the Pettingill family is evident in every episode. The toxic control Smurf exerts over her sons, particularly Andrew "Pope" Cody, echoes the real-life influence Kath Pettingill had over her own brood. The constant cycle of crime, incarceration, and loyalty tests is a direct reflection of the real family’s turbulent history.

The Most Chilling Parallel: The Walsh Street Police Shootings

While the TNT series is a work of fiction, the 2010 Australian film, which serves as the direct source material, features a dramatic recreation of a real, horrific event tied to the Pettingill family: the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings.

This incident is perhaps the clearest and most shocking link between the fictional narrative and the true story. On October 12, 1988, two young Victoria Police constables, Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre, were lured to an abandoned van in South Yarra, Melbourne, and ambushed. Both officers were shot dead at the scene. The murders were believed to be an act of revenge for the earlier fatal police shooting of a Pettingill associate, Graeme Jensen.

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In the Animal Kingdom film, a similar event occurs where the Cody brothers are involved in the revenge murder of police officers, a sequence that is widely considered the film’s darkest and most pivotal moment. This event grounds the story in a specific, terrifying moment of Australian crime history, confirming that the stakes and the violence depicted are not entirely Hollywood fabrications but are rooted in genuine, high-stakes underworld conflict.

The Legacy of "Granny Evil" and the Cody Family

The true story behind *Animal Kingdom* offers a fascinating look at how real-life crime can be transformed into compelling drama. The figure of Kath Pettingill, the one-eyed matriarch, is a powerful entity whose legend has been cemented by the film and the subsequent series. Her life, revolving around a violent criminal enterprise, provides the blueprint for Smurf's character—a woman who uses manipulation, love, and fear to keep her sons in her orbit and ensure their loyalty to the Pettingill family code.

The show’s success lies in its ability to humanize these characters while never excusing their crimes. The exploration of the trauma and emotional damage inflicted by Smurf on her sons—Pope's mental instability, Baz's betrayal, Craig's addiction, and Deran's struggle for independence—adds layers of psychological complexity that elevate it beyond a simple crime procedural. This psychological depth is the fictional layer that separates the Cody family from the real Pettingill crime family, allowing the show to explore themes of nature versus nurture.

Ultimately, while the TNT series is a highly dramatized and fictionalized account, the core concept—a powerful, toxic matriarch controlling a family of career criminals—is absolutely based on a true story. The show serves as a dark mirror to the real-life violence and notoriety of the Pettingill family, ensuring that the legend of "Granny Evil" and her sons will continue to fascinate audiences for years to come. Fans of the show continue to debate the subtle parallels, seeking to identify which Pettingill brother inspired which Cody brother, a testament to the enduring power of this true-crime inspiration.