Persuasive New Zealand police recruitment video has action, comedy, cats in uniform

New Zealanders have cultivated a distinctive comedic style over the years, one distinguished by its restraint, good-heartedness, deadpan tone, and razor-sharp satire. You can see it in everything from Peter Jackson’s exercises in splatter to Flight Of The Conchords to the artistic output of director Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople), who just took his vision mainstream by helming this year’s (very funny) Thor: Ragnarok. But it’s not just the country’s artists that exemplify that style; it’s the people as well. Just look at the above video for the New Zealand Police, which they’ve dubbed their “most entertaining recruitment video yet.”

They’re not kidding, either. Not only is it well-produced—artistically framed and gracefully choreographed—but it’s also genuinely funny, its cast of real-life cops encountering multiple fourth-wall-breaking characters, including the police’s own pipe band. There’s a police cat in uniform, a thieving dog, and a cameo from Kiwi internet celebrity William “Waiirua” Cribb (the weirdo with the boombox).

New Zealand Police commissioner Mike Bush also stars in the video, a sad reminder to we Americans of how nice it is to have leaders with a sense of humor.