Oddball

The great thing is that it is based on a true story. I have never heard about this before since I live far away from Australia, but there was indeed a chicken farmer who trained his dog to protect penguins from foxes and let the colony flourish.

The movie adds more fictional elements to make it an adventure story. It would be mainly interesting for kids but adults can watch it with them without a problem and enjoy it.

The acting is good. No real overacting as often happens in the genre of family movies. Shane Jacobson is great as a farmer and there is definitely a rising talent there when it comes to the child actress Coco Jack Gillies.

And in addition to humans we also get the pleasure to watch the adorable penguins and the dog in it that add a lot of fun to the movie. And of course it is filmed in the beautiful setting of Australia.

If you have kids I would recommend it. Kids usually love animals and it also has a great message of conservation that may inspire them for the future.

Oddball is, if a bit formulaic, well done and rewarding.

The intertwined elements of family-love, nature's treasures and a heartwarming dog combine for our pleasure.

The location of the story is one of magical beauty.

The characters are well-drawn and believable.

The fact that it's based on a true story makes it even more special.

This movie is heart warming, funny, thoughtful, and educational. This is how the movies were when I was growing up. They are informative about endangered species or situations, but entertaining at the same time. Based on a true story, I think they did a wonderful job. The storyline was great, most of the acting was perfect, and had a thoughtful message about several different things running through the movie. Very much advise anyone to watch this. You won't be disappointed.

It was W.C. Fields who said, 'Never work with animals or children.' He may have had a point because the actors in this film become almost irrelevant when Oddball, a beautiful Maremma sheepdog, shares the screen with the fairy penguins.

The film is based on real events. Apparently, Middle Island off the Victorian coast at Warrnambool, used to be home to a thousand fairy penguins until foxes started to snack down on them, reducing the population to just ten of the little guys.

Finally, a chicken farmer, Swampy (Shane Jacobson), and his dog, Oddball, come to their rescue and rid the island of foxes after hunting and trapping had failed.

The film is described as family fare, and Oddball steals every scene he is in, but I think children would be a little restless with the amount of story taken up with the affairs of the adults. Maybe the filmmakers tried to cram in too much. Along with the case for conservation, every character in the film seems to have a back-story. But it's all at the expense of more time with Oddball and the real stars of the show - the fairy penguins.

No doubt the scenes with the penguins would have been hard to do, but the film could have used a lot more of the confrontation between Oddball and the foxes - there are few long shots and much of the action seems either very close-up or off camera. Here and there the film gets to the heart of the matter - the human drama can't compete with the tension in the scene on the island when the fox sticks its head into the fairy penguin's burrow, or when Oddball saves the egg from going over the cliff.

Although no rival to "Babe", "Oddball" is nicely made, and no one will hate it, but I feel that the filmmakers missed the opportunity to make it more memorable than it is.

A lovable based on a true story family movie that's partly filmed in one of the worlds most naturally beautiful locations and most livable cities (no bias here at all) in the form of regional Australian city Warrnambool, Oddball is a film that's enjoyable for the young and young at heart and one of the better Australian feel good stories in some time.

A huge success at the local Australian box office in the later half of 2015, and in particular in the town of Warrnambool where Oddball played at the local cinema for 3 months, Oddball's the type of film even the biggest of movie grouches will have fun with despite its slight narrative and overacting from a talented cast.

A dramatization of eccentric chicken farmer and genuine "oddball" Alan 'swampy' Marsh, Oddball sees one of Australia's great larrikin characters Shane Jacobson inhabit the overalls of the great bearded man who developed the ingenious idea of using Maremma sheep dogs to protect a local fairy penguin colony that had been decimated by pesky foxes.

It's a unique scenario but not one that exactly makes for thrilling viewing and Oddball's major struggles come from trying to draw dramatic tension from a simple idea that just doesn't have the cinematic qualities of other such true tales. Well respected actors Sarah Snook (breakout star of Predestination), Alan Tudyk and even Australian comedy legend Frank Woodley all feel a little lost with some pretty lame supporting characters.

Oddball flys on the back of Jacobson's work, young actress Coco Jack Gillies likability, the great locations and of course the lovable animals that make penguins and fluffy dogs even more adorable than one would've thought possible.

A film that's appropriate for all ages and a tale that has appeal for animal lovers the world over, Oddball is a slight yet wholeheartedly enjoyable Australian film that's likely to become a new favourite of the youngest members of the family and an Australian film that holds a more universal appeal than the average homegrown movie.

3 Great Ocean Road shots out of 5