For a while, I was reluctant to see this silly comedy with frankly cringeworthy trailers - but once I did, I found it was considerably better than I thought, with a lot of good-natured humour, great pacing, and a surprisingly developed cast for such a kid-oriented film. The subplots with both Annie's family members and other people in and around town do a lot to add texture and brighten the mood.
Additionally, it should be noted that besides simply being a sports drama, this film also has a deeper connection to its Australian outback setting as it engages at length with the perennial issue of water availability - although I can't say it does so in a fully satisfying manner. That is, the villain who exploits control over water rights in the area to buy up bone-dry land for cheap is very well-acted and immensely hateable - far more so than the antagonist of the dog sports arc, who is, after all, first and foremost a player of the game.
Yet, not much happens to him, and the implicit suggestion it's easier to win an international competition than to attract attention from other parts of the country to help overturn local injustice is hardly all that optimistic. It stays sufficiently in the background not to spoil the fun of the film. But does add a bitter note to the aftertaste.
