Oddball

The penguins are cute, but the big fluffy sheepdog steals the show in this delightful Aussie drama.

Oddball and the Penguins is a boldly unsophisticated kids' film from Australia that recalls the world of Disney TV movies from the 1950s.

Just when you thought every last drop of cute had been squeezed out of the world's penguin population, along comes this heartwarming Australian underdog tale ...

A likeable, traditional family movie.

Some kinks in the writing notwithstanding, Oddball is fun and thoughtfully minded, with a sweet charm that endears from the get-go.

Unfortunately, they appear to have lost sight of the golden rule for family movies of this type, which is to keep the focus squarely on the animals or, failing that, on the kids.

Stuart McDonald's film is a warm and big-hearted tale with just that right dose of magic, teaching valuable environmental and life lessons along the way.

Oddball offers some splendid real-world education on the amazing instincts God gives his creatures and the ingenious ways we're able to use them.

Lovely stuff.

High on charm, spirit, excitement and live-animal magic, Stuart McDonald's real-life tale is a breath of fresh air in a world of gloopy, sterile CGI mulch.