Oddball

"Think Free Willy – only with a dog, a cute kid, an eccentric grandpa, and fairy penguins in place of a whale. It’s good, clean, old-fashioned family fun. No spaceships, superheroes, heavy-handed CGI or cars that turn into robots. Just lots of heart and little blue penguins. It’s a tall tale based on the true story of eccentric Australian chicken farmer, Allan ‘Swampy’ Marsh, and his smarter-than-her-years granddaughter, Olivia, (a delightful double-act by Shane Jacobson and Coco Jack Gillies)."

"Stuart McDonald injects humour and heart into the tale, while Peter Ivan's script is contained and concise."

"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."

"Well made, efficiently written and its heart is in exactly the right place."

"The success of the film as a completely accessible little crowd-pleaser owes much to the efforts of Shane Jacobson."

"Oddball's brand of fun-with-heart will hopefully click with local kids and their parents too."