It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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.

An Australian adventure-drama inspired by the true story about the wildlife conservation, but it does not follow actual details. Like in the real life, it was between father and daughter, unlike grandfather and granddaughter in this. So there many other changes were made in order to get the film right shape, but the theme remained true to the original.This was the second film after the last week 'Brothers of the Wind' about the wildlife I had watched and I'm very happy with both. A film for everyone with the balanced contents between the film characters and the message it wanted to tell. I mean it was not about the dog or a girl or the penguins, but they all equally shared the parts. I think the animals were used well.The film focused on a southern Australian small coastal town, where on a tiny island the little penguins are living for the centuries. But now the numbers are going down due to the fox attacks. So the people are worried that the place might lose its special status. Then they decide to protect it, but all the effort was in vain until a chicken farmer and his mischievous dog named Oddball become the game changer, while everyone was in the panic mode.It is a modern fairytale, that's what they say in the opening. Because fairy tales do not have any violences and so in this the fox attacks were merely a concept to develop the plot. In reality those were obviously heartbreaking if you are an animal lover. The good thing is, the film does not have them like a Disney Nature film. So those who seek facts, logics and strong appeal in a film, I would advise them to stay away from it or you can just put away your adultness to have a good time with it."If you want the biscuit you gotta risk it."This film was not based on a rare concept, but definitely very rare on what it deals with. Like as my knowledge I don't remember seeing a film or a documentary film about these little penguins. So it is totally worth, but disappointment was it was a human perspective story. About the human's intervene while nature fighting among themselves to extinction. Fox hunts penguins and that's a natural order, but when the balance was disturbed, the human's involvement to restore it is not questionable as we're the dominated species on the earth.Most of the cast was Aussies and a couple of them were internationally recognised. Predictable story, especially the ending is not a complicated part. Somewhat fun, but most of the time the drama takes over like the struggling relationship between father and daughter. Sometime innovative ideas come when one in a such scenario. The film explored on that basis to tell a decent tale.The kid was good, along with the dog, and the farmer who was also known as Swampy, the only one who tried very hard in the comical role to keep rhythm up. In a few scenes the camera work was great, the aerial view of the seaside was lovely. It was nominated for the best cinematography in the last Australian Academy Awards, but did not win.This is not a massive hit film or well recognised in the rest of the world. Even if you watch it today, you will go to forget it tomorrow. Then you might be wondering why it should be watched. Well, it is one of the finest family films of the recent time and a message deliverer. In one film many plots were covered, like a man-dog, father-daughter-granddaughter relationship, midlife crisis, wildlife conservation; this film was full of sub-plots and yet it makes an overall decent film. I won't recommend it, but definitely not a waste of time.7/10

This movie will remind you of the old classic Disney movies like "Old Yeller". It is entertaining and fun for the whole family. (Why anyone reviewing this movie would get hung up on a political angle is beyond me!) In order for there to be a plot there has to be a challenge, and no surprise, it's the establishment! The point is, it's a feel good movie, based on a true story with an outside the box concept, not a political statement. The characters are strong and interesting and deeper than expected. There is something for everyone in this movie. If you get the DVD, the extras are very much worth watching! Hopefully a US version will be released soon! There are many Maremma owners in the US frothing at the chance to see this great movie! Hopefully the producers will see that and either release a theatrical version or at least a US region DVD version.

Destined to become an Australian Classic, 'Oddball' is a very enjoyable family friendly flick which says much about the local film industry and audiences. When a good yarn is well produced and marketed, people will go out and see Australian movies. Whilst not perfect, 'Oddball' is a genre pic - the kids movie that the whole family can watch; with cute animals, a wide eyed and intelligent child, a quirky and memorable leading man and a good versus evil motif. What's not to love? For me, the drawbacks were the casting/writing of an American in a major role. Surely this was not for funding reasons! The actor cast is not even a big name. It could have been written for a corporate Australian type; and there are dozens of great local actors to cast here, even if Alan Tudyk is a competent performer for both the comedic and dramatic moments. He has zero chemistry with the current superstar of Aussie cinema the omnipotent Sarah Snook. This actress is the next Cate Blanchett. World domination awaits her. With already a number of lead and supporting roles under her belt, Sarah has shown why she is the next big thing. This seems an odd choice, pardon the pun, with her career trajectory,but as it will turn out to be one of the biggest box office hits this year, perhaps there was strategy from her and her agents to take this role. The child actor playing her daughter is great, and Shane Jacobson once again ('Kenny') creates an unforgettable screen character. He shows a great ability to straddle both humour and gravitas, often from moment to moment. He is becoming a national treasure. Deb Mailman gets to do very little, but doubles up with narration; and Richard Davies ('Offspring') shows why he deserves more screen time and more work. The hilarious Frank Woodley goes somewhat against type and is terrific. But the obvious stars of the movie are the animals. They are just delightful, although it was not seamless when dog and penguin were spliced into one frame - not quite, for these eyes, anyway. With a movie like 'Oddball' its ending was always going to play out as it did, but there was a lot of fun and tension getting there. It has a very sweet heart to it this film, and I recommend it on that basis.