Film No. 70 (2015) September 30th. 2.40 PM FENWICK 3 Cinemas Esperance.
"Dad, the penguins are almost gone, if we are below ten next month then the council are shutting us down" (states Swampy Marsh's daughter in reaction to the Warnambool City council order).
In the vein of a Walt Disney yarn comes the uninhibited Oddball. Walt would have been proud of the way director Stuart McDonald recreated a story based on a true event. In a simple film full of corny ingredients which tries to do nothing more than entertain kids from 4 to 11 years of age. And no, I'm not from this age range but I can appreciate "corny" done well.
Oddball opens with the caption "This is a fairy tale that really happened". The "really happened" tag refers to chicken farmer Swampy Marsh (Shane Jacobson) of Warrnambool and how he, along with his cute grand daughter Olivia (Coco Jack Gillies) saved the rapidly diminishing penguin population of Middle Island by training a shaggy maremma sheep dog named Oddball to chase away the real baddies, the foxes.
It's not altogether as simple as that because there needs to be tension if a good story is to be told. This comes when we learn that Olivia's mum, Emily (Sarah Snook) is a wildlife officer hellbent on saving the said penguins' sanctuary. She's given a deadline. If the penguin numbers continue to diminish then the sanctuary will be closed. This would mean an end to the penguins in the area and the end of her job. Then there is the fact Oddball is on a short leash (no pun intended). His undisciplined behavior has the whole town on edge, so it's three strikes and out for him - unless he improves his ways. Dog Catcher (Frank Woodley) gets to take him into custody.
Jacobson is excellent as big, cuddly Swampy. Snook is showing how talented she is, never overplaying any role she takes on. But most importantly many of the mums, grand mums and kids in the audience at my viewing stayed on to watch the titles roll. Not to see if they knew someone involved but because they wanted more. Oddball is corny but when its target audience reacts this way, then it must be a winner. 8GUMS.
Oddball opens with the caption "This is a fairy tale that really happened". The "really happened" tag refers to chicken farmer Swampy Marsh (Shane Jacobson) of Warrnambool and how he, along with his cute grand daughter Olivia (Coco Jack Gillies) saved the rapidly diminishing penguin population of Middle Island by training a shaggy maremma sheep dog named Oddball to chase away the real baddies, the foxes.
It's not altogether as simple as that because there needs to be tension if a good story is to be told. This comes when we learn that Olivia's mum, Emily (Sarah Snook) is a wildlife officer hellbent on saving the said penguins' sanctuary. She's given a deadline. If the penguin numbers continue to diminish then the sanctuary will be closed. This would mean an end to the penguins in the area and the end of her job. Then there is the fact Oddball is on a short leash (no pun intended). His undisciplined behavior has the whole town on edge, so it's three strikes and out for him - unless he improves his ways. Dog Catcher (Frank Woodley) gets to take him into custody.
Jacobson is excellent as big, cuddly Swampy. Snook is showing how talented she is, never overplaying any role she takes on. But most importantly many of the mums, grand mums and kids in the audience at my viewing stayed on to watch the titles roll. Not to see if they knew someone involved but because they wanted more. Oddball is corny but when its target audience reacts this way, then it must be a winner. 8GUMS.
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