Australian Council on Children and the Media


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What age is this for?



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What’s it about?

This is a true story about a chicken farmer called Alan ‘Swampy’ Marsh who lives near Middle Island where a colony of penguins live. His daughter Emily is a wildlife officer at the penguin sanctuary where penguins have lived for many years. Unfortunately foxes have discovered the penguins and start to kill them which is very upsetting for everyone.

Swampy thinks his Maremma Sheepdog called Oddball, who protects the chickens from foxes, might be able to save the penguins. Swampy sets about training Oddball, who meanwhile causes some problems in the village making the councilors very angry. Swampy has to convince the councilors that Oddball can be very helpful

What to look out for

There are a few violent scenes in the movie such as when Oddball causes a huge explosion and a large screen falls to the ground.

Younger kids might be upset by the fact that the foxes are killing the penguins although this is not actually shown.

Moral of the Story

The messages of the story are that sometimes you have to take risks to cause a positive change and how important families are in times of need.

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Age suitability:


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