Oddball

Cast: Shane Jacobson, Alan Tudyk, Sarah Snook, Coco Jack Gillies, Deborah Mailman, Terry Camilleri, Richard Davies
Director: Stuart McDonald
Rated: G
Running Time: 95 minutes

Synopsis: Off the coast from the small Australian town of Warrnambool lies Middle Island, a sanctuary once home to thousands of the world's smallest penguins. But since foxes learned to cross the shallow channel to the island, penguin numbers have plunged. And if they fall below ten, park ranger Emily Marsh (Sarah Snook) will be out of a job, the penguin sanctuary will close, and the town's magic will be gone.

This shocks her father, eccentric chicken farmer Swampy Marsh (Shane Jacobson). His wife ran the sanctuary but when she passed away Emily stepped in while Swampy retreated to his farm. Emily's nine-year-old daughter Olivia (Coco Jack Gillies) is the glue that keeps the family together.

At the center of everything is Oddball (Kai), Swampy's rambunctious Maremma sheepdog. After Oddball goes on an off-leash adventure that nearly destroys Main Street, tensions in the family and Warrnambool rise. If the sanctuary closes, Emily plans to take Olivia and move away with her new boyfriend Bradley (Alan Tudyk), an American tourism consultant. So now Swampy might lose his daughter and granddaughter as well!

The solution comes when Swampy rescues an injured penguin from the island and discovers to his amazement that Oddball – who can't bring himself to guard chickens – is an expert at guarding penguins.

With two weeks until the final penguin count, Swampy and Olivia devise a crazy plan – train the unpredictable Oddball to protect the penguins and save the sanctuary, while somehow keeping the operation a secret from everyone.

Will Emily discover the truth? What about the suspicious Dogcatcher (Frank Woodley)? And who is the shadowy person trying to make sure the sanctuary closes?

What follows is a rousing adventure as Oddball, Swampy and Olivia fight to save the penguin preserve, their family and the town itself.

Oddball
Release Date: September 17th, 2015

About the Production

Richard Keddie (Producer)

On the true story of Oddball:
A lot of my movies have been based on true stories because true stories are bigger and better than fiction. This story seemed like a simple idea, but the first time I went to the island I kept saying, -Naaaaah! It just doesn´t make sense!' Because you´ve got these beautiful little penguins - probably the most perfect little creature that has been put on the earth - as if you'd set a big dog on them and say, -Get rid of the foxes, will you buddy?' I can´t imagine it, but it actually happened!

It's a fabulous idea to use nature to help nature.

It's a lovely true story and it makes you feel much better about your fellow human beings and the animals of the world. There isn´t a lot of those stories around at the moment. We are constantly reminded how awful human beings are. This one will say, 'Don´t forget we can be good too.

On casting Shane Jacobson:
Swampy is a great Australian folk hero. Shane is the right person to portray him because he has qualities that are -Swampy' qualities. He is an oddball, he goes against the current, he's a rebel, he's a man of the land, he understands and loves animals and he has a huge soft heart. And through his idea of saving the penguins, he also learns to save his own family. It's a warm and wonderful story.

On shooting in Warrnambool:

It was terribly important to shoot the film in Warrnambool. We wanted to honour the story. It is such rugged coastline that we couldn´t actually cheat it. It is some of the wildest, craziest coastline in the world and it captures the true essence of the story.


Steve Kearney (Producer)

On discovering the true story of Oddball
I am always looking for fascinating Australian stories that aren´t being told. The story of Oddball came out of Warrnambool. I decided to take my kids to a festival there and a group of actors, who were dressed up as ex-tram conductors, gave out tickets with environmental stories pertaining to the local area. The ticket I got was the story of Swampy and Oddball saving penguins on Middle Island. And I thought, 'Oh, that's a movie!"

On training the animals
Luke Hura, our dog trainer, spent five months training the dog before production. Our penguin trainers come from QLD. They work with all sorts of animals in giant movies, but they had never trained penguins before. They were excited by the challenge and it turned out that penguins were fantastic to work with!

Stuart Mcdonald (Director)

On the true story of Oddball
This is a genuinely an uplifting true story. When I read the script I thought, 'Oh great, this is a story Australians will want to see. The film is a -buddy movie' with two buddies that don't regularly get put together: grandfather and granddaughter.

The heart and soul of this film is the true story behind it. When I had dinner with the real Swampy I asked, 'Why did you do this?" – because he actually spent a lot of time and effort and his own cash to look after the penguins – and he looked at me and said, 'They're just little fellas. They needed a hand." And from that moment on I used that line as a moral compass for the type of person Swampy is.

On working with the cast
Shane Jacobson is such a crucial part of this project. Without him, the movie is unimaginable. I suppose it is because of who Shane is as a person. There is something extremely generous about Shane that mirrors the generosity of Swampy. It's a very genuine quality that Shane's tapping into.

Coco's wise beyond her years. I´m not saying she's Yoda in a nine year old's body, but she is incredibly switched on. Coco is a very skilled actor.

The chemistry between Coco and Shane is fantastic. Shane is a father, and as a parent you have to embrace your inner patience, generosity and selflessness or you struggle. For Shane it comes naturally. Playing Swampy, he strikes the perfect chord between parent and buddy, which is exactly what a Grandparent is.

Sarah Snook has got an on-screen charisma that you can´t teach or imbue into someone. Once you put the camera on her the effect is mesmerising.

Alan Tudyk is a genius. He's the best guy in the world to work with. I am enthusiastic about him because his level of skill is so good. He can do a take where he just puts an extra little 'bop" in and it's indescribable, but very exciting.

On working animals on set
This film required a lot of preparation. There were scripted scenes with three species interacting together, but for their safety we were unable to film them in the same place at the same time. So we had to use green screen and rely on other tricks of the trade. It looks simple in the end, but it took a lot of work to achieve. We had four species on the shoot: penguins, dogs, foxes and chickens.
My expectation was that working with penguins was going to be really tricky and difficult. The reality was, 'I love those guys! Bring it on! They are fantastic!"

The key to working with animals is not to have a fixed expectation of how it is going to play out. You need to have an over-arching plan for the scene, but if the dog doesn't want to do it in the way you've planned, you have to re-design the blocking on the fly. The key to working with the animals is to be open to new solutions.

Shane Jacobson ('Swampy Marsh")

On working on the true story of Oddball
If someone told me this story at a scriptwriters convention I´d say, 'Come on, people aren´t going to believe this!" But it's true! And it did revolutionize the conservation practice of penguins.

When I was a kid growing up, the film that really connected with my heart was Storm Boy. And for people 15 years younger than me, it would have been Babe. But what I really love is that for my children the film will be Oddball.

The film has a good message for kids. Maremmas look after those who can´t look after themselves.

I loved shooting in Warrnambool. Warrnambool's a very good seed for me; it grows into great things. I've been to Warrnambool a lot. I used to do firework shows there as a youngster, and I went on holidays there with my family. I love Warrnambool and I love the people in it.

On Shane's -Swampy look'
My look? I've just let myself go. I'm just a little unkempt. No, they had to perm my hair. They had to grow my beard out longer than I've ever had it before. They put grey in my eyebrows. They put brown dots to age my skin. And they added about 35 kilograms to me. One of those things is a lie… The rest are true!

On working with the other cast members (human and animal!)
Sarah Snook has a heart the size of Shane Jacobson's head, which is enormous. She's an amazing actress, both here and abroad.

Alan Tudyk is one of the funniest guys I've ever worked with. Full stop. Apart from being a terrific guy, we had more fun than I care to admit. Because if the Producers found out how much fun I had working with him and Sarah, they wouldn't pay me.

Coco's wonderful. She's an amazing little actor. She's full of spirit. I think once the audience get to see Coco's eyes, in half a second they'll fall in love with her. Her and Kai, who plays Oddball, have the same trick. When you see them you think, 'Oh, they're very cute." And they don't stop having that effect on you from the first frame to the last.

Kai's an adorable dog. Our on and off screen chemistry grew throughout the filming. When Kai comes in of a morning I enjoy nothing more than the fact that the dog trainers and handlers have to hold him back as he comes over to say hello to me.

Sarah Snook ('Emily Marsh")

On the character of Emily
My character Emily is the penguin conservationist who works on Middle Island. She's a pretty strong and forthright character. When it comes to her daughter Olivia she can become a lioness. She's really had to grow into the mother role, for both her daughter and her Dad, Swampy.

On the story of Oddball
It's a story about the little guys; the underdogs. It's a story about animals, and how they can really enrich our lives and the environment. I remember when I was growing up I really liked Captain Planet, and always wanted to be an environmental warrior. Being part of a family comedy set in coastal Australia, with an environmental bent towards conservation, is really special to me. Audiences will enjoy Oddball because it's fun and really heartwarming. Maybe if they are to learn something it's that they should communicate with their family members, the people that they love, and the people that are important to them. Just talk to each other, and just check in and deal with things that happen in your lives together. Because in the end, that's the only important thing.

Alan Tudyk ("Bradley Slater")

On the character of Bradley
'My character Bradley is an American who is working in this town of Warrnambool. And not everybody likes him. He's there to bring tourists and jobs to the town and figure out a way to exploit the riches of the town. And yet the people of the town aren't that fond of him.

On working with the Australian cast
I liked hanging out with the cast. It's a really great cast. Everybody's here just having a good time. There was a lot of fun in-between takes. Everybody is doing it because they like it. Shane is very funny. Shane never stops telling jokes. And a good ten percent of them are hysterical. The other 90 are the kind that makes you want to groan, 'Daaadddd!" But he just keeps piling through until he hits a good one. He's a lot of fun to work with!

Coco Jack Gilles ('Olivia Marsh")

On the true story of Oddball and working with animals on set
Oddball is about a man, Swampy Marsh, who owns a dog named Oddball. And he uses Oddball to protect his chickens, because he's a free-range chicken farmer. But Oddball's not very good at it. And his family – his daughter – works to protect the penguin sanctuary. And all the foxes are killing the penguins. So Swampy and his granddaughter, Olivia, have the idea to put his dog on the island to protect the penguins. Olivia then becomes Swampy's side-kick; she even ends up dressing like him!

I'm a big animal lover, so I really have enjoyed working with them. Kai, who plays Oddball, is just beautiful. He's very fluffy, he's got the best personality and he's super smart. I've really enjoyed working with the dogs. And penguins. And foxes!

Luke Hura (Dog Trainer)

On finding Kai to play Oddball
I got a phone call from a friend to say, 'There's a Maremma down at the RSPCA, do you want to come have a look at it?" So I visited the next day. Kai was only eight months old at the time. I studied his behavior and knew straight away that he was going to be a wonderful dog, and perfect for the role of Oddball. We start off with a list of basic commands, then we teach the dog extra things that are specific to the film. In the end, Kai absolutely loved the whole cast. Every time he hears Shane's voice he dragged me over to him. They were crazy good friends by the end.

Oddball
Release Date: September 17th, 2015