On
Middle Island off the coast of
Warrnambool,
Australian little penguins have made their home, but
foxes have learned how to swim to the island and had reduced the population of penguins. Emily Marsh walks on the island counting the minimal number of penguins left after another attack by foxes, along with her co-workers Zoe, Paul Watt, and her friend Jack Jones. Meanwhile, an eccentric chicken farmer named Swampy Marsh, Emily's estranged father, is seen walking through his barn full of chickens and feeding his dogs, Missy and Oddball. Elsewhere in the centre of Warrnambool, 9-year-old Olivia Marsh, Emily's daughter, and Swampy's granddaughter packs her lunch and opens a gift from her mother's love interest Bradley Slater, whom she and Swampy disapprove. As she gets driven to school by Swampy, accompanied by the mischievous Oddball, and tries to get out, Oddball jumps out and wreaks havoc all over Warrnambool, eventually destroying a tourism attraction Bradley is attempting to set up. In the courthouse later in the day, Oddball is given one last chance at behaving, or he will get put down if he enters the city again. That night, Swampy finds an injured penguin attacked by a fox on Middle Island and takes it to his house, where a fox attempts to eat it but is scared off by Oddball. Surprised by Oddball's sudden change in his ability to protect other animals, he conceives an idea to save the dwindling penguin colony. Olivia enthusiastically agrees with the concept and names the injured penguin Pocket. They begin training Oddball and convince Emily to go on a holiday to Melbourne with Bradley, where he proposes that they and Olivia move to
New York City. While Emily and Bradley are away, Olivia and Swampy sleep on Middle Island for the night to see if Oddball is up to the challenge. They also release the now-healed Pocket back into the wild. Upon seeing that Oddball successfully guards the penguins, Swampy decides to put Oddball on the island alone for a night to see how he copes. After Oddball successfully fends off a fox and protects Pocket and his significant other, he and Olivia decide that the dog can guard the birds nightly. After the penguin numbers steadily rise, Emily learns of Swampy's plan after Olivia accidentally blurts it out. Emily eventually approves and warns that Oddball could get into trouble if the council finds out. Swampy assumes that Bradley is sabotaging the penguins because Bradley is so eager about a whale-watching idea. The whale-watching station would supplant the penguin sanctuary. That night, after going home from dropping Oddball off on the island, Oddball tries to fend off a decoy fox and gets shot by a tranquilizer gun off-screen by an unknown person. Swampy accuses Emily of running away after she proposes to follow Bradley's plan to move away with him and Olivia, and she says the sanctuary is done. Outraged and offended by her father's comments, Emily says that she put more effort into the penguin sanctuary than he did when her mum died. Swampy later finds Oddball in the back of the animal control van, where he finds a matching wound to a tranquilizer dart. The animal catcher tells Swampy that he cannot save Oddball and drives off after giving him a final moment with the dog. After learning that Pocket and his female friend have laid an egg, he works with Olivia to save Oddball. Emily and Jack go to Jack's house and find some of his tranquilizer guns, fox cages, and tranquilliser darts missing. After saving Oddball, Swampy and Olivia meet Emily and the slightly drugged Jack (from a dart gun accident) at the beach connecting to Middle Island. Oddball and Olivia sneak to the island and are followed by the worried Emily and Swampy. Oddball finds the person sabotaging the island, releasing a fox. After a brief confrontation, Emily calls out to the person, assuming it is Bradley, to stop, but the person is revealed to be Zoe. She explains that the whale-watching promoter is her boyfriend and wants the whale-watching plan to go through just so she can get out of her job, which she secretly hates. She then grabs Pocket's egg and attempts to destroy it, but Emily and Olivia prevent her. Emily accidentally kicks the egg off the cliff, but it stops before it can reach the sea. Zoe is shot with a tranquilizer dart and arrested by Jack, and Oddball carefully retrieves the egg with guidance from Swampy, Emily, and Olivia. Emily dismisses Bradley's idea to move away and reconciles with Swampy. The sanctuary has been saved, and the Maremma conservation project has been approved. ==Cast==