When an unlikely ally enters the Bloom family's world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin, the bird’s arrival makes a profound difference in the struggling family’s life.
Yet the movie, directed by Glendyn Ivin, falls somewhere in the middle of a character-driven story about Samantha's emotional arc, Noah's coming-of-age tale and the magpie's trip from unlikely pet to embracing its wild nature, like a feathered version of "Born Free." "Penguin Bloom" is harmless enough as family fare goes, which counts for something, with an inspirational message for these trying times.