"Plain and Simple" is a "children's book come-to-life," combining a unique mixture of animated creatures, sets, and props, with real-life actors. This short film is essentially a moral tale about the value of inner beauty and the struggle to belong. The story is centered upon the plight of a plain little penguin named Pauly who is threatened with removal from the birdhouse of a zoo run by money-grubbing capitalists simply because he does not generate enough interest to guarantee profits.