“Dolphin Tale” is inspired by the true story of an amazing animal. And while most of the human characters in the film aren’t based on real people, the star – a bottlenose dolphin named Winter – actually plays herself!
The movie begins with Winter being discovered washed ashore by Sawyer (Nathan Gamble). Sawyer isn’t looking forward to summer because he has to attend school and his older cousin is leaving to join the Army. But he immediately becomes attached to the injured dolphin, who is taken to a local marine hospital for treatment.
It’s determined that Winter’s injured and infected tail has to be cut-off in order to save her life. But everyone soon realizes that the dolphin can’t survive without a tail. And so they come up with a plan to try to put a prosthetic tail on Winter, something that has never been done before.
Even though you do have a pretty good idea where the story is going, “Dolphin Tale” keeps you interested all the way through. The performances are solid. Ashley Judd play Sawyer’s single-mother, Harry Connick Jr. plays the marine center’s director and chief scientist, while Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman is the prosthetics expert who Sawyer recruits to try to design the new tail. Freeman has a much smaller role than I expected, but he’s always great. Gamble may give the best performance. He’s very believable as the lonely 11-year who’s passion becomes trying to save his new friend.
There are plenty of sub-plots (in fact, too many), including the hospital running out of money, a war veteran and some weather problems, but they all lead back to the quest to keep Winter alive, and director Charles Martin Smith does make you care, right to the end. The movie looks great – especially the underwater scenes involving Sawyer and Winter. There are some intentional 3D gimmicks, which are unnecessary, and the editing is a little choppy in spots.
One of the nice messages of the film is that people and animals with disabilities can achieve great things. And Smith isn’t shy about showing adults and children who are physically challenged. There’s a nice sense of hope and caring in the script.
“Dolphin Tale” is rated PG for some mild thematic elements. It’s appropriate for kids 8 and up and obviously it’s being targeted to kids, but parents and older viewers will enjoy it as well.
On “The Official Kid Critic Report Card“, “Dolphin Tale” gets a B+. It’s clearly a Hollywood version of the real story, but it’s also one of the best family-friendly dramas of the year.