Dolphin Tale (2011)
Certified: U
Duration: 112 minutes
Directed by: Charles Martin Smith
Starring: Harry Connick Jr, Nathan Gamble, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristyofferson, Morgan Freeman, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Winter, Ray McKinnon, Austin Stowell, Jim Fitzpatrick
KRS release

Inspired by true events, this Disney film delivers a tale that will surely go down well with all animal lovers and children. Directed by Charles Martin Smith, the emphasis here is on the characters and on Winter the dolphin and the result is a Flipper/Free Willy for a new generation.

Young Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) is a sad boy who lives in Florida. He is still suffering from the fact that his father left him and his mum Lorraine (Ashley Judd) five years before. The boy has turned his older cousin Kyle (Austin Stowell), a soldier who is serving in Afghanistan, into his hero. After not doing well at school, Sawyer is sent to summer school to make up for his bad grades.

One day, while riding his bike to school he finds an injured dolphin and he contacts the rescue centre. The dolphin is taken in by Dr Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr) who is accompanied by his daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff). The dolphin is named Winter and has an infection in its tail which leads to it being amputated. This leaves Winter in a precarious state as the dolphin cannot swim properly and is doomed to die.

Soon Kyle returns from Afghanistan with an injury which has left him depressed and in shock. When Sawyer and his mother visit him in hospital they meet Dr McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) whose specialisation is making prosthetic limbs. This is how the idea to make a prosthetic tail for Winter comes up. And the challenge begins. Meanwhile, Dr Haskett is fighting to keep his rescue centre open.

The film is a dramatisation of Winter’s amazing tale. The story of Sawyer Nelson was brought in to add drama. Winter who resides at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida plays herself and she is a real charmer and her screen presence is capitalised upon by the production. The dolphin has already inspired books, video games and served as inspiration to many people who have had amputations.

In Dolphin Tale the balance between the story of Sawyer and Winter is well balanced out and for once the dolphin is left to look and act as if it were only a dolphin. Too many a Hollywood film has had animals acting as if they were humans in animal form. Thankfully, this does not happen here.

Nathan Gamble provides a good turnout in his first headlining role as we see him change from a shy boy to one who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Kris Kristofferson as the wise, old grandpa provides the film with its sappy and schmaltzy dimension which strangely enough works in this film. Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr play well-intentioned serious adults while Morgan Freeman brings in some stately quality to the film.

Recently children’s films have been all about slapstick and gross out jokes, simply pretending they have a message to impart. Dolphin Tale is different as it delivers entertainment with a message to both children and adults in the audience.