3D family drama based on the true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin who lost her tail in a crab trap and is rescued by Florida's Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The real Winter plays herself in the movie, co-starring with Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr. and Kris Kristofferson.
"Without her tail, Winter's prognosis is dire. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist (Connick Jr.), the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor (Freeman), and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle." (Source: Official Synopsis).
Dolphin Tale is an old-fashioned pledge for your heart strings that feels like something Disney might have put out in the ‘80s. Slick, nicely paced and well-acted, it’s an earnest, sweet film that relies on the extraordinary true story of Winter, the rescued dolphin, and little on manipulative Hollywood tricks.
Which is why it’s weird it’s in 3D. Other than a few dreamy underwater shots, and a brief chase scene with a wayward pelican, the extra dimension does extremely little to elevate the experience. Why bother when the story is as heart-warming as this? Are kids really that fickle?
It’s rare to find a film based on a true story – much less one as emotive as this – that doesn’t stoop to sentimentality. Yet Dolphin Tale has plenty to say about friendship, love, loss, disappointment, compassion, positivity, tenacity, triumph over adversity, even prosthetics technology... without shoving it down your throat. In fact, it could just be the perfect family flick to come out in time for summer. You’d be hard pressed to find a kid who wouldn’t want to swap places with Winter’s best friend, Sawyer, played by the very capable Nathan Gamble. Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman also rise to the occasion, even if much of their input you’ll be able to spot coming from the other side of the marine centre. Even with those silly glasses on
By Rebecca Barry Hill, Flicks.co.nz
Dolphin Tale is as casual as a pleasant afternoon nap and about as substantive.
Learning of this story, I thought, aw, come on, give me a break. But it turns out the story is not only based on fact, but the actual dolphin involved, named Winter, stars in the movie as herself. Her new tail functions admirably.
A good shout if your kids like this sort of thing, otherwise best head to your local aquarium.
There's never any doubt the boy will find redemption in the beast, but Dolphin Tale deserves credit for sidestepping into darker waters: Sawyer's cousin returns from Iraq severely injured and depressed, though there's a grim inevitability about the fact he, too, is rehabilitated by the dolphin.
This true story of a dolphin with a prosthetic tail has been precision engineered for full inspirational, heart-warming value.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 5th Jan 2012.
Release date: January 5th 2012.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
