Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Harry Connick Jr, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Morgan Freeman, Frances Sternhagen, Austin Highsmith, Betsy Landin, Megan Lozicki
Written by Karen Janszen & Noam Dromi
Certification UK U | US PG
Runtime 113 minutes
Directed by Charles Martin Smith
More so than Raymond, everybody loves dolphins. Especially the Japanese, who are quite fond of dolphin sashimi. Those of us in the west, however, prefer our dolphins alive and swimming, and preferably in the wild. We love them for their warm, friendly and fun-loving natures, and for their intelligence. So our natural instrinct upon seeing a dolphin in distress is to do what we can to help.
That's what young Sawyer (Gamble) does when he comes across a young bottlenose dolphin tangled up in a crab net on a Florida beach. A rather shy, withdrawn kid, Sawyer forms an immediate bond with the injured mammal – which he names Winter – and follows her recuperation closely after she's taken to the Clearwater Marine Hospital. The news, though, is not good. Winter's tail has been too badly damaged and must be amputated. Which means she has to learn to swim without it, but that causes spinal problems – Winter teachers herself to swim by swishing her stump from side to side, which is not a natural movement for a dolphin. So enter prosthetics expert (and comic releief) Freeman to save the day.
Dolphin Tale is a first-rate family film, from the same people who brought us 2009's Oscar-winning The Blind Side. It manages to fall short of being overly syrupy and schmaltzy, thanks to terrific perfomances from Connick as marine hospital chief Clay Haskett and Judd as Sawyer's mum Lorraine, through to Morgan and Gamble as Sawyer. But the star of the show is Winter as herself – yes, not much acting involved there, but she's quite amazing when it comes to relivng her real-life experience. The film is utterly engaging and has a positive message to tell about overcoming disabilities – it's highly recommended viewing for the whole family, especially those who love dolphins. And isn't that everybody?