Absolutely Fantastic

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) is stuck in summer school and his belove cousin Kyle, who is a champion swimmer, is going to war. One day, he helps rescue a dolphin entangled by a crab trap. The dolphin named Winter loses her tale and she needs her rescuer. Dr. Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.) reluctantly agrees to let him help. Kyle loses his leg in the war. Dr. McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) working on Kyle's prosthetic leg is recruited to develop a prosthetic tail for Winter.It's a very lovely family movie. Sure it's pulling on all the heart strings. It's got a pelican sidekick, the adorable kid leads, war heroes, disabled kids, and the dolphin. It may be cheesy. It may be hokey. It may be corny. But I love it all. If you have a heart, you'll love it too.

Dolphin Tale is another film about animals which has seem to be the craze these days but it is better than what I expected. It's sweet, charming, and emotional. I never thought I'd do this in a film like this, but there were moments when I choked up especially in the scenes involving the main character's injured cousin and the end credits. Apparently, the dolphin used in this film is actually the same dolphin whose true story this movie was inspired by.Charles Martin Smith's film is based on a true story about a dolphin who is rescued by a kid who always keep to himself. When the dolphin is transferred to an animal hospital, he and the owners who he became close with realize the dolphin may not live without his tail. They hire an orthopedist to set the dolphin right but will it work? Surprisingly, the acting is very good. I didn't expect much from the cast but Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Harry Connick Jr, and of course Morgan Freeman all did a great job. I never thought a cast like this would be good but I was proved wrong.Overall, this is an inspirational story that will lift up the hearts of any animal-lover or any movie-lover for that matter. I didn't know at first if I could make it through the film but in the end, I never glanced at my watch. There should be more animal tales like this being made. In reality, people who do these kind things to animals proves there are still nice people in the world. I rate this film 9/10.

I had NO IDEA what to expect, other than it was about a hurt dolphin. As I am nuts about dolphins, I had hopes that it would be good. But I was GREAT. I had tears in my eyes at the end. The cast was all solid and good. And you couldn't see what solution they would find for the financial difficulties and when they did find a solution, you will be so happy and relieved.And maybe, like me, you will want to shout at the screen that dolphins aren't animals, but of the fish/aquatic family. OK, they have to breathe air. Does that make them animals? I don't think so. Whales also have to surface for air, but nobody calls THEM animals.Lovely, wonderful movie with an excellent cast. If you are like me, and grew up with Flipper, etc., you will enjoy it tremendously.

My suggestion if you're going to watch this is to think of Flipper in real life and fighting against much bigger odds. Really - there are a lot of similarities, especially the bond between Winter (the dolphin whose tail had to be amputated after being caught in a fishing line) and young Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) - a troubled kid involved in her rescue.As all animal stories tend to be, this one is heartwarming. After being taken to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, it's feared that Winter will die because without a tail she can't swim. But she teaches herself to swim like a fish (moving her backside side to side) only then to have it discovered that the motion itself will kill her by damaging her spine. The trick then is to develop a prosthesis to save her life.It's a good story, humorous at times, sad at times. Obviously it revolves around Winter's struggle to survive, but there's a lot of human drama going on in this as well, which perhaps gives it a bit of adult "gravitas." There are some fairly well known faces in this - Harry Connick, Jr. as the head of the Marine Hospital, Kris Kristofferson as his father and Morgan Freeman as the doctor who finally develops the prosthesis. It's better than "Flipper" mostly because it's based on a true story. It takes a few liberties but tells the basics pretty well. (6/10)