Dolphin Tale

Product Description

"Dolphin Tale" is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life.

• Starring: Jr. Harry Connick, Ashley Judd
• Directed by: Charles Martin Smith
• Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
• Release year: 2011
• Studio: Warner Bros.

Product Details

• Synopsis: "Dolphin Tale" is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin and the compassionate strangers who banded together to save her life.
• Starring: Jr. Harry Connick, Ashley Judd
• Supporting actors: Kris Kristofferson, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Morgan Freeman
• Directed by: Charles Martin Smith
• Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
• Release year: 2011
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• ASIN: B006O5Y1FK (Rental) and B0064J63DY (Purchase)
• Rights ; Requirements
• Rental rights: 48 hour viewing period Details
• Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details
• Compatible with: Mac and Windows PC online viewing, compatible instant streaming devices, TiVo DVRs. System requirements
• Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)
• Theatrical Release Information
• US Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 2011

Technical Details

• US Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 2011

 

Dolphin Tale

 

Customer Reviews

Just wanted to take a moment out to say a few words about this film. I do not go to movie theaters much due to their costs ever rising. I usually wait for dvd anymore. This one we actually did go see on the big screen. My 5 yr old wanted to see it. I took her and my mother to go see it and we ALL loved it. It will make you laugh, and cheer and even get teary eyed. It is not super depressing like some animal films. Instead it shows hope, courage, faith and perseverance and how people can come together and make things happen through trials. Great cast, cute movie. Best part is it is based on a true story. so cool. We will be buying this one when it comes out for sure I highly recommend this movie to anyone, kids or no kids..

Dolphin Tale is, first and foremost, a great family movie. What I mean by that is that everyone - kids and adults alike - can enjoy it and never feel either bored or like they're being talked down to. A lot of craftsmanship went into the making of this movie and it shows, mainly in how seamlessly it flows and how well everything fits together.
The movie centers around the true story of Winter, a young bottlenose dolphin found on a beach in coastal Florida whose tail was injured and ended up having to be amputated. The humans taking care of Winter ultimately had to create a prosthetic tail in order for her to survive, and in the process she became an inspiration to many, from children who were born missing a limb to veterans who had lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Dolphin Tale, the plot begins with Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), a young boy who's been withdrawn ever since his father left the family five years earlier and who's having to deal with his older cousin Kyle (Austin Stowell), who's been like a brother to him, leaving to do a tour in Afghanistan. Which leaves Sawyer even more lonely and withdrawn, until one day he happens to come across a dolphin stranded on the beach. The dolphin is injured, its tail caught in a crab trap which has washed up along with it. Sawyer cuts the dolphin free of the trap, animal rescue is called and the local aquarium comes and takes the dolphin away for treatment.
Curious, Sawyer later goes to the aquarium to check on the dolphin, sneaking into the Employees Only area where he runs into Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), the young daughter of the aquarium's resident vet, Dr. Haskett (Harry Connick, Jr). Hazel, who is as extroverted and chatty as Sawyer is withdrawn and shy, takes him out to the tank where the dolphin - now named Winter - is being treated. Winter, who had been lethargic and unresponsive, seems to perk up at the sound of Sawyer's voice, apparently recognizing him as the one who cut her free, and gradually Sawyer becomes part of the team of humans trying to save her. Which he does by playing hookey from summer school and spending his days at the aquarium, without telling his mother (Ashley Judd) who is furious when she gets a call from the school asking where Sawyer has been. But when she sees how much the experience is drawing her son out of himself for the first time and he's actually emotionally connecting with people once again, she decides to let him continue.
The damage to Winter's tail, however, is too severe and Dr. Haskett ends up having to amputate it, which makes them all wonder if Winter will be able to survive. In the meantime, Kyle has returned from Afghanistan after having been badly injured and is having to undergo physical therapy and learning to walk with a leg brace. While visiting Kyle at the VA hospital, Sawyer meets Dr. McCarthy (Morgan Freeman), who works with the veterans who need prosthetic limbs. Sawyer then draws Dr. McCarthy into the project of designing and building a prosthetic tail for Winter. And in the background, the aquarium is facing threats from budget problems which only worsen when a tropical storm wreaks havoc on the place.
There are admittedly in Dolphin Tale a number of Hollywood embellishments to Winter's story that frequently border on the formulaic, and at times the relentless optimism that permeates the film seems a bit much, but it is a mark of how well the film was written and directed that I never felt bothered by them. As director, Smith shows a deft hand at pacing and at balancing drama and humor so that you're always engaged in the film. He also seems to know exactly how to work with animals - in this case the dolphin Winter (who played herself) and a comically territorial pelican named Rufus. Smith also has a fine eye for knowing just how to photograph animals to bring out their personalities, which may have come from his own experience working with wolves in the 1983 film Never Cry Wolf. The scenes between Sawyer and Winter, particularly the underwater ones, are beautifully crafted, and one genuinely experiences what it is to be in that special world where dolphin and human connect with each other.
Credit should also be given to the particularly fine performances by Nathan Gamble as Sawyer, Cozi Zuehlsdorff as Hazel, and Ashley Judd as Sawyer's mom, all of whom make their characters fresh and believable, which carry the emotional core of the movie without a hitch or a stumble. At 12, Gamble is already a veteran actor with appearances in films like Babel, The Mist, and The Dark Knight and numerous TV shows). The supporting cast is also excellent. Harry Connick, Jr is convincing as Dr. Haskett, the aquarium vet and Hazel's father, and you can see him noticing how Winter responds to Sawyer and recognizing that Sawyer seems to have a natural gift for working with animals... and then weighing whether he should involve a boy that young in something this serious. Kris Kristofferson does a nice low-key job as Haskett's father and Hazel's grandfather, offering calm advice and reassurance when it's needed. Austin Stowell is good as Kyle, Sawyer's cousin and a former champion swimmer who now has to deal with that part of his life effectively being over. And a number of familiar veteran character actors fill in various roles - Frances Sternhagen as Gloria, the administrator having to deal with the aquarium's financial problems, Richard Libertini as the fisherman who finds Winter along with Sawyer, and Ray McKinnon as Sawyer's harried summer school teacher.
On a side note, I saw the 3D version of the movie, and I can actually say that, unlike most 3D films, Dolphin Tale actually made some nicely effective use of the 3D technology, particularly when the shots that take place underwater and in the part of the film where they're working on the design of Winter's prosthetic tail and the blueprints take shape, showing how they're supposed to fit and function. And again in a throwaway but nonetheless fun scene involving Sawyer's remote-controlled model helicopter buzzing out of control around and through the aquarium.
Highly recommended as a good, solid all-round enjoyable family film.