Dolphin Tale

Director Charles Martin Smith presents the kind of movie that gives squeaky-clean a good name.

Between the earnest boy, his playful mammal, the film from actor-turned-director Charles Martin Smith is a winning family entertainment.

It doesn't look particularly special - despite the visual potential of underwater scenes - but kids are going to eat this up.

While the plot occasionally feels like "Free Willy" without the drama, it's a cute story if you don't mind temporarily trading in your cynicism for a bag of popcorn.

The best of Dolphin Tale takes it easy. Led by Connick and Judd, plus the crucially empathetic Gamble and Zuehlsdorff, the cast includes Kris Kristofferson as the seafaring old salt of a grandpa. The acting has a nice, low-pressure vibe, in contrast to the film's high-pressure peril.

The parallel between the dolphin and the disabled tourists who flock to see it borders on treacle, but Gamble's rapport with his finned costar is so touching that the movie works anyway.

Dolphin Tale is inoffensive enough -- little kids will probably dig it -- and I'm not suggesting that family-friendly docudramas should tightly conform to real life. But when they do embellish, they should distill the story into something more compelling, rather than watering it down with pleasant-but-utterly-forgettable inspirational boilerplate.

A pesar de la exageración de la historia real me gusto mucho y es muy emotiva.

Dr. Cameron McCarthy: "Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you're broken". Dolphin Tale is about a boy bonds with a dolphin who loses its tail after being caught in a crab trap. This movie was a harmless family flick with cute dolphins. People say that this is a copy and paste from free willy, but this is thing, I didn't like free willy at all, but I think this movie has a stronger message and it has better charterers. This is a harmless movie that little kids can enjoy and parents can find something good in this.

First, let me say that I find these based on a true story animal movies to be annoying. I went into this movie with practically no expectation (mainly because I find Nathan Gamble, the lead kid extremely annoying) but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, most of it is cliche and there were only 2 good performances, but families will enjoy it. Just don't expect it to be great.

An amazing story.....quite simply put. This film is sweet. The performances are decent and the subject matter is affecting. However, this film drags quite a bit and it really goes nowhere in the second act. If not for the touching conclusion, and the Westlife single "Safe" montage, this film would not have been perceived as well. Worth a rental price, and worth no more than a $10 personal copy.

For a film that's supposed to be based off a true story, the whole film feels as fake as the many prosthetic tales made for the star of the film; a dolphin named Winter. The movie is about a young boy named Sawyer, who is very anti-social, and not doing very well in Summer school. One day, he finds a beached dolphin entangled in a rope and a crab trap. The boy immediately has feelings for the dolphin, and stops by the marine animals hospital everyday to check on the creature. It appears there is little hope for the dolphin to survive, do the dolphin's tale (or more specifically; lack of). Among many problems with this film, the biggest is the movie's lack of a reason to exist. The story has obviously been greatly fabricated from it's source, the acting is passible, the attempts at humor will only make kids laugh, and there are some parts that are so unbearably cheesy, even a child may feel skeptical. I myself, laughed only once during the film's entire duration; nearly two hours. The film is not exciting, and it's very slow and un-rewarding. It's not unwatchable, it's just very boring. There are countless cliches in this film, more than I'd like to count. Every soap opera idea in the book has been yanked out of the book and thrown into this movie. I imagine some kids might enjoy this film, as long as they don't have a short attention span, but any one else will be able to see through this cheese fest.