The film is showing in the ubiquitous 3D as well as 2D, but apart from the opening sea sequences of dolphins swimming, there really is no need to spend the extra cash to see this in 3D. Her affinity to people makes her the perfect animal star, and you would swear she knew those cameras were on her. Apart from an animatronic version used for her rescue scene and some minimal CGI, she plays herself. While there is no doubt of a happy ending to this tale, there is still plenty of drama thrown in: Winter refuses early prototypes of her tail, a hurricane threatens to destroy the hospital and financial ruin may mean they can no longer look after the dolphin.īut the focus of the film is undoubtedly Winter. Hospital who takes on the task of designing Winter’s prosthetic. Freeman plays the agreeable doctor working at a nearby V.A. Clay Haskett (Connick Jr.), his rambunctious daughter, Hazel (newcomer Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and Clay’s crusty old dad (played by Kris Kristofferson). When he happens upon the distressed dolphin on a beach his life begins to change.Īfter Sawyer sneaks into the Marine hospital to see how she is progressing he is quickly embraced by the friendly staff - a benevolent marine veterinarian, Dr. His mom (played by Ashley Judd) can’t seem to muster any enthusiasm in her child, who is still reeling from the sudden departure of his dad. When we meet Sawyer he is withdrawn, doing badly at school and has no friends. The story is already a tailor-made film with loads of kid appeal, but just to make sure, the filmmakers (who also made the recent uplifting Sandra Bullock hit, “The Blind Side” ) have sweetened the deal with a great charismatic cast (including Morgan Freeman and Harry Connick Jr.) and a plot line that centers on a troubled boy, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), who finds hope in his empathetic connection with the amazing mammal. Winter became a media darling and to this day is the star attraction of the Aquarium, becoming an inspiring symbol to children, adults and returning vets with disabilities.
With 24 hours, TLC Winter (the name they gave her) miraculously survived and learned to swim on her own, eventually with the help of a prosthetic tail that was developed especially for her unique situation. She was transported to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in critical condition and she eventually lost her tail. The central crux of the story and the film’s marine mammal star, an adorable dolphin named Winter, are all real enough and are guaranteed to tug at the heart strings.īack in December 2005 a fisherman in Florida found a baby dolphin entangled in the ropes of a crab trap, which had severely cut the circulation to her tail. When a film says “inspired by a true story” what you usually can expect is a diluted Hollywood version of a true story, and there is plenty of manipulated fiction in the new family film “Dolphin Tale.” But guess what? It doesn’t matter.