(Or as I like to call it, The Downers Strike Back)
When I saw the preview for Dolphin’s Tail.... Tale, oooohhh, that’s clever, I get it now. Well played Warner Brothers, any way, when I saw the preview I couldn't shake how similar it looked to How To Train Your Dragon. Animal gets tail damaged by man, befriended by outcast boy, artificial tail built so said animal could operate as normal as possible again. Imagine my surprise when Winter the dolphin didn’t lead an uprising! Wait, I’d totally see that movie! Give me a sec, I’ve got a pitch to write for Warner Brothers.
Damn, Simpsons did it
Before I start, I must let you know, that everyone in this movie is a downer. Everyone! No friends, wounded vets, temperamental dolphins, widowers, everyone! It’s almost as if they’re beating you over the head with emotional involvement. Whatever your vice is, Dolphin Tale will force a tear out of you.
Let’s get to the real story though, and I mean real, this is based on the true story of Winter the Dolphin who was rescued from the beach with a badly injured tail by a marine hospital.The team is lead by Dr.Clay (Harry Connick Jr. Does he age? He looks like he just got out of the plane in Independence Day), a widowed marine biologist trying to keep his struggling marine hospital afloat. The team only finds Winter (played by the real Winter. Let’s hope this catches on in Hollywood so we can stop having people like Oprah and Aretha Franklin saying they want Halle Berry to play them. Really ladies? Really?) because of a phone call from a young boy Sawyer at the beach. He is king of the downers in this movie
No friends
Failing at school so has to go to summer school
Father walked out
His cousin who is his hero and should be going to the Olympics is going to war
(I bet you can see where this one is going....)
But all his downerness (yes it’s a word. Check your Billctionary )makes him the perfect friend for Dr.Clay’s daughter Hazel, still coming to terms with the loss of her mother “(OMG, your mother’s dead? My dad walked out! LOL, let’s be BFF’s”. I assume this is how kids talk). He is also somewhat of a Dolphin whisperer, so he comes in handy as they’re trying to nurse Winter back to health. It gets worse, Winter has to have her tail amputated; a virtual death sentence to a dolphin. Enter Morgan Freeman, taking time out of his busy schedule building awesome stuff for Batman, to build an artificial tail for Winter. Good God I nearly cried while reading the synopsis! Everyone coming together for the selfless act of saving our new friend the dolphin!
My advise is to take tissues, as there are plenty of downer moments, but it’s also a very inspirational heart warming story, maybe just piled on a little strong at times.
When reviewing a movie like this, I really have to keep in mind that I’m not the target audience (bearded 27 year old sitting in a cinema on his own.... I don’t want to know the movie for that demographic), so I have to cut it a little slack, but I must admit to wishing a little harm come upon Sawyer when he’s giving his cousin grief about being a downer when he returns injured from war (pot calling the kettle a racist or something). He actually says to the returned vet ““did you ever think this might be hard for other people? People beside you?”. Oh I’m sorry boy who been no fun his entire life, but giving up my dreams of being an Olympic swimmer, and not being able to walk has made me quite selfish. You’ve made me see the error of my ways. Let’s go save a dolphin you’ve cared about for 10 minutes, and I’ll work on my post traumatic stress some other time.
Oh the dolphin is injured too. You’re right, we’re like brothers. The nightmares have stopped. High 5!
It was also a bit of a shame to have Ashley Judd in such a one dimensional thankless roll as Sawyer’s mother. As it’s a family movie, she plays the “parents just don’t understand” mother, when in an alternative movie reality she’s still dealing with her husband walking out, and trying to get her son to go to school because his grades are bad and he’s off gallivanting with a bunch of adults she knows nothing about.
“But mom I don’t need an education, this Dolphin and failing marine hospital will sustain me forever!” (disclaimer, not a real quote)
Will Smith was right!
Despite it manipulating emotion out of you, I really did enjoy this movie, and think it’s going to be a family favourite this Christmas. I hope this review hasn’t come across as me not liking the movie, because I did thoroughly, I just feel it could have been tightened a little. I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t get to me a couple of times (it was really dusty in there alright?), but the real treat came to me after the sobfest was over and the credits were rolling, and they show real archival footage of amputee veterans and amputee kids meeting Winter. God I thought I was done with the tears, now they spring this on me? I had to leave the cinemas with my sunnies on! I wish they made a documentary on this, because I think it would be amazing, so make sure you stick around during the credits.
A great one to take the kids to, but adults will certainly enjoy it too.
