Dolphin Tale

When you want to make a movie for kids, a smart thing to do would be to make it so that it entertains the whole family. “Dolphin Tale” is meant for young children in that adults might find its whimsical sequences a little out of place for a film “inspired by a true story”. I felt that there were a few important story problems and the movie also relates a little too much to “Free Willy”. The 3D did not distract us from enjoying the story as some movies do although there were some shots that were meant as 3D eye candy and therefore ruined those particular moments. Having said all that, the film is much better in the second half than in the first.

The movie had a rough time establishing characters and relationships. I feel that more focus was put on the storytelling in the second half of the film. The opening half of the show lacked sincerity. Certain events in “Dolphin Tale” were executed quickly so as to be resolved at the end of the movie and more attention was given to the resolution. A good example among others is Sawyer attending summer school. It is established that he is teased and is not doing well in school. The problem with this on film is that not enough time was spent showing this. It seemed like filmmakers wanted to get these scenes over with so as to get to the better parts of the story. In order to achieve the best payoff however, you must give attention to all parts of the story and not just on the ending. Sawyer is given credit in summer school at the end and Sawyer is able to find the friends he needs in life but these plot points would have been more powerful if we sincerely felt his turmoil at the start of the show. I did not fully believe everything I was seeing at the start of the show. Only after the necessary establishments were accomplished did the filmmakers take the time to tell the story right. Another problem I had with “Dolphin Tale” is that the whimsical opening credit sequence and the toy helicopter scene felt out of place. The film was established during the opening credits as both whimsical and realistic. This contrast continued throughout the movie. We have realistic scenes with the major characters injected with unrealistic moments that are meant to make little children laugh. The montage of building Winter’s tale also seemed out of place in that it was too much 3D eye candy and it clashed with the realistic story that was taking place. The movie felt like a TV movie half of the time and a major motion picture at other times. All the scenes should have been in conformity with the others. You don’t have to play down to kids in order for them to have fun. Having been a kid when “Free Willy” was released, I had a hard time separating the two stories during the first hour of “Dolphin Tale”. There were a few too many similarities between the two scripts for my taste. The story that Clay tells the children about the origin of dolphins feels too much like Randolph’s story on “Free Willy” about the origin of the orca.

The resolution in the film was pretty good. I was impressed by how the fact that Sawyer hates to wear a seatbelt because it feels uncomfortable comes to mean so much in the story. It is established silently one time at the start of the film and is recalled at a time when a ray of hope is needed the most. This hope comes from something that was thought to mean nothing at the start of the film and that is smart storytelling. The two stories of Winter and Kyle come together very nicely. The cast did pretty well but once again, half of them feel like TV actors and the other half felt like feature film actors. I loved Harry Connick Jr.’s work on “Independence Day” a lot more. He is much better in that kind of role. Nathan Gamble felt like a feature film actor while Cozi Zuehlsdorff did not. This contrast between the two actors affected chemistry between the two characters. Morgan Freeman was the perfect casting choice and his work on this film was the best out of all the actors. I also like Austin Stowell’s work.

A final criticism I have is the use of “Sh-Boom”. Pixar used that song 5 years earlier in “Cars” and to put it in “Dolphin Tale” felt like a lack of imagination for those involved in the post-production. This movie will entertain and inspire children but not whole families. It felt cheesy at sometimes and realistic at other times. This disparity did not help the story. There were storytelling problems and for us adults, it is hard to get “Free Willy” out of our minds. The movie overall works because of its second half and so that it fortunate.

3 Stars