[Screen It]
    

 

"DOLPHIN TALE"
(2011) (Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd) (PG)


At-A-Glace Content Summary

Alcohol/Drugs Minor
Blood/Gross Stuff Moderate
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude Moderate
Frightening/Tense Scenes Moderate
Gun/Weapons Minor
Imitative Behavior Heavy
Jump Scenes Mild
Music (Scary/Tense) Moderate
Music (Inappropriate) None
Profanity None
Sex/Nudity Moderate
Smoking None
Tense Family Scenes Extreme
Topics to Talk About Extreme
Violence Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Family Drama: A boy, still struggling with his parents' divorce years earlier, forms a special connection with an injured dolphin he helps rescue.
PLOT:
In Florida, Sawyer Nelson (NATHAN GAMBLE) is a sad-eyed young boy still reeling from his father abandoning him and his mother, Lorraine (ASHLEY JUDD), five years earlier. He looks up to his older cousin, Kyle (AUSTIN STOWELL), a soldier who is about to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Having gotten terrible grades in school, Sawyer is ordered to attend summer school. One morning, on his bike ride to class, he comes across an injured dolphin and gets in touch with a rescue center. Dr. Clay Haskett (HARRY CONNICK JR.) and his young daughter Hazel (COZI ZUEHLSDORFF) quickly arrive and take the dolphin back to their facility. They name him Winter, but his tail has become so infected that Dr. Haskett has to amputate it. Unable to swim properly, Winter risks greater injury the longer he is in the water.

Meanwhile, Kyle has been badly injured in Afghanistan and returns to the States to recover at a V.A. hospital. He is very depressed, having suffered partial paralysis on the right side of his body. On a visit to the hospital, Sawyer and his mom meet Dr. McCarthy (MORGAN FREEMAN) who specializes in creating prosthetic limbs for amputees. They challenge him to make a prosthetic tail for Winter so that he can learn to swim properly again. But the clock's ticking, as Dr. Haskett's facility is running out of money and a developer has shown interest in buying the property and turning it into a resort.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Yes. The two main characters are a grade-school boy and girl who together help rescue an injured dolphin and return the creature to health. The film has been getting heavy ad play on the various kid-targeted cable-TV channels like Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For some mild thematic elements.


The rest of this review is available in our Screen It Subscriber Site.

We invite you to please log in or consider signing up and joining thousands of parents and other viewers who now know what they and/or their kids will see (or not see, if that's their choice) in the movie theaters, at home, or at someone else's house.

You'll get everything you see above PLUS immediate access to the Our Word to Parents objectionable content summary, as well as all of the specific listings in our 15 content categories (including profanity counts, specific details about the sexual content, violence and more).

With our reviews, you'll be a more informed parent and thus know what your child might see or hear, and you'll be able to discuss what they've seen or heard after the fact if a surprise viewing occurs somewhere away from you.

For those without kids or whose children have grown up, our reviews will give you peace of mind that you won't see or hear something that will shock or disgust you, thus allowing you to enjoy what you're viewing, or make another choice if you find somewhat objectionable listed in our review.

And our reviews are unlike any others available online or anywhere else. Nobody provides the amount of detail we do (and our reviews take more than 10 hours each to complete).

You get all of that for just $7.95 a month (with a 30 day Money Back Guarantee) or -- if you'd like to save more than 50% -- just $47 a year (less than $1 a week, with a 90 Day Money Back Guarantee). No hassles, no questions, no pressure. After all, it's your money. And we know once you read our reviews and become truly informed, you'll find this service to you far more valuable than that.

Remember, you can't take back what you or your kids might see or hear if you watch something without our help -- but our reviews will give you peace of mind that you've made the right choice.

Just Click the Sign Up Button below and you'll have Instant Access to this review and thousands of other new and older reviews:

[Sign Up!]

Other new reviews available this week include:

[Battleship] [The Dictator] [What to Expect When You're Expecting]

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2012 Screen It, Inc.