DOLPHIN TALE 2 (2014)

Genre: Drama
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Cast: Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Austin Stowell
RunTime: 1 hr 47 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.dolphintale2.com

Opening Day: 2 October 2014

Synopsis: Several years have passed since young Sawyer Nelson (Gamble) and the dedicated team at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), headed by Dr. Clay Haskett (Connick, Jr.), rescued Winter, a young dolphin who lost her tail after being entangled in a crab trap. With the help of Dr. Cameron McCarthy (Freeman), who developed a unique prosthetic tail for Winter, they saved her life against all odds. In turn, she helped save the Aquarium—as people came from far and wide to see the courageous dolphin firsthand, enabling CMA to greatly expand their mission to “rescue, rehabilitate and, when possible, release” injured animals. Yet their fight is not over. Winter’s surrogate mother, the elderly dolphin Panama, passes away, leaving Winter alone and grieving, unwilling to engage with anyone, even her best friend, Sawyer. However, the loss of Panama may have even greater repercussions for CMA. The USDA warns Clay they will have to move Winter from the Aquarium because regulations require these social creatures to be paired. If they don’t find a female companion for her — one that she accepts — CMA will lose their beloved Winter. But as time runs out, there may still be Hope....

Movie Review:

Okay, it has been three years since the last Dolphin Tale movie. The dolphin attraction at a certain local renowned resort has since opened – have you forked out those bucks to swim with the adorable marine mammals, and attempt to know these extremely smart animals better? While we aren’t here to discuss the never ending controversy between a certain activist group and the resort, there’s no denying that interest in this family drama may be sparked by the saga that got some netizens fired up.

If you watched the first movie, you’d be familiar with the story of Winter, whose miraculous rescue and recovery - thanks to a groundbreaking prosthetic tail - made her a symbol of hope and perseverance to people around the world. Fast forward a few years and the dedicated team at the ClearwaterMarineHospitalare back to find Winter a companion after the passing of her surrogate mother. Do you need us how to tell you how the movie will end? Winter will find Hope – and surprise, surprise: Hope is the name of a new dolphin that became Winter’s “best friend”.

Credit goes to the movie producers for bringing this real life event to the big screen. You can’t really go wrong with a movie telling the story of how man and animal can share a close knit bond. And like this writer mentioned in his review of the first movie in 2011, nothing can beat the classic Free Willy (1993) when it comes to movies involving marine creatures.

This 107 minute movie sees the return of Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehisdorff, Kris Kristofferson, Juliana Harkavy, Austin Stowell and everyone’s favourite Morgan Freeman to reprise their roles from the first installment. There’s nothing to be particularly excited about the human beings’ performance here (you were expecting Oscar worthy performances?), because the stars are our dolphin friends. You should have known after seeing the movie poster.

Seeing how a simple plot thread isn’t enough to sustain a feature film, we have a couple of other predictable storylines added to the mix. One concerns an offer that our young protagonist (Gamble) receives from a Bostoncollege to join a three month programme in marine biology the school offers at sea. It’s an enticing offer, but he resists saying yes when Winter’s future was a uncertainty. We know how that will turn out, don’t we? The other involves an injured turtle over which the comic relief pelican from the first film becomes an insistent protector. Yup, it’s fun to watch these two animals adding some fun to the movie, but we all know how the turtle will return to the seas too.   

The cynic in this writer thinks that the movie is uneventful and predictable, but it deserves credit for treating its non human characters with respect. The movie repeatedly reminds us that Winter is a wild animal, not a pet. While this isn’t classic family fare, it’s likely to keep young children entertained while pleasing their parents with its good messages about how humans should interact with animals. The best part of the movie is before its end credits, where we see actual footage of Hope's rescue, a dolphin and a turtle’s release, as well as how amputees have fun interacting with Winter.

Movie Rating:

(The sequel, like its predecessor, treads in safe waters to please young children and their parents with good messages about how humans should treat animals with respect)

Review by John Li