Dolphin Tale 2 | Movie Review

2011’s Dolphin Tale followed the rescue of Winter, a bottle-nosed dolphin who had unfortunately lost her tail due to man’s evil fishing habits. It was an inspiring family film that moved many filmgoers to both tears and new vacation plans to Clearwater, FL to visit the real-life Winter. Moving as the film was, it was not a film that demanded the newly released sequel, Dolphin Tale 2.

This time around, Winter has grown depressed, even to the point of refusing to wear her customized tail prosthetic. Her personal champion, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble, now a full-fledged teenager), still volunteers at the rescue facility to be near Winter, even as more grown-up opportunities come knocking at his door. His attempts to comfort Winter have proven unsuccessful enough that if a solution does not present itself soon, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr) will be forced to transfer Winter to a marine park in Texas. When baby dolphin, Hope, is rescued…can she be paired with Winter to save them both from exile?

This set-up allows a look at the burgeoning adulthood of Sawyer and his best friend, Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), as well as the aging of Winter herself. Sawyer needs to look at life beyond the walls of the aquarium, and Hazel needs to learn the difficult realities of running one. As for Winter, it’s hard out here for a mammal…especially when you happen to be the only amputee dolphin in existence. Tackling the depression of a marine mammal is a difficult task, thankfully our existing adoration of Winter and numerous underwater shots of Winter moping help get the filmmakers’ point across.

This story also affords the film the opportunity to discuss the Rescue-Rehab-Release policies of certain aquariums. There are several moments where Dolphin Tale 2 attempts to directly address the moral implications of captivity for various sea creatures, and it manages to do so without the typical heavy-handed preaching from most films of this ilk. Connick Jr handles these moments gracefully and the strength of the film could have benefited from more emotion from this angle, as opposed to much of the random silliness the filmmakers elected instead.

Most of the cast returns (Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson), but they offer little more than glorified cameos followed by Velveeta slices of life advice. This film is solely about Winter, Hope, Sawyer and Hazel. The dialogue is cheesy and some of the moments are contrived, yet overall it is still a safe, enjoyable film that kids especially can enjoy without Mom and Dad covering their eyes from random violence every few minutes.

Dolphin Tale 2 is a family film, and it manages to do exactly what it sets out to do: entertain both kids and adults, and hopefully drop a little education into the mix. You will not find a darkly intricate plotline here, nor any sadistic villains. This is a straight forward movie with no agenda, adorable animals, easy performances, and even several ‘Awwwww’ moments thrown around for good measure. The only downside is that director Charles Martin Smith never achieves the level of inspiration he so easily found for the first film.

If $10 is the full price of admission, Dolphin Tale 2 is worth $5

 

Starring Harry Connick Jr, Mason Gamble, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman
Directed by Charles Martin Smith
Written by Charles Martin Smith

 

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider