Nim's Island (2008)

Directors:

Jennifer Flackett
Mark Levin

Writers (WGA):

Joseph Kwong (screenplay) &
Paula Mazur (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Be the hero of your own story.

Plot:

A young girl inhabits an isolated island with her scientist father and communicates with a reclusive author of the novel she's reading.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Young Girl | Author | Hero | Book

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Abigail Breslin	...	Nim Rusoe
Jodie Foster	...	Alexandra Rover
Gerard Butler	...	Jack Rusoe / Alex Rover
Michael Carman	...	Captain
Mark Brady	...	Purser
Anthony Simcoe	...	First Mate
Christopher Baker	...	Ensign
Peter Callan	...	Edmund's Father
Rhonda Doyle	...	Edmund's Mother
Russell Butler	...	Old Fisherman
Colin Gibson	...	Cruise Director
Bryan Probets	...	Australian Tourist #1
Andrew Nason	...	Australian Tourist #1
Dorothy Thorsen	...	Blue-Haired Woman
Penny Everingham	...	Older Woman Tourist

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild adventure action and brief language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #43560) | Ireland:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:All | UK:U | Taiwan:GP | Hong Kong:I | Finland:K-7 | Mexico:A | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:7 | Norway:7 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:PT | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Bowen, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Walden Media

Trivia:

The Australian sea lions used in the film are named Spud and Friday. Both reside at Sea World Australia, and shared the role of Selkie.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Alex takes a small plane to Rarotonga. The island of Rarotonga has an airport that can land a 747. There are direct flights from Hawaii and New Zealand. The only small airplane flights are to/from smaller neighboring islands.

Quotes:

Nim Rusoe: [to Alexandra] You came here all the way from San Fransisco and you don't know how to do anything.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nim's Island, Our World: A Reel Thinking Event (2008) (TV)

Think Like A Kid And This Will Be Tolerable & Fun

Silly? Yes. Predictable? Yes. For Kids? Yes. Entertaining? Yes.....even for adults, IF you don't take anything seriously and expect something a little dumb but charming.nonetheless. Picture yourself as a kid watching a movie and you'll enjoy it a lot more, because it's definitely a children's film. It also has an involving story. Once it starts you have to stick around and see how it winds up. With some movies, I could care less but this one, I cared.

For those who have kids age 5-12, this is highly recommended. For adults, well, it's not bad. If you're looking for "clean" entertainment, you found it. It's not goody-goody, either, and it's not always a smart family movie (a father leaving his kid all alone for several days?) but it's a nice movie, has funny animal characters, a lead kid who is not a brat, nice island scenery, one big-name actress (Jodie Foster) and is a diversion for an hour-and-a-half.

The little dragon "Fred" is the best of the non-humans. I don't know if that's the real noise that lizard makes, but it's fun to hear. Seals are always entertaining, too. The one in this film is very talented.

As for the humans, Abigail Breslin as "Nim Rusoe" is a cute, likable kid. Gerard Butler plays both male leads and does them well enough that you forget he's doing two characters. Seeing Foster do slapstick while being a female "Mr. Monk" was a little odd but, I'm not going to knock her for trying.

As another reviewer said here, put yourself in a little kid's shoes and enjoy the film.