Nim's Island (2008)

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

Directors:

Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin

Writers:

Joseph Kwong (screenplay), Paula Mazur (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 James Baker	...	Ensign (as Christopher Baker)
Maddison Joyce	...	Edmund
Peter Callan	...	Edmund's Father
Rhonda Doyle	...	Shirley - Edmund's mother
Russell Butler	...	Old Fisherman
Colin Gibson	...	Cruise Director
Bryan Probets	...	Australian Tourist #1
Andrew Nason	...	Australian Tourist #2
Dorothy Thorsen	...	Blue-Haired Woman

Storyline

Nim Rusoe is a girl who joins her father, a scientist, when he does research on marine life on an island. It's just the two of them but she spends her time making friends with all the animals she encounters, chatting on the computer and reading the adventure books of Alex Rover. When her father goes to do some research but when a storm strikes the island he doesn't come back, she gets worried and frightened. She then e-mails Alex Rover hoping that he will come but what she doesn't know is that Alex Rover is a woman who is agoraphobic and germaphobic. But her creation comes to life and eggs her to go. Unfortunately she has never gone anywhere before and is denied her necessities like her sanitary gel by the customs officer at the airport. In the meantime, Nim tries to be strong while waiting for Alex to arrive.

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Plot Keywords:

island | girl | author | reading | scientist | 

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Taglines:

Be the hero of your own story.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild adventure action and brief language

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

When Nim goes underwater in the storm, it is clear to see in one shot she is wearing goggles.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nim Rusoe: My dad always told me stories about her- How she was this great oceanographer. Stories about the baby they had and how my mom just had to name her... Nim. She invented that name. At least that's how my dad tells the story. That's all my mother is to me now- just these stories. But they're really some amazing stories. Like the one he calls "The Oceanographer and the Great Blue Whale". Once upon a time, the oceanographer went out on the wide-open sea to find out what was in the ...

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.133 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Stay Up Late
(1985)
Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz (as Christopher Frantz), Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth (as Martina Weymouth)
Performed by Talking Heads
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records, Inc./Sire Records and EMI Records U.K.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing and EMI Records U.K.

User Reviews

it worked, for all the reasons it maybe shouldn't have ( for me)

this is one of those films, that manages to walk a thin line between parody( but not with a mean streak) and true family entertainment.

my next thought might well spoil things for some, so please take caution, though I won't give away any specifics. I liked it, but for all the reasons I would normally not like a film so much... in places it does have emotional grappling hooks- yet it is a cacophony of formula, cliché, new twist on an old theme,

Evertything about it has been done, it's like all the best elements from other stories that worked have been haphazardly combined into one family movie that stops just short of parody but yet you know it kind of is . sort of a Dr. Doolittle, meets, romancing the Stone, meets, the swiss family Robinson... too many to mention. and then throw in a few scenes that can make any one who has ever been a tourist or part of pop culture that has been lured by the idea of " your own paradise" uncomfortable. ( and yes, it never turns out well for those who live there.) for all the reasons it shouldn't have worked for me, it did work, on some unexpected level. I liked it.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nim's Island

Filming Locations:

Bowen, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,210,579, 6 April 2008

Gross USA:

$48,006,762

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$100,104,565

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walden Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1