Dolphin Tale (2011)

A story centered on the friendship between a boy and a dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap.

Director:

Charles Martin Smith

Writers:

Karen Janszen, Noam Dromi

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr.

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Dr. Clay Haskett
Ashley Judd	...	Lorraine Nelson
Nathan Gamble	...	Sawyer Nelson
Kris Kristofferson	...	Reed Haskett
Cozi Zuehlsdorff	...	Hazel Haskett
Morgan Freeman	...	Dr. Cameron McCarthy
Austin Stowell	...	Kyle Connellan
Frances Sternhagen	...	Gloria Forrest
Austin Highsmith	...	Phoebe
Betsy Landin	...	Kat
Juliana Harkavy	...	Rebecca
Megan Lozicki	...	Brittany
Jim Fitzpatrick	...	Max Connellan
Kim Ostrenko	...	Alyce Connellan
Michael Roark	...	Donovan Peck

Storyline

A lonely and friendless boy finds and untangles a hurt dolphin that is caught in a crab trap. He becomes very attached to the dolphin when the tail must be taken off to save the dolphin's life. The boy believes the dolphin would be able to swim normally if it was given a prosthetic tail.

---

Plot Keywords:

competition | bare chested male | father figure | beach | medical examination | 

---

Taglines:

Inspired by the amazing true story of Winter

---

Genres:

Drama | Family

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Delfiini lugu

Filming Locations:

Admiral Farragut Academy, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,152,401, 25 September 2011, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$72,286,779

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$95,404,397

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, Arc Productions, St. Petersburg Clearwater Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This marks the third out of five movies that Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman have worked on together. The others are Kiss the Girls (1997), High Crimes (2002), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), and Dolphin Tale 2 (2014).

---

Goofs

When the news channel shows Winter, there is footage of the dolphin being lifted into the truck at the beach. At the beginning, when the dolphin was first rescued, there were only the rescuers and the boy, but one of the rescuers did have a camera and was filming the events.

---

Quotes

Dr. Cameron McCarthy: Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you're broken.

---

Alternate Versions

Also shown in 3D version.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.27 (2011)

---

Soundtracks

Everything Happens To Me
Written by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis

User Reviews

A perfect family movie!

This is the first review I have written, but I feel obligated as this movie was so perfect for its genre. I'm not saying it is an academy award winner, but as far as inspirational, age appropriate and inspiring family movies go, if simply won't get much better than this.

Let me start by saying that I have a child with a physical disability, and during his second surgery, his school class gave him a book about Winter. This was way before the movie, and I had never heard of Winter. My son (age 5), who loves fish and sea life, was instantly taken with the idea of a dolphin that was special like he was. We read the book many times, and even at the hospital we promised that someday he would get to meet Winter.

About six months after his surgery, we traveled to Clearwater from our home on the opposite Florida Coast (4 hour drive). When we arrived we found the aquarium there very sparse and not all that impressive. That said, they were majorly renovating due to the money that they were paid to make this movie even though it still wasn't out yet. That said, Winter was well worth the trip. She is every bit as inspirational and real as what you see in the movie. I'm only bringing this up to focus on my movie review. This is for anyone that thought the movie was over the top sappy or cheesy. I'm sorry, but that part is true and to not make it look that way would be virtually impossible. Winter gives hope to people with special needs. My son even made her a card and got to hold her special tail.

The other features of the movie like the boy finding her and probably many other aspects are creative license. She was actually found by a boat on the East coast of Florida. But, I don't think that really matters. When we went there, even with no movie, and met Winter we knew that she was a movie star.

The movie itself was well produced, well-acted (Morgan Freeman was very good), and took on difficult themes subtly for young children. I guess the best comparison to this would be Free Willy, however that story was pure fantasy and simply not as good of a movie, in any way, to Dolphin Tale.

I highly recommend this movie for any family, especially anyone with a disability. And as far as the barely believable and possibly sappy plot, sometime real life is like that and that is a good thing!