krocheav What a surprise this turned out to be. Being based on a factual event makes it even more appealing - it's also perhaps the first tale about a prosthetic fitted real-life Dolphin!. Adding to the fascination is the fact Winter the Dolphin actually plays herself - quite a feat (err tale). Multi-skilled director Charles Martin Smith mostly keeps the pace and the story on track. OK, I found a couple of small scenes unnecessary (maybe only for the 3D effects - or perhaps a bit coy?) and young Cozi Zuehisdorff's character may have been a tiny bit over the top but, young Nathan Gamble (The Dark Knight '08) is a natural. He shines in all his scenes and his character has some heavy 'things' to deal with.German cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub (Rob Roy '95) gives us glowing images and Mark Isham provides the interesting music score. An ideal family film that tackles many important real life issues. It not only supplies employment to a variety of interesting and carefully picked mainstream cast members but gives them some decent characters to bring to life. Very good of its genre.

Andreapworth I had NO IDEA what to expect, other than it was about a hurt dolphin. As I am nuts about dolphins, I had hopes that it would be good. But I was GREAT. I had tears in my eyes at the end. The cast was all solid and good. And you couldn't see what solution they would find for the financial difficulties and when they did find a solution, you will be so happy and relieved.And maybe, like me, you will want to shout at the screen that dolphins aren't animals, but of the fish/aquatic family. OK, they have to breathe air. Does that make them animals? I don't think so. Whales also have to surface for air, but nobody calls THEM animals.Lovely, wonderful movie with an excellent cast. If you are like me, and grew up with Flipper, etc., you will enjoy it tremendously.

sddavis63 My suggestion if you're going to watch this is to think of Flipper in real life and fighting against much bigger odds. Really - there are a lot of similarities, especially the bond between Winter (the dolphin whose tail had to be amputated after being caught in a fishing line) and young Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) - a troubled kid involved in her rescue.As all animal stories tend to be, this one is heartwarming. After being taken to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, it's feared that Winter will die because without a tail she can't swim. But she teaches herself to swim like a fish (moving her backside side to side) only then to have it discovered that the motion itself will kill her by damaging her spine. The trick then is to develop a prosthesis to save her life.It's a good story, humorous at times, sad at times. Obviously it revolves around Winter's struggle to survive, but there's a lot of human drama going on in this as well, which perhaps gives it a bit of adult "gravitas." There are some fairly well known faces in this - Harry Connick, Jr. as the head of the Marine Hospital, Kris Kristofferson as his father and Morgan Freeman as the doctor who finally develops the prosthesis. It's better than "Flipper" mostly because it's based on a true story. It takes a few liberties but tells the basics pretty well. (6/10)

ryokan_wc If there is one word to describe this movie, it's inspirational! The characters display great emotional depth with well developed story line. The link between Winter, the real life dolphin who suffers a damage and eventually removes the tail, and Sawyer's cousin, Kyle, who is injured during his time in the marines, is touching and uplifting simultaneously. The bond shared by Winter and Sawyer (who is, at the beginning of the movie, a reserved and almost friendless boy) is what every kid would want; the close bonding between Sawyer and Kyle shows that 'Family is Forever', and the friendship developed by Sawyer and Hazel is one to adore.Struggling to keep up with the financial of the aquarium, at the same time helping Winter to swim normally again, sold this movie like none other, apart from the nicely done effects. Scenes that leave lasting impacts include when another handicapped child travels for hours just to visit Winter (how Winter inspires the many lives of human beings), and Sawyer and later Dr McCarthy's comments on Kyle's selfishness. Of course, great job to the cast for delivering an honest, believable and true performance. If the entire length of the movie is heart-warming enough, wait until the video clips of Winter at the end of the show- you will smile because you cannot cry.I may be biased in this review, in such that i am passionate about the marine life- definitely, to swim with the dolphin, or Winter herself, is a reward. But putting that aside, this movie is one to watch, worth watching and worth remembering. I believe the rich values of this movie will propagate with great length- never give up! I felt uplifted after the movie, and i'm sure you will too.