Great story ruin by not using the right seal and its a family's and new england aquarium story True stories should use the true seal and location Maine is cheaper than the west coast. Go to rock port Maine and see the harbor where he lived and died. Also to his weather home at the new england aquarium is a story all its self and his trip north harbor by harbor is one of a kind story ruined by cheap Hollywood.I say get a new writers for the true Andre story harbor seal and all and not one little girl but 3. The father who loved him and went swimming with him and he played best man at his wedding. The acting was good but the story was lost in the bad screen play

GOOD - What gave this movie appeal and made it a bit different is that a seal is the star. The likable seal, "Andre," (in real life, Tory, the sea lion) has cute face with big brown eyes and likes to stick his tongue out and give everyone "the raspberry." The latter joke is way overdone, but it's okay. The most likable human is the father, played by Keith Carradine. The kids are somewhat spoiled but the little one, the star (Tina Majorino) isn't bad.THE BAD - Too much typical Hollywood families in which (1) there is a stupid teen romance with a rebellious, pouting female teen; (2) the nasty foe who makes trouble for no apparent reason; (3) the nice-guy husband who gets unfairly blamed or is proved wrong in family affairs (the Liberal mother always winning out).OVERALL - A little more of the seal and less of the teen girls and other annoying people would have made this a lot better. As it is, one viewing was enough.

Obviously inspired by "Free Willy", "Andre" is a just as bad, if not worse tale of a little girl (Tina Majorino) and the strong bond of friendship that she forms with a seal named Andre. All goes perfectly well with both of them for a while until the girl's father (Keith Carradine) decides he wants to interfere with their happiness. It's syrupy and predictable with not the slightest bit of originality. Yet another inferior film in the tired "kids and animals friendship" genre.

Andre is a seal pup who is orphaned and taken in by a little girl in New England coastal town. The seal become a local celebrity in town. The seal in the film is almost like a dog, but with flippers. It is a light hearten and touching film. A movie I would recommend for the whole family to watch.