SPOILER WARNING:I had to stop watching this Lifetime level trash when I saw how PAINFULLY slow the dolphin's actual rescue was. It was literally laughable! Had I been freaking 8 years old I could and WOULD have had that dolphin free in a matter of a minute or less. The fact that the kid was AFRAID of a dolphin is ridiculous. The movie sets it up like you should fear them at first or something, not to mention the douche old man fisher who tells the kid to get away from it like he knows what he is doing. Kids, if you are reading this, anytime you see an animal in distress you help it, unless it's a predator, then do your best to help it safely or call animal control, police, or coast guard ASAP. Don't listen to dumb old people who simply want to control outcomes of all situations because they think they "know" better. The stupid timid act makes me sick. The kid lives his entire life in slow motion. T,t,today junior! It's pathetic attempt at the overused Hollywood trope of awkward teen who has zero social senses finds animal who opens him up to the world. Cute, but so predictable and OVER-ACTED! I'm literally a teacher of young kids and in all my years, I've never seen a kid that reserved or timid or slow to act or answer a question. I've seen many simply refuse, but none take that long. It's all for show people. Is there a heartwarming tale woven through all this crap? Of course, but if that kid really wanted to make a difference he would have ran over to that dolphin and cut it loose WITHOUT hesitation and complete disregard for the idiot fisherman. The story, although based on a true story, is not believable at all.

I'm sure you've heard of Flipper, Beethoven, Homeward Bound, Shiloh, etc. These types of films are rarely very good, and are often the story of a lonely child (multiple children on occasion) who find an animal they have adventures with. These films are popular with the "my dog is my fur-child" nonsense people, and with little kids. Dolphin Tale isn't much different, but it strays from the norm enough to excite kids.Sawyer is an 11-year-old boy who is lonely and sad that his beloved cousin Kyle is enrolling in the military. One day he meets a concerned fisherman who has found a bottlenose dolphin with an injured tail (caught in a crab trap), and the two call a rescue team and although Sawyer continues skipping classes to visit the dolphin, his mother notices his bad moods improving and permits him to continue visiting "Winter". Winter's tail has to be amputated but a prosthetic tail is built so Winter can properly swim. Sawyer also takes up volunteering at the local hospital. Meanwhile Kyle becomes depressed, and during a hurricane Winter may have to be euthanized. Can Sawyer save the dolphin from this fate? Dolphin Tale had some of those "so-fake-sweet-I'm-gonna-puke" moments, along with incredibly dorky moments, but it can hold an audience with its strange originality. The soundtrack wasn't very good but the acting was half-decent and the bottlenose dolphin was pretty cute. What some people may find interesting is that it was based on a true story. It also came out the same year as Soul Surfer, a film about a teenage girl who loses her arm to a shark attack. Most adults wouldn't be able to take this film seriously because it's so cheesy at times, but for kids and animal-lovers it could have quite a large audience.

I rarely rate films. This one I had to. Despite all minor shortcomings related to making, scripts, whatever...this is a truly inspirational heart warming movie that will appeal to everyone. This is based on a true story of Winter, the handicapped dolphin at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. While at points you may find the story or making of the film geared towards the younger audience in particular, the message delivered is universal. If you have the slightest sympathy towards the marine life or the environment this film will touch your heart. I have enjoyed it and I believe most of you will. Can't believe some of the harsh reviews.

Lonely and lacking a social crowd to hand out with Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) wanders aimlessly across the beaches. Per chance he comes across an injured and web-entangled dolphin, who with the help of an animal hospital is saved, but only after necessitating a tail fin amputation. Falling in love with the new ocean friend named Winter he quickly becomes part of the facility, where he is taken care of. Nonetheless without a tail fin Winter is bound to die, despite the crews best intention...Based on the true life animal "The Dolpin Tale" delivers a heart-warming and educational story about a victory of life and humanity (or maybe 'animality' given the strong input by Winter himself). Featuring a stellar cast of Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson and Morgan Freeman, each suitably fitting their given roles, comes a surprisingly brisk and informative family flick, albeit not devoid of overly sugar-coated endings and several corny scenes. Nonetheless even those are unable to derail an otherwise endearing feature, above all thanks to the wider message of tolerance and acceptance, which helps teach lessons to the children of today. Such an inspirational story, far from any artistic credibility, is above all a very welcome type of fare for the overemphasis of fast and furious nowadays even directed to our youth.