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Created Oct 05, 2011 07:46AM PST • Edited Jul 23, 2014 01:47AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Winter’s tale propels a terrific family movie. Never mind that Winter – the dolphin whose rehab from disabling injury the movie lovingly portrays – is the movie’s only real character. The fictional human characters surrounding her are easy to root for, and laugh with.

   They include a fatherless boy, a motherless girl, a brave soldier, a crusty engineer, an idealistic veterinarian, a plucky mom and a wise grandfather. Together they inspire, inform and entertain kids of all ages, proving that family movies needn’t be sappy, notwithstanding the requisite silliness and good-natured redemption.

   The best family movies respect kids by telling a bracing tale about life’s vicissitudes. Dolphin’s Tale meets that standard by mixing in Winter’s terrible injury with that of a lost boy’s sadness and a wounded warrior’s reckoning. It doesn’t pander to any of them yet still delivers a happy ending to each.

   No wonder Dolphin Tale became the top movie in America in its second weekend, up from the middle of the pack its first week. Families and animal lovers alike have taken this tale to heart.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Who doesn’t love dolphins? They’re playful and social, the kind of creature kids of all ages dream of being. Winter – the real-life dolphin who now wears a prosthetic tail – proves the point. This moviestar lives at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and has her own website.

   Her human costars are strong but not superlative. Then again, how do you compete with a heroic dolphin?

   Still, the cast is quite strong, with Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman and Kris Kristofferson the big name anchors.

   Two child actors are onscreen the most: Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. Keep an eye on them. They’re good.

   Oh yeah, Rufus the pelican is also great, scene-stealing great.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

   Winter is perfect, the human female stars very good.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Charles Martin Smith deserves credit for deftly directing a rather technical story, what with the complexities of Winter’s injury and the sophisticated engineering of her prosthetic tail. Smith’s use of animation overlaying live action to show how this came together was very effective. Bravo.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

    Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi did a great job crafting an involving set of tale’s around Winter’s. Their depiction of the wounded warrior’s journey was especially respectful.

    Janszen – no stranger to great animal movies – cowrote Duma a few years a ago.

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    Loved the dolphins-in-the-wild scenes, especially how they blow bubble rings and then swim through them. Wow. As if I didn’t want to be a dolphin enough beforehand…

    Separately, the use of animation atop live action to show how the prosthetic tail came about was very well done.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.2

    Winter’s gruesomely injured tail is shown. This salutary honesty is beneficial for all but the smallest of children.

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Gentle 1.5

19. Rudeness Polite 1.2

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

    Dolphin Tale teaches us much about dolphins, prosthetics and overcoming challenges. Bravo.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.5

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0