When you go to a dolphin show you can expect to get wet. When you go to this Dolphin Tale, your clothes will stay dry, but your eyes won’t. Yes, it certainly has its hokie moments; and not one, but two kind of cliché crusty wise old guys, and what we used to call an “after school special” feel. But this is still a beautiful film.

Anyway, isn’t it about time “unnecessary violence” was deemed more unforgivable than hokiness? Paul McCartney asked, “Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs, what’s wrong with that?” Yeah, Paul! Good questions. I’m gonna ask, “Why don’t more people want to fill the screens with silly endearing films about heart and hope and inner growth? What‘s wrong with that?”

Nathan Gamble, as the boy who befriends the dolphin, does an excellent job of grounding the production. Filmmakers handle folks (and fish) with disabilities in a refreshingly straightforward manner. And one more thing, don’t just get up and leave at the conclusion, because there’s a powerfully moving “B roll” reel of actual footage on the real life dolphin (also named Winter) and her real life visitors. It’s not to be missed. In fact, they could have extended that by 3 times. (Check out SeeWinter.com)

Btw1: Writers missed an opportunity as far as education is concerned. The summer school teacher character is made out to be a bit of a jerk. Which, is actually ultimately sort of fun. However, a huge opportunity was missed to show how “more practically” a child’s passion can be “mined” in the classroom. True, the film does show this on a home school level (in its most purist and natural way). Water the child’s curiosity and let him go -- he’ll learn on his own. Unfortunately, “mass schooling” doesn’t have the resources to water each child individually. They have a responsibility to “cover” core curriculums. Anyway, my point is that despite those constraints “Themed Teaching” can still be implemented in public schools. “Dolphin Tale” set up a perfect opportunity to show how it works, but lopped off the logistics part. For example, the teacher could have insisted Sawyer show up each morning to give a report of his experiences and answer student questions. Dr. Clay could have been required to “sign” for Sawyers hours. The teacher could have required essays on marine animals, presentations, explanations on the physics of the prosthetics … theories on the history of animal evolution from water to land. Echolocation is a gift to the creative math teacher. So much “school knowledge” could have been mined from this experience. And ultimately, showing the teacher on a field trip with the whole class there as an enriching educational experience would be good for the personal causes of such institutions. Okay, I’m done. (Seewinter.com/teachers is a step in the right direction.)

Btw2: If you’re not familiar with the music of Harry Connick Jr. (Dr. Clay), search him on Youtube. And here’s a fun trivia bit, Clay’s father was played by Kris Kristofferson who wrote the song “Bobby McGee” made famous by Janis Joplin.

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