Winter, o Golfinho 2

Though I don't remember the first time I got a hug nor do I recall the first time I ate ice cream, I do recall the first pet I head. It was a white fluffy cat named Cepe. I had to have been three or four when that animal first sat on my lap. Coincidentally, this was about the time when my family and I moved from Long Beach, CA to Murrieta, CA. I have to stop there as just having the animal is all I remember. He ran away at some point, but the memory of the animal is still fresh along with the other pet's I've had because of the connection I've made.

A lot of people think there's a telekinetic relationship between animals and the people that they love. I'm on that same wavelength as I believe that my two dogs have an understanding of my emotions, even though they don't have those same spirits. So I can understand why animal volunteers and even scientists claim that they have something with animals that people don't understand. It's something about our connection to other species that we as mankind can apply to our prejudices. This connection is examined with sea life in Dolphin Tale 2.

The original movie was about the tail-less dolphin named Winter who was rescued and given a prosthetic fin that gave back it's ability to swim.

Now the boy that rescued her, Sawyer (played by Nathan Gamble) is now in high school and is studying to be a marine biologist while continuing to volunteer at the marine hospital that's become a successful aquarium. Dr. Clay Haskett (played by Harry Connick, Jr.), his daughter Hazel (played by Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and the rest of the staff have been juggling around keeping a clean attraction while caring for the sea turtles, fish, and it's star, Winter.

Sawyer is offered a scholarship for a semester at sea program that could be great for him, but he's contemplating whether he can spend months away from the dolphin he loves. At the same time, another dolphin named Panama has passed away. This causes Winter to seemed distressed and even puts Sawyer in danger. Sawyer and Hazel are looking at a new dolphin named Mandy to be paired with Winter, but that fails when the animal heals and needs to be released. Dr. Clay Haskett does everything he can to hold off the government from transferring Winter to another park as they try and find another dolphin to be a suitable companion.

Without sounding like a party pooper, I'll say that the first Dolphin Tale was not a good movie to begin with. I found the material schmaltzy but at least harmless enough to recommended for kids who haven't seen the "boy and his animal" story. Dolphin Tale 2 is more or less the same. It is harmless and will probably eat up marine animal lovers and families looking for something educational and/or inspirational. But for a twenty-something guy like me, it's just overbearing.

Without critiquing the subject matter, my problem with the movie is that it's too long for it's own good. The first forty five minutes are spent with Winter, until the focus is suddenly shifted on Hazel and her healing a sea turtle. Once the turtle is back in the ocean, it's like the movie realized that there's a fin-less dolphin here and goes back to that. The focus is all over the place and much of the swimming shots of the animals go on for so long, you'd think that Sea World directed this thing.

I'll give this five prosthetic fins out of ten. Dolphin Tale 2 is only for the audience of this first movie. I doubt that Game of Throne fans or Marvel Superhero geeks are gonna get anything out of this, but it's harmless enough that I still say is a passable option for families searching for something more wholesome. If your that kind of person, then take this dive with the dolphins.

Enjoyable sequel that finds Winter the dolphin struggling with the death of her friend Panama. Meanwhile, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) gets an offer to attend a special marine research program for three months but isn't sure he is ready to go. Like the first movie it's based on real events and the dolphins Winter and Hope appear here as themselves. The cast from the last one also returns, with reduced roles for Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Kris Kristofferson. But that's okay because the two kids (now young teens) and the dolphins are the stars. There's a budding romantic subplot with Sawyer and Hazel that is six kinds of cute. Also fun is the comic relief pelican that has a subplot involving a turtle. It's a nice, positive family movie with a likable cast and good message.

The Dolphin, a creature that is so full of life and spunk that television cannot help, but make countless forms of entertainment about them. In 2011, one of those stories touched the hearts of millions in the form of Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail. Such a story was inspirational, but mainly a cute animal movie that kids and animal enthusiasts loved. So what else could Hollywood do, but take the momentum and make another movie about the same dolphin. That's right, this review is based on the latest story inspired by true events, Dolphin Tale 2. What wonders are in store for this movie? As always, continue on to find out.

Like any kids' movie, Dolphin Tale start out fun and exciting to get the audience involved with the tale. Yet, like it's predecessor, things take a turn for the worst to establish a point for the near two hours you are about to invest. Dolphin Tale 2 covers the emotional spectrum a little more completely than it's predecessor, and tends to focus on the sadder aspects of life. I warn parents now that this movie has a few themes that might be a little too much younger age groups. The movie is quite depressing at points, with the characters a little more negative than I had expected.. Why such a depressing tale? It is to go with the theme of hope that things will work out with the perseverance and faith the characters have. The directors have decided to teach us valuable life lessons again; all in hopes of inspiring you to push past the dismay life may throw out at you. Despite all the depressing challenges though, parents can reassure themselves and their kids that everything will be better and the inevitable outcome the movie has.

With the ending so predictable, and a lot of depressing scenes in the movie, you may be asking if there is anything worthy about this movie. Truth is that amidst the chaotic, life lesson teaching moments, there are some comedic relief moments that will brighten up the movie. The pelican Rufus has a few funny moments, though has taken a back seat to the human characters in the film. Mavis the turtle, a new addition to the group, has a couple of cute scenes as well, though it's nothing that will have you rolling on the floor in tears. It's really Morgan Freeman who had me laughing the most, delivering his dialogue with that matter of fact approach that brought out the most humor. Like something out of Grumpy old men, Freeman's lines seem part complaining and party insulting, but are actually laced with sarcasm that further brings out the humor, and in truth was the best actor of the bunch for me.

The rest of the human cast did decent job acting, with Nathan Gamble having the most screen time of the bunch. Gamble's portrayal of Sawyer is balanced, but needs some fine- tuning at points where he seems almost bored of acting. Some of his emotionally heavy scenes lack the drive I wanted to see, and sometimes came out more whiney than sad. Harry Connick Jr. reprises his role as the doctor, and I think handled the maturing role well of his character balancing science with parenting. Connick didn't overact too much during the part, though seeing the movie magic, serious; army drill sergeant command was hard not to laugh at points. The lovely Ashley Judd brings her talents back to the screen again, somehow playing the balanced roles as she always does. I loved her smile, her energy, and her logical sense in the film where everything felt so natural as you watched perform. Then there was Cozi Zuehlsdorff reprising her role as Hazel. In this movie Hazel was rather annoying for me, her character a little too needy, overbearing, and at times weak that had me rolling my eyes. I don't know if it was the direction or the acting, but her lines came out a hybrid of what seemed happy and desperate. Then we she tried to take a serious, more mature role, she came out more like a stuck up brat. Hazel's character overall just didn't do it for me, but did help drive the story at parts and provide a little zest to the rest of the cast.

However, the cast members most of you are probably interested in are the dolphins Winter and Hope. Well Winter, like Sawyer, gets massive amounts of screen time, though in this installment her energy is a lot lower. Fans will get a number of scenes of the dolphin sulking under the board, with close ups of her eyes and missing tail. She is still just as cute as you remember her, but she lacks that playful edge many of us enjoyed. As for Hope, the cute little dolphin has the energy Winter is missing and her small size magnifies the joy she brings. However, she is only present near the last thirty minutes of the movie, and doesn't have as much involvement with the cast as you might "hope" for. Her part felt rushed to me, and the big challenge they had to face was solved in a matter of minutes. The accomplishment surely makes her involvement in the movie worth it, but I was expecting more with the build-up from the trailers.

Overall Dolphin Tale 2 is a cute movie and does give off good vibes as the ending draws near. However, there are plenty of kid's movies on the market to fill your time until it comes to home release. My recommendation is to skip this film for now and wait on the next Disney movie that might have a more engaging tale:

My scores are:

Drama Family: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.0

Life is all about choices. Who among us has not yet seen himself torn between an opportunity, new, dangerous and challenging, and the security of our common, every day and common life? In "Dolphin Tale 2", Sawyer Nelson needs to decide between continuing his little life working at Clearwater Marine Hospital with his family or leaving everything behind to join a prestigious quarterly course, which will add value to his school curriculum. In the case of Nelson, played by Nathan Gamble ("The Dark Knight", "The Mist" and "Marley & Me"), the choice seems easy. As a teenager dedicated to studying marine animals, joining a temporary course in the open sea, where I would have contact with other marine species and the experience of having contact with other young people who have the same interest, would be more than convenient. However, the invitation to the course came at one of the most delicate moments in the boy's life. One of his best friends, the dolphin Winter, is going through a difficult time after the death of her pool partner. Grief has made Winter, once a happy and sassy creature, a sad animal, and why not say, introspective.

This time, we follow Winter, depressed after the loss of her tail and her companion. With that in mind, their caretakers at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium must take every precaution to find a way for the animal not to suffer. At the same time, Mandy, another dolphin, appears as a hope for the girl Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), Winter's faithful squire. After all, must another animal be kept in captivity to save another's life? Perhaps this is the film's best worked ethical and moral dilemma, something that is not handled as naively as it could be.

Of course, the 107 minutes of history can become tiring for anyone looking for a more realistic film filled with personal dilemmas. However, here the focus is different. The cast is on the scene to support the script, not asking for anything extraordinary from each one. In this Morgan Freeman serves only as comic relief and nothing more, like calling the dolphin a fish. What matters is knowing how the protagonist who gives the title to the film will survive. And an interesting and intelligent point of the script is not to create any human "villains" from large corporations to continue the story, as well as in the first film. Winter's situation itself (based on a true story) is dramatic enough not to need obvious subterfuges and clichés.

One of the problems of the film is the artificiality of some of the challenges that arise. While it's understandable that Sawyer doesn't want to risk losing what she already has, and even a growing crush on her friend Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), the tension over the fate of Winter and the aquarium itself is far-fetched, even endowing a uncomfortable and unnecessary dislike Dr. Clay (Harry Connick Jr.), Hazel's father and father figure to Sawyer. Even poor Winter ends up having her moments of random aggression, all to try to create some extra conflict. Luckily, the film holds onto its central arc, about the challenges Sawyer and Winter face with the coming changes, and the subplots involving rescuing animals like Mavis the turtle show more of the day-to-day life of the aquarium and its importance to that town, making the public really care about the well-being of the place and its employees.

What pleases most in "Dolphin Tale 2" is not its screenplay (which is flawed in several moments, especially due to the lack of creativity in almost replicating the story of the first film), its incredible images of home videos with real rescues or the cast (who do an efficient but unmemorable job). The main thing is the urgency of the theme, an ode to living beings and the responsibility that humanity has towards them. It may not be unprecedented or present new cinematographic languages, but the film makes an impact and can inspire the target audience, children and teenagers, to take special care with animals and the environment.

With a cast of veterans, Harry Connick Jr. ("Will and Grace"), Ashley Judd (First Degree Crimes), Kris Kristofferson ("Blade" Trilogy) and the very special participation of Morgan Freeman, who returns in this second film. However, the young Nathan and Cozi Zuehlsdorff stand out in the cast, who plays the friend and now has a crush on Sawyer, Hazel Haskett. The chemistry between the two actors is rare considering their age. Also, both Nathan and Cozi especially have a lot of charisma. The duo worked very well on screen and such performance worked in favor of the feature. It is very gratifying to see that in a generation of expressionless actors, apathetic and incapable of conveying any emotion, there are exceptions. The scenes of Cozi taking the lead in some decisions and situations at the aquarium, learning her lessons, in addition to the scene in which she says goodbye to Sawyer who will be away for a few months, are important passages in the character's maturation, which gains importance in relation to the first.

The production has a photograph in clear and vivid colors and the portrait of the animals is, although somewhat visually idealized, relatively realistic, making it clear that, however cute they are, they must be treated with care, precisely because they are wild, lesson taught with clear didacticism, with the exception of the pelican Rufus, used as an almost surreal comic relief (a fact noticed even by the characters themselves, it should be said). The film, despite focusing on children and youth, does not resort to jokes or avoid addressing themes, and is dramatic throughout. Even when Morgan Freeman appears to be the comic relief - and his joke scenes are good - it doesn't break the sequel's serious mood.

"Dolphin Tale 2" also does not villainize any of its characters to highlight the real conflicts that gave rise to the plot, nor does it romanticize things too much (even when everything indicates that Hazel and Sawyer are on the scene just to start dating). However, this sequence suffers from repetitions. The continuation's conflicts, despite being different, are shown in a very similar way to the first feature: Clay being pressured by someone to make a difficult decision and facing the objections of his daughter Hezel and Sawyer in the face of possibilities - even the lines get to be very similar.

A hurried call, an emergency rescue, intensive care, a successful outcome accompanied by dozens of onlookers clapping their hands and taking pictures - this sequence, which retraces the rescues, is repeated several times throughout the film and ends up becoming exhausting at a certain point. Time. The ending is not surprising, but the images that are shot alongside the credits, the home videos of the rescues that inspired the film, the treatments and releases, give that pride of knowing that, regardless of being good or bad, the story is true. The way the film shows the work carried out by the Clearwater Aquarium is extremely charming, the affection and respect that humans manage to establish with animals, the rescues, the healing process of whatever the problem is, all these aspects are well reported throughout the film, leaving the spectator touched by the history of the aquarium, in addition, of course, to the fact that the plot also brings aspects of family relationships and the process of necessary choices throughout life, the film is full of messages and, despite not being a film with a lot of action, the viewer leaves the cinema with a feeling of satisfaction.

Far from being another boring movie with animals, even because they don't star in it, "Dolphin Tale 2" efficiently passes (without appeals or caricatured villains, as is the custom in works of this type) a message of respect for animals, without getting attached to a mushy and politicized speech. In the end, "Dolphin Tale 2" is a "feel good movie" for children, with animals and even a sports celebrity giving her example of overcoming difficulties (surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost an arm in an attack shark in 2003 and had its story told in the movie "Soul Surfer"). If the language of the film is simplified even by the standards of this genre, it is because its target audience is children. The result is a harmless feature film, which should please little ones who like animals and teach some lessons that, although already well known, are still valid.

Not as engrossing as it's prequel, nevertheless, a touching flick. The practical problems faced by the dolphins due to their complex emotional nature, the coming-of-age sensitivities of Hazel and Sawyer, the sangfroid Clay, the loyal supporters, the impatient Hordern make the environment a bit serious. In my opinion, the most impressive character is Clay who acts as a dutiful caretaker and a responsible father. He takes the right decisions regarding the animals, withstands the pressure from Hordern, calmly handles the kids and persuades George for an extension of Winter's stay. Freeman as Dr. McCarthy and grandpa Reed continue to provide the morale support. McCarthy's advice to Sawyer in a subtle way is lovable. I'm glad that the movie doesn't exhibit romantic or other melodrama, the emotional display is constrained. Overall, a somberly toned but commendable movie.