L'Incroyable Histoire de Winter le dauphin 2

Charles Martin Smith's "Dolphin Tale 2" (2014) attempts to recapture the heartwarming magic of its predecessor, but ultimately falls flat, delivering a largely redundant and unmemorable cinematic experience. The film suffers from a severe lack of narrative freshness, essentially rehashing the same predictable family film tropes without introducing any compelling new challenges or emotional complexities. The supposed "new" struggles faced by Winter the dolphin and the marine hospital feel manufactured, lacking the genuine urgency that made the first story somewhat engaging. Despite the returning earnest performances from Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, and Morgan Freeman, the dialogue often feels overly simplistic and saccharine, as if the writers simply strung together a series of uplifting platitudes without much regard for genuine character development or nuanced emotional arcs.

Is it worth watching? No, unless you are a completist for the "Dolphin Tale" series and don't mind a film that offers little more than a predictable rehash of its predecessor. For those seeking a more engaging or emotionally complex story, it feels too safe and formulaic.

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.

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.

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.

Just saw this with my movie theatre-working friend. We both enjoyed this true-life sequel about Winter's acting strangely especially after the death of a fellow dolphin early in the film. Since Hazel and Sawyer are a little older and practically young adults, there's a hint of a budding romance between them though the main focus is on Winter and another possible new playmate named Hope. All the cast from the previous one is back and Morgan Freeman's character is allowed to say some witty lines that my friend found funny while I was a little amused at them. Actor Charles Martin Smith is the writer/director and he appears as the guy telling the Harry Connick Jr. character he has 30 days to fix whatever violations he cited. In summary, Dolphin Tale 2 was pretty enjoyable for a true-life sequel.