Nim's Island Children's fantasy
Directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, and based on a novel by Canadian Wendy Orr, Nim's Island follows the adventures of a young girl living on a remote island in the South Pacific with her scientist father.
In the opening of the film we quickly learn how Nim (played by Abigail Breslin) lost her mother and came to the island with her plankton-studying dad. We're also introduced to her friends: Selkie the Sea Lion, Fred the Bearded Dragon, Chica the Turtle (who doesn't get along with Fred) and Galileo the Pelican. This quick intro also deals with all those pesky believability issues the audience could have regarding desert island life.
When Nim's father (Gerard Butler) goes missing at sea during a storm, our young heroine turns to Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster), author of the Alex Rover action adventure books, for help. Nim believes her fictional hero will save her father and protect the island from 'The Buccaneers' (in reality some obnoxious tourists on a cruise). Unfortunately Alexandra is nothing like her fictional character. In fact she is the total opposite: she is germ-phobic, obsessive compulsive and agoraphobic. And she frequently talks to her imaginary character Alex Rover (also played by Butler). Pushed and encouraged by Alex, Alexandra leaves the safety of her San Francisco home to help Nim.
Some light comedy ensues as we watch the quirky Foster character overcome her phobias, Nim's attempts to scare off 'The Buccaneers', and her father's battle with the elements as he struggles to get back to his daughter.
A typical children's fantasy, Nim's Island has its moments. Casting Foster, who is usually ultra-cool in her movies, as a quirky heroine is a masterstroke, while Breslin, a child actress in demand, is a talent to watch. Nim's Island is the sort of standard summer film that can light up your day. Nim's Island is showing now