Dolphin Tale 2 review

2011’s hit family movie Dolphin Tale was the true story of Winter, a female dolphin missing her tail whose life was saved by the staff at Clearwater Marine Hospital and Aquarium. This sequel picks up a few years later, with Winter and her prosthetic tail the biggest attraction at the aquarium. The boy who rescued her, Sawyer (Gamble) is now a teenager working there alongside the centre’s owner, Clay (Connick Jr) and his daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) and they all have a difficult decision to make when Winter’s dolphin companion dies and marine laws force them to find her another pool-mate or face her being taken away. Could a little baby dolphin they rescue named Hope be the answer?

As with the first movie, this mixes true events with fictional characters, adding human drama (Sawyer is offered the trip of a lifetime but it means he will have to leave Winter, Clay has to balance caring for the dolphins with answering to the aquarium’s business-minded board) to Winter’s true story and some beautiful underwater footage. It’s a lovely family adventure, as marine life is rescued and cared for at the aquarium until dolphins, turtles and other creatures can be gently taken back to their sea home (the motto at CMA is ‘rescue, rehabilitate, release’ ). Heartwarming stuff, and make sure you watch until the end where real-life footage of the aquarium’s staff releasing a dolphin and turtle, and Winter interacting with children who are amputees is shown.

Fans should note that you can watch the real life Winter (who plays herself in the movie) via Clearwater’s webcam at www.seewinter.com.