Dolphin Tale is about as obvious and by-the-numbers as you could possibly imagine from any inspirational animal film. If you saw a trailer, read the synopsis, or even made a rough guess based on the title, I'm betting you could come pretty close to guessing what this movie delivers. It's the kind of script that I could see a screenwriter inventing even if an actual tail-less dolphin didn't exist as the basis for their story. The most interesting element of Dolphin Tale is definitely the fact that Winter is a real dolphin and has actually dealt with the problems dramatized in this movie. Of course, the movie wants to focus on a character who can talk, so instead the plot is more about a young boy who wants to help save this injured dolphin. It's the "Free Willy" formula, and apparently it works for most people because this was a box office success. But the sad truth is that basically every detail of this film is a fabrication used to make a Hollywood story out of a unique animal that could be inspiring on her own.
Once I forced myself to ignore the discrepancy between reality and Dolphin Tale, I was able to get some enjoyment from it. It's hard not to be affected by the tug on your heartstrings when a movie is about a struggling boy who finally finds passion in his life. And, of course, that impact is increased by the fact that a crippled dolphin is part of that story. While most of this movie was overflowing with cliché, I did appreciate that it avoided going straight down every obvious pathway. There was one particular event that I expected from early on in the film, and I was surprised the movie never went there. Probably the most annoying aspect of Dolphin Tale is the trope of the aquarium running low on funds and needing to find a way to stay open. It was one additional layer of conflict that the movie didn't require. I can appreciate Dolphin Tale for what it is, and could even recommend it for family entertainment, but I also wish I could just watch a documentary about how Winter was truly saved.
