Andre

It was only when I saw the credits, I then understand it's based on a true story. It made me smile even more.

So I guessed I knew why I saw this few days back for a reason. The trailers had won me over and when I saw the movie itself, it was just so heart-warming. Toni's attachment to Andre is one maybe I can sort of relate to. Sentimental attachment to something where one have feeling for after sometime.

Throw in a bit of drama as well, and one can see how Toni reacts especially to how others who don't really like Andre's sudden popularity in the town.

This is just one of those where the family can all enjoy it together. Sometimes we just need a bit of old-fashioned goodness.

Quite a heart-warming movie.

Great acting by a beautifully trained seal (how do they do it?) based on a true story. One more animal movie for children and families, but with a twist. The interaction of seal and humans is heart warming. Prepare for a lump in the throat with a happy/sad ending.

This is probably my favorite movie ever. Its amazing.. i've probably seen it at least 50 times. It's a great movie for the whole family and I promise anyone who sees it will love it. You will want to watch it over and over again, one time is not enough. Three times is really not enough. The story of a seal and the family who takes him in is amazing, all of the details which are added make it even better. All of the characters are interesting. The movie will make you laugh and cry, but you'l'l be smiling all the way through. It makes you want to find a seal of your own, if thats possible. The characters are people you will want to meet, if not for their great personality then for your own amusement. When I have children, I will show them this movie at least as many times as I have seen it. You should watch this movie- it's my absolute favorite and you will definitely love it.

A seal befriends a young girl (Tina Majorino) and her family (led by parents Keith Carradine and Chelsea Field) in 1962 Maine in this true story that will be loved by most of the kiddies, but adults will not find much interest. This odd little flick by director George Miller (not the same man known for the "Mad Max" and "Babe" set of series) seems to have little aspirations. It is satisfied with strange and silly situations rather than potentially going a more dramatic route. The screenplay is sophomoric and the actors seem clearly aware of that fact and what we are left with is a seal on the land doing its best to act as dumb as its human co-stars. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

GOOD - What gave this movie appeal and made it a bit different is that a seal is the star. The likable seal, "Andre," (in real life, Tory, the sea lion) has cute face with big brown eyes and likes to stick his tongue out and give everyone "the raspberry." The latter joke is way overdone, but it's okay. The most likable human is the father, played by Keith Carradine. The kids are somewhat spoiled but the little one, the star (Tina Majorino) isn't bad.

THE BAD - Too much typical Hollywood families in which (1) there is a stupid teen romance with a rebellious, pouting female teen; (2) the nasty foe who makes trouble for no apparent reason; (3) the nice-guy husband who gets unfairly blamed or is proved wrong in family affairs (the Liberal mother always winning out).

OVERALL - A little more of the seal and less of the teen girls and other annoying people would have made this a lot better. As it is, one viewing was enough.