Nim's Island (2008)

Directors:

Jennifer Flackett
Mark Levin

Writers (WGA):

Joseph Kwong (screenplay) &
Paula Mazur (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Be the hero of your own story.

Plot:

A young girl inhabits an isolated island with her scientist father and communicates with a reclusive author of the novel she's reading.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Young Girl | Author | Hero | Book

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Abigail Breslin	...	Nim Rusoe
Jodie Foster	...	Alexandra Rover
Gerard Butler	...	Jack Rusoe / Alex Rover
Michael Carman	...	Captain
Mark Brady	...	Purser
Anthony Simcoe	...	First Mate
Christopher Baker	...	Ensign
Peter Callan	...	Edmund's Father
Rhonda Doyle	...	Edmund's Mother
Russell Butler	...	Old Fisherman
Colin Gibson	...	Cruise Director
Bryan Probets	...	Australian Tourist #1
Andrew Nason	...	Australian Tourist #2
Dorothy Thorsen	...	Blue-Haired Woman
Penny Everingham	...	Older Woman Tourist

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild adventure action and brief language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #43560) | Ireland:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:All | UK:U | Taiwan:GP | Hong Kong:I | Finland:K-7 | Mexico:A | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:PT | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Bowen, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Walden Media

Trivia:

Lulu Mickelson, the daughter of producer/screenwriter Paula Mazur, appears briefly in the airport scene as a passenger waiting in line at the security checkpoint.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The characters refer to a tropical storm as a "Monsoon" when they should be calling it a "Typhoon" (or more accurately, as they are in the South Pacific, a "Cyclone").

Quotes:

Nim Rusoe: [to Alexandra] You came here all the way from San Fransisco and you don't know how to do anything.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nim's Island, Our World: A Reel Thinking Event (2008) (TV)

Should have been magical but instead it's just an average fantasy/adventure...

After watching NIM'S ISLAND, it occurred to me that Wendy Orr's children's novel would have worked much better as a Walt Disney animated feature than as a live action film with CGI effects. Animation would have provided the missing ingredient here--namely, good old-fashioned charm...and magic. The design work for the main titles led me to believe this would be an enchanting film. It wasn't.

However, with a lack of good films for children to see, I wouldn't discourage younger patrons from seeing the film. It's entertaining enough for impressionable minds to appreciate--if they can understand that the Alex Roper character is really a figment of Abigail's and Jody's imagination.

ABIGAIL BRESLIN is fine as the lonely island girl who has to fantasize about her pulp action hero and GERARD BUTLER is perfectly cast as her father (Jack) who goes missing for most of the story but is reunited with her--predictably--at the end after a savage storm. But I can't say I enjoyed watching JODIE FOSTER play a clumsy agoraphobic authoress in a series of scenes that had me wondering who else might have been better in that role. I came up with a younger Angela Lansbury, who knew how to do this sort of physical clumsiness with such skill and still remain charming. With Foster, the charm is gone and all you you get is a mannered amount of nerdy nervousness.

Lest anyone adult should fall asleep during the proceedings, not to worry. Patrick Doyle's bombastic background score, incredibly busy even during the frenzied height of the storm scenes, is enough to make anyone pop open their eyes to see what's happening.

What should have been wistful, magical, even a bit romantic, comes across as kind of brass, corny and utterly predictable nonsense with lots of credibility issues. Foster's character is among the most unbelievable characters ever created, even for a children's story.

Summing up: Has its moments and it's not all bad, but too bad Butler couldn't have had more footage. His scenes as the imaginary adventurer provide the best and most humorous moments in the whole film.