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14 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Great family Film!, 17 March 2007 Author: buddybrd from South Florida
Saw this film at a film festival.. I liked it a lot. Carly did a great job as the kid lead in the film. All the characters did their roles very well. I know Dolphins are very smart, but it must have been difficult to get three dolphins to perform in co-ordination the way they did. Story line has a good moral message, and the Dolphins and the kid are heroes in the end. This is just the kind of film I like to take my grandkids to see. The photography of the blue Bahama waters and the dolphins was first class. Makes you want to go there and lay on the beach. It was great to see Catherine Ross in a film again... although not a big part, she handled it like a pro. I give this one a 9.
12 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Wow...Quite Good, 6 July 2007 Author: Adam from United States
To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this film, but I came away from it really impressed. Even though it's somewhat corny at times, it deals with some fairly complex issues. There was emotion, drama, and even some well-placed humor. The film looks great, and has some impressive performances, especially from some of the more minor characters. Plus, there were the dolphins. Ahhhh, the dolphins. Very cute, and very funny, as always. Granted, it's not my kind of movie, but it's very well made, and definitely enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to anyone into teen/family dramas, or anyone who's a fan of dolphins.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Rather boring, 10 April 2009 Author: khemass from Thailand
Usually I love films with animals very much, but "Eye of the Dolphin" disappointed me. The acting of the cast is mediocre and not interesting. Somehow I just don't like the guy who plays the father. His personality did not convince that he was a scientist who is passionate about dolphins. The story moves so slow and the whole thing was predictable. The ending is not even believable. The dolphins are cute but somehow it's just nothing different from the way we saw them at the show. The best thing about this movie is the scenery of the beach and its wild life. It makes me want to go visit Bahamas one day.In conclusion, this is not like a horrible movie or anything. It's just boring and predictable. I watched through the whole thing. I just don't want to watch it again.
8 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Fun for the Whole Family, 22 June 2007 Author: SFHStiger22 from United States
First, for all of you dolphin lovers and anything ocean friendly related:You will love the message that this film delivers. It demonstrates that while people may have an interest in learning more about dolphins and ocean creatures, that interest shouldn't let people forget about dolphins and take them away from their natural habitats and ways. This film says that we can learn about the world around us while preserving its natural beauty and keeping it safe. Second, the movie has a great story with a great set of actors. It it something that will get the whole family to sit together in their living room, take in the movie and have a nice discussion about it afterward. The kids will love the dolphins,the teens can relate to the main star, the parents will like laughing at the dad's first attempts at parenting and everyone will just love the scenes that show what the Bahamas has to offer. I think that a movie that can get my 16 year old brother's attention and keep my dad awake is worth seeing.
10 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Sweet and cheesy family flick? I think not., 2 August 2007 Author: starzinurreyez from United States
"Eye of the Dolphin", with a title like that you would expect the film to be a cheesy family flick or sweet adventure for the little ones. Well, although it is a film a family can watch and enjoy together and has dolphins swimming around and jumping about in a beautiful location, cheesy and sweet are not words I would choose to describe this movie.Eye of the Dolphin is an eye opening, thoughtful, and engaging experience. With a lovely cast starring Carly Schroeder, your not so typical teenage girl. Granted young girls like make-up, boys, and talking but they are at a stage in their life where the slightest troubles and tragedies can throw their whole world askew into the dark abyss of adolescence. Although they are young they have an innate ability to relate and associate themselves with those who they find similar. And who better to do that than Alyssa, a troubled teen who has just lost her mother, is being expelled from school, and is forced to live in a new place where she knows no one especially the father she thought she didn't have.This film explores the nature of the father and daughter relationships. At a time that is the most difficult for the majority because it is at a period where dad and daughter are the most distant from each other. Coming from two completely different worlds where both suddenly have to discover new ways to relate and communicate. We are also given snippets of questions and ideas to ponder. How to stand up for what your passionate about. No matter how estranged, how important family is. What is valuable to a community? Where is the line drawn between science and spirituality?To add to all of this is the element of adventure Alyssa brings to the screen. Who wouldn't love the ability to communicate with animals and swim free in the wild with dolphins? There is also one last thing that ties this all together for the film, its beauty. Not only is it shot on location in the Bahamas but the cinematography is gorgeous. The colors draw you into the tropical and underwater world of Alyssa and Rosca her new dolphin friend.All in all this is a film that pleasantly surprises and succeeds on many levels. Most of all when you walk away you will say to yourself..."I wish I could swim with dolphins!"
5 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Reaction on the article of "Giving the wrong idea", 16 December 2007 Author: Hilke13 from Belgium
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
First of all I think this movie gives a better vision on dolphins than Flipper or Zeus and Roxanne. I think the purpose of the movie is to tell the people that dolphins are indeed born to be in the wild. Yes they are very clever and yes they are nice to look at ! Of course dolphins are dolphins and they are not 100% controllable. You've probably seen those "American" video clips where tamed orca's go wild..Orca's are dolphins. Now, The point is, the father IS saying to this girl she can't just go in to the water and swim with the dolphin BECAUSE this is dangerous and he explains why. But at the end she is communicating in some way with the dolphin. A wild horse can not be tamed but CAN accept you if it feels you won't harm him(INSTINCT).Don't forget when we grow up, we loose or natural instincts and we act by other influences. It's amazing how children sometimes communicate with animals. In the end they do tell everyone dolphins should be in the wild but than again for science and for understanding there is examination needed, but this is definitely not the same as an amusementparkattraction. The dolphin story is a sidestory. The story goes about a confused girl who lost her mother and she didn't know that she had a father. She learns to deal with mothers death.Her father learns how to be a father. I think it's a nice film that goes with the free Willy storyline.I am sorry for my English, this is not my native language.
7 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Animal Lovers and Environmentalist's Won't be Disappointed, 24 June 2007 Author: R R from Canada
Eye of the Dolphin is a good movie. Generally, when I watch animal movies my expectations are low (I wasn't especially impressed with Air Bud or any of its many sequels), but I decided to give this one a shot because I saw a trailer and thought that it had some cool underwater sequences. It turned out to be better than I had expected. There is so much natural beauty in the film and Eye of the Dolphin also kept my interest with character development and story line. It was good to see a little bit of "edgy" content in the film, perhaps I was expecting more of a "kiddie" movie but the main character, played by Carly Schroeder, depicts the stuggles of a modern teen girl well. Inevitably, some parts of the movie come across as being a bit cheesy, but the movie as a whole works and is definitely worth seeing. The dolphins are amazing and this film does an especially good job of showcasing some of what their superior echolocation allows them to do. Teenagers, environmentalists, animal lovers will enjoy this film.
4 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Excellent family movie for parent and teen/tween girls (and boys), 24 August 2007 Author: jerry_welch from California, United States
Take your family to see this movie, both girls and boys. It is the story of a troubled teen who eventually learns to communicate, lastly with her father. The main character is portrayed wonderfully by Carly Schroeder and supported by an excellent cast. The cinematography is superb, both above and below water.Although there is substance abuse by the main character/troubled teen, it is completely within context for the character development. In fact, the movie goes to great lengths to properly develop all the characters and give them some depth. As to the substance abuse portrayed, it can be a good way to start conversations (communicate) with your child about what they may have or will likely be exposed to in the course of their travels through the teens.My 14 year old son enjoyed the movie immensely. This is a true family film, not a children's film and should be treated as such. But don't shy away from taking your child, even as young as 8-10 depending on their social development.
4 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Response to Matthew's Rant, 24 August 2007 Author: jflxster from United States
(THE SPOILER DOESN'T COME UNTIL THE END, AND IT'S WELL MARKED)Matthew, you're to be commended for your concern for marine mammal welfare but your comments miss the mark and are unfair to the movie.You say: "The film portrays dolphins in the wild as friendly and sociable with humans, in fact wild dolphins prefer to keep clear of human contact if possible and can pose a threat."You seem to be saying, among other things, that you view it as implausible that a wild dolphin would behave in a friendly manner towards a human, yet there is much evidence dating back centuries showing that occasionally dolphins do in fact seek out humans in the manner depicted in the movie. There is a scientific term for a dolphin who enters bays and inlets and seeks out human interaction -- "lone sociable dolphin". You can read an interesting summary of these cases at http://www.mmc.gov/reports/ contract/pdf/samuelsreport.pdf -- there are over thirty documented cases. As for a "lone sociable dolphin" possibly posing a threat -- Hawk is clearly worried about that when he forbids Alyssa from seeing the dolphin again. He also makes the point that this behavior is an aberration, not normal, and that a dolphin doing this is "psychologically unstable". He says "it's bad for the dolphins, Alyssa", and eventually "somebody gets hurt" -- which is the other point, and that is that lone sociable dolphins frequently become a local tourist attraction (it recently happened in Ireland, by the way), and sometimes things get out of hand to the detriment of the dolphin. The film depicts another aspect of interaction between humans and wild dolphins when it shows the tour boat captain bringing in tourists, then feeding the dolphins and letting his tourists swim with them. This type of "food provisioning habituation" of dolphins by tour operators is another thing the film, through Hawk, seems to be against. It certainly doesn't seem to be promoting it.(BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS)There's one other point to consider, and this concerns the film's position on dolphin captivity. At the end of the movie the film suggests that instead of captivity, it might be possible for dolphins to be hosted by humans, and interact with them, but not be captive. What is depicted in the film is very close to the "Third Phase Alternative" to dolphin captivity developed by Ken Levasseur. In Levasseur's program, captive dolphins are trained and, over time, allowed to return to the wild and interact with humans on their terms, not the humans. This is depicted in the movie as a solution, and thus the film seems to be taking an enlightened position on captivity issues. You might want to read Levasseur's "Third Phase" paper. It can be viewed online at http://whales7.tripod.com/policies/levasseur/ levass3a.html.
5 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Great film for Teens and Tweens, 23 June 2007 Author: J.R. Thompson from North Hollywood, CA
I took my 5 year old son to a festival screening of EYE OF THE DOLPHIN expecting a "family film", but it actually turned out to have a lot more substance than I expected. My son was captivated by the beauty and the dolphins, but I think (especially since now I know the MPAA rating is PG13) the film aims for a slightly more mature audience. I could see this film being great for teens and tweens.Performances in the film were pretty good. I mean how can you go wrong with an Oscar nominee (Katherine Ross) teaming with veteran actors like Jane Lynch, George Harris, and Adrian Dunbar. On top of that the young actress that played Alyssa did an excellent job as the troubled teen turned good and I'm sure that she is going to be very successful.Overall my family enjoyed the film. I'd mostly recommend the film for parents to take their tweens and teens to (it might go over the heads of little kids).
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