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Film Title: Nim's Island

 Best for ages: 6 and up.

Movie Website: Click Here

Year Released: 2008

Rated: PG (US)

SYNOPSIS

   Nim's Island is based on the book of the same title by author Wendy Orr.  The film follows the adventures of a girl named Nim, who lives alone with her father on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Her mother was killed in a accident involving a whale, while on a marine research expedition. Now Nim and her father, who is also a marine biologist live on the island far away from civilization. Of course they get deliveries and have communication to the outside world with phones and computers. Nim is obsessed with reading book about her favorite hero Alex Rover. Meanwhile her father is obsessed with one cell organisms that live in the ocean. One day her father decides to take a two day trip out to sea to find some new and rare specimens. He lets Nim say on the island alone with her animal friends while he goes out to sea. However a big storm comes along and his boat is destroyed. Days pass and Nim loses hope about her father's where abouts. She does however get an e-mail from Alex Rover, her favorite writer, who asks her questions about the volcano on the island.  Nim finally tells Alex her problem, and ALex decides to get out of the house and go and find Nim. Little does Nim know that Alex is a women with many fear problems. Meanwhile a group of tourists invade the island and Nim and her animal friends must defend the island before they find out she is there.

VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

   This film is very limited with throwing violence and the such at us. However it does have a few scenes that do involve violent acts and poor decision making. The only real fight scene in the film takes place in Nim's head while she's reading a book about Alex Rover, whom fights a bunch of Arab bandits in the desert.  There is also a scene in which a bunch of tourists on a cruise ship invade Nim's Island, and Nim along with her animal friends decide to defend their island, by faking a volcano explosion by pushing rocks off the big mountain. Send a seal to flocculate under water to represent the smell of sulfur and Nim herself launches lizards onto the beach to scare the tourists away. Nim's Father also make a poor decision of leaving his daughter on the island alone for two days so he can go and find some single celled organisms in the ocean. Oh course you also have Jodie Foster's character, Alexandra who takes pills to help her sleep though her fear of flying, and has all kinds of problems such as leaving the house and so on...   Then there's your typical storm violence of things being blown around and the island getting wreaked. Nim's father boat is also hit by waves which destroys his boat and in one particular scene it get's destroyed by a wave.

   On the issue of language, there is not really much to worry about, the lords name is used a few times in "Oh my God" and "My Lord!' fashions. And there is a scene where one character is cut off while saying "What the..." But other than that your pretty safe with any kind of really bad language being used in this film.  There is also some revealing clothing in the film but nothing to crazy, there is one women who has a revealing low cut shirt on and then you have a few women in bikini tops and so on. But nothing to crazy.

OVERALL VIEWS

   Nim's Island was a film I went into without ever reading the book, nor knowing what the premise of the story was. I actually thought that this film was going to be a fantasy adventure film in the vein of The Spider-wick Chronicles and The Golden Compass. But as I learned it's far from a fantasy film and is more of a dramatic adventure movie.  Nim's Island gives us two characters, a father played by Gerard Butler and a daughter played by Abigail Breslin and shows us the strong bond between the two. It is a father/daughter type film and one that I just so happen to be able to relate too. I found it to be a very cute and fun flick with a lot of good hearted adventure and a coming of age film for all the characters involved. Jodie Foster is very funny as the neurotic Alexandra Rover, who relies on the character in her book to get her though any kind of ordeal she is facing.

   Overall, I'm not sure Nim's Island is a film for everyone, and I'm sure most teenagers  over the age of fifteen won't really care much for the film, but it is a family film that can be enjoyed by adults with there younger children.  It is a film that primarily targets young girls between the ages of eight and fourteen. But is a film that I would say is safe enough for a child over the age of six. I personally found it to be a fun filled adventure film that although it was predictable I had a good time watching it. I'm sure kids will enjoy this one and be able to relate to the character of Nim and join her on her adventures.

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