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

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 1	7:45 AM	HBO
Mon. Jan. 4	10:30 AM	HBO
Sat. Jan. 9	4:00 PM	HBO

Cast

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

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | 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 | Sweden:7 | Norway: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 in geography: Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) is flying from San Francisco to Raratonga (Cook Islands) via Borneo (Kalimantan in Indonesia). It is very unlikely to happen because between San Francisco and Borneo the airplane will have well passed the Cook Islands. The nearest international airport that may take her to Cook Islands is Nadi in Fiji (South Pacific) and from there can fly to Cook Islands via Air Pacific. Borneo is in the South Asia region. So it is crazy enough to transit in Asia while the destination is in the South Pacific island.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Alex Rover: I'm not afraid to go out!

Movie Connections:

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

Wow, this stinks out loud

How much of a movie should one see before passing judgment on it? I took my 12-year-old daughter to see this one this afternoon. Twenty minutes in, she started whining "Da-a-a-a-a-a-d, this su-u-u-u-cks!" While I did disapprove of her choice of words, I had to agree with her assessment. We gave it another 15 minutes before going back to the cashier and asking for a refund.

Considering the talent being used (Jodie Foster and young Abigail Breslin, whose performances I have found winning in the past) I was surprised at the ridiculous presentation of the film. Every scene played out like a dream sequence from some better-done movie, coming off completely contrived and hollow. It was painful to see an actress like Jodie Foster reduced to such rubbish; I can't help but think that has the capacity to have turned in more a believable performance had she wanted to, but frankly this was not deserving of her best work.

Perhaps we missed something special in the 55 minutes we skipped, but there was certainly no sign of it on the horizon when we left. Children of 6 years or so may be entranced, but there are better children's films out there; why waste their time (and ruin their developing taste) with junk that no one even tried to make good?