If it’s a true story is it still called a sequel? Or is it just like later on in the same story?
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“Dolphins Tale 2” is the continuing true story of the life of “Winter”, a bottle nosed dolphin whose perseverance with a prosthetic tale inspired many who came in contact with her. Now, however, she and her caretakers find themselves in need of finding another female dolphin to be her friend or they face having her taken away. The movie follows the team as they deal with this issue and others and learn valuable heartwarming lessons about love, life, and aquatic sea mammals.
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Now I promise I’m not making light of the movie. In fact, I actually thought it was really good. Much like the first the story is told well enough and the actors stay out of the way allowing the heart and substance of the reality to shine through nicely. There is a great message here about what it means to hold on to the strength of your convictions and how to persevere even when the road feels rocky or unknown. The producers of this film get that it’s stars are the marine animals and they offer due diligence in making Winter and her pals the stars of the show. I also loved how the movie seemed to really take the time to educate about the process of marine rescue and rehabilitation in a way that didn’t steal from the overall plot or feel preachy or forced. Plus, there is just enough humor and fun that the movie doesn’t ever feel too self serious or down. Of course the main advantage of the film is that we already care about this dolphin and these characters and the movie does a great job at honoring the feel of the first movie.
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Because of that, though, I did wonder if the movie would work on it’s own. There is something about this plot that seems a bit light and more suited for a 10 minute news story rather than a feature length film. In fact, much of the material around the core plot feels like it might just be there to fill out the required run time, which gives the overall film a bit of a padded feel to distract us from the fact that there really isn’t a lot going on here. If those distractions work for you the movie won’t suffer, but if they seem unnecessary, you may come away feeling like the movie was a bit slow. For me I found them just amusing enough to keep me from the any annoyance.
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Overall, Dolphin’s Tale 2 is a worthy addition to the story. If you enjoyed the first look into Winter’s life, you will likely enjoy this one as well. Even with a bit of padding, it’s a heartwarming and competent tale that swims away with a B.