DOLPHIN ISLAND
Directed by: Mike Disa
Starring: Peter Woodward, Tyler Jade Nixon, Dionne Lee, Bob Bledsoe, Aaron Burrows
Although she tragically lost both of her parents at a young age, fourteen year old Annabel Coleridge is living an idyllic, if sparse, life on a Caribbean island with her grandfather, Jonah, and a dolphin called Mitzy. Their lifestyle is suddenly threatened however by a newly appointed Social Care worker and Annabel's other grandparents, who have suddenly decided to enter Annabel's life and take full custody of her…
Dolphin Island is a very well-made family film which will certainly entertain young teen girls.
The film is well-structured, first showing us the current status quo, the idyllic life that Annabel is leading with her grandfather, Jonah. We watch as the pair haul in their crates full of crabs which they will sell to the locals, and are introduced to Mitzy, a dolphin which lives at the research center set up by Annabel's late father.
Shortly after we are introduced to the possible threats to their situation. Firstly there is Desaray Rolle, a newly appointed Social Care worker who has been sent because her predecessor has retired. When we first meet her, Desaray is a stickler for rules and regulations and has a cynical outlook. Rather than seeing and appreciating the loving and supportive relationship in front of her, she instead looks at the meagre living situation, and believes Jonah is exploiting his granddaughter.
In addition, Annabelle is approached by a lawyer, Robert Carbunkle Esq, on behalf of her other grandparents (on her mother's side). They have been absent from her life for 10 years and suddenly want to reconnect. However they take this much further their lawyer helps them to exploit Desaray's arrival.
Dolphin Island belongs in a family film niche about young girls' special relationships with animals (usually horses).This sort of melodrama is par for the course for this type of film, and it leads up to a nicely staged set-piece of mild peril before everything is neatly resolved. What makes this film stand out is the wonderful location and the dolphins.
Shot on location on Grand Bahama island, the film really makes the most of its beautiful scenery. The water is so translucent blue and inviting you will find yourself checking for post-lockdown holidays. The production was fortunate to film after Hurricane Dorian hit and before the COVID 19 pandemic, and a lot of the profit from the film is for the local cast and crew who took part.
The film-makers do a good job of giving Mitzy the dolphin some character. It has to be believable that she and Annabel are genuine friends and there are some very good scenes of them swimming together and of Mitzy reacting to various situations which really help sell the relationship.
The script is a bit dialogue heavy at times. The opening scene between Jonah and Annabel for example makes Jonah seem like a crazy person rather than an endearing eccentric. However I was taken with one particular scene in which Annabel meets Desaray for the first time. Annabel's inability to fully explain her meeting with Carbunkle seems authentic and exactly the sort of dialogue a 14 year old would have, missing out the details which would be important to a grown-up. Similarly her innocence in repeating things Jonah had said to her earlier - seemed witty at the time, but the look on Jonah's face shows him realising how bad it sounds out of context!
THE VERDICT
Dolphin Island is aimed squarely at pre-and early teen girls and delivers what you would hope from this sort of film - lots of lovely scenery, a cute dolphin, a plucky central character with an eccentric lifestyle (she lives on a boat! She's friends with a dolphin!) who young girls will look up to. The family issues that become a threat to her lifestyle are some that many people will be able to identify with, even if indirectly and the mild peril at the end will provide a thrilling finish.
7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)
DOLPHIN ISLAND IS AVAILABLE FROM ITS OFFICIAL WEBSITE - CLICK HERE!