Critic Reviews
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Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Foster proves adept at broad physical comedy, the animated sequences charm, and codirectors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett send up the make-believe Rover with panache.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's a wondrous and warmhearted adventure story with some nifty special effects and some first-rate performances.
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Tasha Robinson, Chicago Tribune
There's a lot to like about spunky Breslin, even when she's unnecessarily recapping events or recapitulating Home Alone as she chases caricatured cruise-ship tourists from her island. She's a charismatic, energetic presence at the heart of the film
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Claudia Puig, USA Today
Nim's Island is a win-win proposition: an entertaining, diverting adventure saga that offers excitement and a relatable heroine for children, and also will remind their parents of favorite classics from their own youth.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
A sweet-natured family adventure film that should be quite popular with the grade-school girls at which it's aimed.
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Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Nim's aquatic adventures and those on land provide the majority of thrills in this exhilarating and enchanting family picture. It's the best I've seen this year and highly recommended for girls and for boys, too.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
The material isn't up to the level of the film's lead, Abigail Breslin.
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Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Overplayed: there are entirely too many beaming smiles and emotional flip-outs...the only reason to see this movie is Foster, whose overplaying somehow succeeds at charming where her costars fail. [Blu-Ray]
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James Plath, HollywoodinHiDef.com
Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett do a wonderful job of balancing adventure and humor.
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Bruce Bennett, Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
If you have a child, Nim's Island is the kind of film you won't be sorry you shared with him or especially her, and if you don't have a youngster, you'll wish you did.
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Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
"Jodie 'Brave One' Foster is still peeved, though now it's less about what bad people do, than how icky their unsanitary their germs are. And she isn't half bad either doing a divine nitwit dining on worms or playing soccer with a coconut in the wilds.
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John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
A more enjoyable saga of girl power than Breslin's highly touted followup vehicle, 'Kit Kittredge.'
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Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
The first half is really cute and imaginative. Unfortunately, the second half isn't quite as good.
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Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly
... the cast and the cute critters make up for the weaker elements and bring home a nice movie for the 5-11 age group.
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Richard Knight, Windy City Times
An energetic but whisper thin south sea adventure that borrows heavily from Home Alone and Jewel of the Nile.
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Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
The movie gets plain silly, but at least it's lively, and young girls will enjoy Nim's lifestyle in her eco-friendly and frolic-packed tropical paradise.
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Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
for all the curiosity of seeing Foster in a rare comic rôle, her neurotic, tic-afflicted, accident-prone Alexandra annoys more than she engages, which is a problem for a character who contributes so little to the actual plot apart from diversion
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
There's nothing very suspenseful going on ... but the cast and the story will appeal to both kids and adults.
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Mike Sage, Peterborough This Week
here is in fact no actual villain or conflict or tension or fun, and let's face it: we all know Jack will make it back safe and sound (sorry kids, but Wendy Or doesn't have JK Rowling's narrative cahoonas)
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John P. McCarthy, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
I found one vital piece of 'Nim's Island' to be ridiculous and the entirety to be only marginally successful.
Read all 20 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Completely unbelievable movie but my daughter loved Nim and all the animals.
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Very entertaining and well made adventure for the whole family. Nim's Island aims mostly for the heart and succeeds brilliantly. Directors Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin does not take the story too seriously and balances quite well with humorous and more serious elements. I… More
Very entertaining and well made adventure for the whole family. Nim's Island aims mostly for the heart and succeeds brilliantly. Directors Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin does not take the story too seriously and balances quite well with humorous and more serious elements. I truly think that films like these should be made more often. It is rare to see film this honest and well meaning.
One of the biggest surprises in here is Jodie Foster's role which is clearly something different that we have used to see from her. I myself haven't seen her in a role this comedic never before and she is actually quite good as a kind of antihero of the story. She and Abigail Breslin are the film's heart while Gerald Butler is mostly in a lesser role here.
Sure, Nim's Island ain't nothing new or nothing that special but it is well made entertainment that actually manages to be exciting and in the end even quite touching. It is kinda film that kids and adults both are able to enjoy.
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There's not a lot of adventure in Nim's Island but there is a lot of character development and although it might be confusing for some, the acting and script just about save's it.
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Your adventure starts here.
This movie is basically for a kids audience, in order to really grasp it's full magic you have to be a kid. The film uses alot of imagination which is cool if your a kid but for a grownup like me it didn't really moved me or made me love it more.… More
Your adventure starts here.
This movie is basically for a kids audience, in order to really grasp it's full magic you have to be a kid. The film uses alot of imagination which is cool if your a kid but for a grownup like me it didn't really moved me or made me love it more. The story was nice and it had some funny moments.
Nim's Island tells the story of a young girl named Nim (Abigail Breslin). She lives on a beautiful uncharted island with her father Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler), a research scientist studying microscopic marine organisms. She spends her days having wild adventures in the woods along with her animal friends, Fred the lizard, Galileo the pelican, and Selki the seal, and her wild imagination. Nim has a huge passion for books, especially the Alex Rover books. Jack is about to take Nim on a two day research trip looking for protozoa, but Nim begs to be left behind so she can help the hatching baby sea turtles. Jack reluctantly leaves Nim behind and sails out to sea. While he is away, Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) the author of the Rover books emails Jack to get his knowledge about volcanoes for her next book. Nim replies thinking he is the great adventurer Alex Rover. Everything goes well until a huge storm hits the island and Jack becomes lost at sea. Nim sends a letter to her literary hero pleading for help. Little does Nim know, that Alex Rover is a woman (Jodie Foster). Alexandra is agoraphobic and never leaves the house. She rarely even opens her front door. Alex also has a wild immagination, whereas her fictional character Alex Rover (also Gerard Butler) talks to her, mocks her, and gives her pep talks. When they find Nim's Letter, fictional Alex badgers Alexandra until he finally convinces her to leave the confines of her townhouse to go and help Nim. After a long and terrifying journey, both of the Alex's make it to Nim's Island and try to help. Will they find Nim's father? Find out by going to see Nim's Island.
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I didn't like the story-line at all. Talking animals; characters getting out of impossible situations; totally predictable.
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This lovely adventure film is mostly directed at a younger audience. Kids ages 8 to 14 should have a lot of fun with the animals, the setting and the themes. Abigail Breslin is adorable as always and although Jodie Foster overacts her role as neurotic actor quite a bit, but some of… More
This lovely adventure film is mostly directed at a younger audience. Kids ages 8 to 14 should have a lot of fun with the animals, the setting and the themes. Abigail Breslin is adorable as always and although Jodie Foster overacts her role as neurotic actor quite a bit, but some of the scenes are pretty funny anyhow. The pace is fast, the film is always entertaining, even if a tad predictable for regular movie viewers. But it's certainly one of those films I would have watched over and over as a child. The scenes that mix reality and fantasy are particularly charming.
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I don't know why but I don't like Abigail Breslin. For some unknown reason, I can't tolerate her. Though I liked her when she was young.
Jodie Foster was hilarious and I liked the lizard's expression.
This movie is okay. Kinda childish with full of imagination. The… More
I don't know why but I don't like Abigail Breslin. For some unknown reason, I can't tolerate her. Though I liked her when she was young.
Jodie Foster was hilarious and I liked the lizard's expression.
This movie is okay. Kinda childish with full of imagination. The ending was disappointing. That made the whole movie pretty much pointless.
I would say this is a good family movie, but I don't think any parents will enjoy this more than their children.
<a href="http://s1039.photobucket.com/albums/a471/3niR/?action=view¤t=2008_nims_island_010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a471/3niR/2008_nims_island_010.jpg" border="0" alt="t"></a>
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a good kids movie, but that's about it! Plus Gerard Butler, even though he plays his role good, does not belong in this movie!
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I'm clearly too old for this film. Might be alright for children into island adventures, though.
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It attempts to mix children's fantasy with Foster's agoraphobic writer. This never amounts to anything more than mildly amusing. Butler is acceptable in a double role, but he comes off as too smug, making i easy to hope for his untimely end. Foster travels to an island to… More
It attempts to mix children's fantasy with Foster's agoraphobic writer. This never amounts to anything more than mildly amusing. Butler is acceptable in a double role, but he comes off as too smug, making i easy to hope for his untimely end. Foster travels to an island to help a stranded girl. Putting all logic aside, the film enters unintentional humour territory, as Foster shows finally arrives within the last 15 minutes and has nothing to do, making this film pointless and irritating. Charming enough for parents to enjoy with their kids, but highly forgettable.
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its a cute light hearted movie with a few funny scenes qand is really nice to watch on like a wet evening with the family worth a watch
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Well, I must say that I'm pretty bored with the beginning of this movie... Even it looks pretty amazing, the island and the animal, but the story was boring... But after Jack Rusoe went for looking Protozoa Nim, and Alexandra Rover decided to come for Nim, things become… More
Well, I must say that I'm pretty bored with the beginning of this movie... Even it looks pretty amazing, the island and the animal, but the story was boring... But after Jack Rusoe went for looking Protozoa Nim, and Alexandra Rover decided to come for Nim, things become interesting again for me... Abigail Breslin herself showed a pretty good acting here... Even she's already an Oscar nominated actress, but she's still cute, funny little girl that still grows up.. Jodie Foster showed great acting when she showed her agoraphobic, but when she come out for Nim, I think I will forget the fact that she's a two times Oscar winner for Best Actress... Gerard Butler appearance doesn't make any sense to me... As Alex Rover, he's just an imagination of Alexandra, not important at all... And as Jack Rusoe, he just looks like a carpenter trapped in the middle of the ocean trying to find his way home by a help from a pelican... After all, this movie just a light movie, not great but pretty entertains me...
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This is a good movie was parents and there kids. A couple scenes were pointless and i think they gave Abrigal Breslin's charecter way too much strength in this movie for a 10 year old girl. An okay movie, just for kids though in my opinon.
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This adventure story is fast-paced, pretty and generally good fun. Jodie Foster is deftly funny, and she carries the movie. Gerard Butler, too, is on good form. The weak spot is Abigail Breslin. She underplays to the point of being dull - upstaged by her sea lion pal and a CG lizard -… More
This adventure story is fast-paced, pretty and generally good fun. Jodie Foster is deftly funny, and she carries the movie. Gerard Butler, too, is on good form. The weak spot is Abigail Breslin. She underplays to the point of being dull - upstaged by her sea lion pal and a CG lizard - and a flabby middle-section plot device about a cruise ship feels flat, leaving her filling time until Foster appears. But there are neat parallels between the three stories of these essentially lonely people, and the ending makes up for a lot.
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There's nothing very suspenseful going on ... but the cast and the story will appeal to both kids and adults.
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When her scientist father goes missing, a young girl seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure books. Charmless adventure film may please young children, but for adults it is a demanding exercise in endurance. The story (by 4 screenwriters, no less!) feels as if it was… More
When her scientist father goes missing, a young girl seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure books. Charmless adventure film may please young children, but for adults it is a demanding exercise in endurance. The story (by 4 screenwriters, no less!) feels as if it was assembled in a factory and is plagued with dull dialogue and embarrassing slapstick. The characters in a Johnny Quest cartoon have more depth that what we are presented with here. The South Pacific island locations are pretty, however.
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this was a great movie to watch with my kids but it doesnt do a good enough job of holding an adult audience. i found myself a little bored only a third of the way into the movie and i clock watched from there. the end was touching and fun and it had character, but they could have… More
this was a great movie to watch with my kids but it doesnt do a good enough job of holding an adult audience. i found myself a little bored only a third of the way into the movie and i clock watched from there. the end was touching and fun and it had character, but they could have done more with the home alone style theme of defending the island. really just average.
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"I'm not from a story... I'm from Brisbane."
I liked how this film mixed fantasy with reality. There was interesting and lovable characters in it. Jodie Foster made a good role as a neurotic author who goes into a rescue mission without her own will but forced by… More
"I'm not from a story... I'm from Brisbane."
I liked how this film mixed fantasy with reality. There was interesting and lovable characters in it. Jodie Foster made a good role as a neurotic author who goes into a rescue mission without her own will but forced by her imaginative hero. Abigail Breslin was just as cute as in "Little Miss Sunshine".
A fantasy film with good entertainment and in smaller measures but doesn't lose to it's bigger budget rivals in realization.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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