Eye of the Dolphin (2006) User Reviews

Sweet and cheesy family flick? I think not.

[starzinurreyez · 7/10 · 2 August 2007]

"Eye of the Dolphin", with a title like that you would expect the film to be a cheesy family flick or sweet adventure for the little ones. Well, although it is a film a family can watch and enjoy together and has dolphins swimming around and jumping about in a beautiful location, cheesy and sweet are not words I would choose to describe this movie.

Eye of the Dolphin is an eye opening, thoughtful, and engaging experience. With a lovely cast starring Carly Schroeder, your not so typical teenage girl. Granted young girls like make-up, boys, and talking but they are at a stage in their life where the slightest troubles and tragedies can throw their whole world askew into the dark abyss of adolescence.

Although they are young they have an innate ability to relate and associate themselves with those who they find similar. And who better to do that than Alyssa, a troubled teen who has just lost her mother, is being expelled from school, and is forced to live in a new place where she knows no one especially the father she thought she didn't have.

This film explores the nature of the father and daughter relationships. At a time that is the most difficult for the majority because it is at a period where dad and daughter are the most distant from each other. Coming from two completely different worlds where both suddenly have to discover new ways to relate and communicate.

We are also given snippets of questions and ideas to ponder. How to stand up for what your passionate about. No matter how estranged, how important family is. What is valuable to a community? Where is the line drawn between science and spirituality?

To add to all of this is the element of adventure Alyssa brings to the screen. Who wouldn't love the ability to communicate with animals and swim free in the wild with dolphins? There is also one last thing that ties this all together for the film, its beauty. Not only is it shot on location in the Bahamas but the cinematography is gorgeous. The colors draw you into the tropical and underwater world of Alyssa and Rosca her new dolphin friend.

All in all this is a film that pleasantly surprises and succeeds on many levels. Most of all when you walk away you will say to yourself..."I wish I could swim with dolphins!"

Rather boring

[khemass · 6/10 · 10 April 2009]

Usually I love films with animals very much, but "Eye of the Dolphin" disappointed me. The acting of the cast is mediocre and not interesting. Somehow I just don't like the guy who plays the father. His personality did not convince that he was a scientist who is passionate about dolphins. The story moves so slow and the whole thing was predictable. The ending is not even believable. The dolphins are cute but somehow it's just nothing different from the way we saw them at the show. The best thing about this movie is the scenery of the beach and its wild life. It makes me want to go visit Bahamas one day.

In conclusion, this is not like a horrible movie or anything. It's just boring and predictable. I watched through the whole thing. I just don't want to watch it again.

Reaction on the article of "Giving the wrong idea"

[Hilke13 · 7/10 · 16 December 2007]

First of all I think this movie gives a better vision on dolphins than Flipper or Zeus and Roxanne. I think the purpose of the movie is to tell the people that dolphins are indeed born to be in the wild. Yes they are very clever and yes they are nice to look at ! Of course dolphins are dolphins and they are not 100% controllable. You've probably seen those "American" video clips where tamed orca's go wild..Orca's are dolphins.

Now, The point is, the father IS saying to this girl she can't just go in to the water and swim with the dolphin BECAUSE this is dangerous and he explains why. But at the end she is communicating in some way with the dolphin. A wild horse can not be tamed but CAN accept you if it feels you won't harm him(INSTINCT).Don't forget when we grow up, we loose or natural instincts and we act by other influences. It's amazing how children sometimes communicate with animals.

In the end they do tell everyone dolphins should be in the wild but than again for science and for understanding there is examination needed, but this is definitely not the same as an amusementparkattraction.

The dolphin story is a sidestory. The story goes about a confused girl who lost her mother and she didn't know that she had a father. She learns to deal with mothers death.Her father learns how to be a father. I think it's a nice film that goes with the free Willy storyline.I am sorry for my English, this is not my native language.

Giving the wrong idea

[Mathew-61 · 1/10 · 23 August 2007]

This film is perpetrating an ideal that dolphins are happy, human loving animals. Its disappointing to see this portrayed again. It is also disappointing to see dolphins used in this manner for film making (something that is thankfully illegal here in the UK under animal cruelty laws). The film portrays dolphins in the wild as friendly and sociable with humans, in fact wild dolphins prefer to keep clear of human contact if possible and can pose a threat, yet this film will suggest that it is acceptable to ride a dolphin under water, something no one involved in marine zoology would ever advise (both through cruelty and the much increased risk of attack from the animal and these are animals that can and have killed). Contrary to a previous review any true environmentalist should not be happy with the wild life treatment and portrayal in this film and certainly no one working with wild dolphins will be.

It enjoyable

[ben200608 · 6/10 · 19 April 2022]

I enjoy dolphins. I was happy to watch this movie on netflix. It was done okay. Though it seems to be a story about a daughter and a father. I do not know what the plot is really about. It was fair movie in that case.

Though there seems to be part of the dolphin what they can teach us in their ways. The cast was good. I would watch with children. There a little drinking and I would only allow children around 13 with this movie. Other then that it find. Teenagers around 13 an up is good for this movie. I would let parents decide for their children.

OK but sloooow

[artpf · 4/10 · 5 October 2013]

Alyssa is a troubled 14-year old. What a surprise.

Suspended from school a year after her mother has drowned, her grandmother Lucy, who doesn't want to be called grandma -- doesn't that explain Alyssa? -- at wit's end, decides to take Alyssa to her father, James, whom Alyssa thought was dead for years.

Some family.

He studies dolphin communication at Smith's Point, on the Grand Bahama Island. James has not known of Alyssa's existence and is clueless about parenthood. Amazing.

The women arrive at the same time that James may lose his research operation to a tourist attraction. Convenient.

Father, daughter, dolphins, and town are on a collision course. Alyssa and James get encouragement from James's girlfriend and her father. It's the dolphins who can teach, and Alyssa who discovers how to listen.

What a pitch. The film is just OK, but it's not surprising it made no money.

Cute...

[RosanaBotafogo · 7/10 · 3 June 2020]

Clichezinho, but so cute, simple and delicate... Cute ...

Another Animal Movie

[sddavis63 · 4/10 · 9 March 2012]

"Eye Of The Dolphin" has all the features that are tailor made to result in a successful movie: it's set in a beautiful location (the Bahamas), it's about animals to appeal to animal lovers, it's specifically about dolphins and raises the question of whether they should be held in captivity so it has a certain environmental appeal, and it has a very pretty young star in Carly Schroeder as Alyssa. While all those things usually work together well and result in a pretty good movie, somehow "Eye Of The Dolphin" seemed lacking. The story was in general just too perfect - a too easy reconciling of a father and daughter (Adrian Dunbar and Schroeder) who had never met, a too simplistic set-up of the problem - Dunbar's "Hawk" wants to study the dolphins while the townspeople in the surrounding area want to use them to bring in tourists, and the whole angle around Alyssa being able to communicate with the dolphins just seemed to easily and too quickly developed to be believable, and the townsfolk are converted to Hawk's side far too quickly, just because they see Alyssa swimming with the dolphins? You also come away from this not really knowing much more about the dolphins than you knew going into it. They seem cute and playful and friendly and smart. That would have been my impression all along.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing in particular "wrong" with this movie. At the start there was even a sort of edginess around Alyssa that had some promise for plot development, but that kind of fizzled. This is fine family fare; kids will enjoy it. It's just that there are far better and more entertaining movies you can watch with your kids. (4/10)

Great family Film!

[buddybrd · 9/10 · 17 March 2007]

Saw this film at a film festival.. I liked it a lot. Carly did a great job as the kid lead in the film. All the characters did their roles very well. I know Dolphins are very smart, but it must have been difficult to get three dolphins to perform in co-ordination the way they did. Story line has a good moral message, and the Dolphins and the kid are heroes in the end. This is just the kind of film I like to take my grandkids to see. The photography of the blue Bahama waters and the dolphins was first class. Makes you want to go there and lay on the beach. It was great to see Catherine Ross in a film again... although not a big part, she handled it like a pro. I give this one a 9.

Wow...Quite Good

[snatch22x · 8/10 · 6 July 2007]

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this film, but I came away from it really impressed. Even though it's somewhat corny at times, it deals with some fairly complex issues. There was emotion, drama, and even some well-placed humor. The film looks great, and has some impressive performances, especially from some of the more minor characters. Plus, there were the dolphins. Ahhhh, the dolphins. Very cute, and very funny, as always. Granted, it's not my kind of movie, but it's very well made, and definitely enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to anyone into teen/family dramas, or anyone who's a fan of dolphins.

Fun for the Whole Family

[SFHStiger22 · 8/10 · 22 June 2007]

First, for all of you dolphin lovers and anything ocean friendly related:You will love the message that this film delivers. It demonstrates that while people may have an interest in learning more about dolphins and ocean creatures, that interest shouldn't let people forget about dolphins and take them away from their natural habitats and ways. This film says that we can learn about the world around us while preserving its natural beauty and keeping it safe. Second, the movie has a great story with a great set of actors. It it something that will get the whole family to sit together in their living room, take in the movie and have a nice discussion about it afterward. The kids will love the dolphins,the teens can relate to the main star, the parents will like laughing at the dad's first attempts at parenting and everyone will just love the scenes that show what the Bahamas has to offer. I think that a movie that can get my 16 year old brother's attention and keep my dad awake is worth seeing.

Great film for Teens and Tweens

[divinethomas · 8/10 · 23 June 2007]

I took my 5 year old son to a festival screening of EYE OF THE DOLPHIN expecting a "family film", but it actually turned out to have a lot more substance than I expected. My son was captivated by the beauty and the dolphins, but I think (especially since now I know the MPAA rating is PG13) the film aims for a slightly more mature audience. I could see this film being great for teens and tweens.

Performances in the film were pretty good. I mean how can you go wrong with an Oscar nominee (Katherine Ross) teaming with veteran actors like Jane Lynch, George Harris, and Adrian Dunbar. On top of that the young actress that played Alyssa did an excellent job as the troubled teen turned good and I'm sure that she is going to be very successful.

Overall my family enjoyed the film. I'd mostly recommend the film for parents to take their tweens and teens to (it might go over the heads of little kids).

Animal Lovers and Environmentalist's Won't be Disappointed

[rramnaut · 9/10 · 24 June 2007]

Eye of the Dolphin is a good movie. Generally, when I watch animal movies my expectations are low (I wasn't especially impressed with Air Bud or any of its many sequels), but I decided to give this one a shot because I saw a trailer and thought that it had some cool underwater sequences. It turned out to be better than I had expected. There is so much natural beauty in the film and Eye of the Dolphin also kept my interest with character development and story line.

It was good to see a little bit of "edgy" content in the film, perhaps I was expecting more of a "kiddie" movie but the main character, played by Carly Schroeder, depicts the stuggles of a modern teen girl well. Inevitably, some parts of the movie come across as being a bit cheesy, but the movie as a whole works and is definitely worth seeing. The dolphins are amazing and this film does an especially good job of showcasing some of what their superior echolocation allows them to do. Teenagers, environmentalists, animal lovers will enjoy this film.

A wonderfully beautiful film about creatures we all love

[directcasting · 9/10 · 2 May 2007]

The film is one of those rare combinations of extreme beauty in the scenery and well mixed versatile cast.

I love the story and the evolution of a troubled girl to one who is able to save the day.

Mainly I loved the local color and setting in the Bahamas. The dolphin scenes were exquisite as was the interaction with them by Carly Schroeder.

The supporting cast was up to the task and very likable. I cared that they would be able to save the dolphin research center.

A wonderful film....

Response to Matthew's Rant

[jflxster · 10/10 · 24 August 2007]

(THE SPOILER DOESN'T COME UNTIL THE END, AND IT'S WELL MARKED)

Matthew, you're to be commended for your concern for marine mammal welfare but your comments miss the mark and are unfair to the movie.

You say: "The film portrays dolphins in the wild as friendly and sociable with humans, in fact wild dolphins prefer to keep clear of human contact if possible and can pose a threat."

You seem to be saying, among other things, that you view it as implausible that a wild dolphin would behave in a friendly manner towards a human, yet there is much evidence dating back centuries showing that occasionally dolphins do in fact seek out humans in the manner depicted in the movie. There is a scientific term for a dolphin who enters bays and inlets and seeks out human interaction -- "lone sociable dolphin". You can read an interesting summary of these cases at http://www.mmc.gov/reports/ contract/pdf/samuelsreport.pdf -- there are over thirty documented cases.

As for a "lone sociable dolphin" possibly posing a threat -- Hawk is clearly worried about that

when he forbids Alyssa from seeing the dolphin again. He also makes the point that this behavior is an aberration, not normal, and that a dolphin doing this is "psychologically unstable". He says "it's bad for the dolphins, Alyssa", and eventually "somebody gets hurt" -- which is the other point, and that is that lone sociable dolphins frequently become a local tourist attraction (it recently happened in Ireland, by the way), and sometimes things get out of hand to the detriment of the dolphin.

The film depicts another aspect of interaction between humans and wild dolphins when it shows the tour boat captain bringing in tourists, then feeding the dolphins and letting his tourists swim with them. This type of "food provisioning habituation" of dolphins by tour operators is another thing the film, through Hawk, seems to be against. It certainly doesn't seem to be promoting it.

(BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILER FOLLOWS)

There's one other point to consider, and this concerns the film's position on dolphin captivity. At the end of the movie the film suggests that instead of captivity, it might be possible for dolphins to be hosted by humans, and interact with them, but not be captive. What is depicted in the film is very close to the "Third Phase Alternative" to dolphin captivity developed by Ken Levasseur. In Levasseur's program, captive dolphins are trained and, over time, allowed to return to the wild and interact with humans on their terms, not the humans. This is depicted in the movie as a solution, and thus the film seems to be taking an enlightened position on captivity issues. You might want to read Levasseur's "Third Phase" paper. It can be viewed online at http://whales7.tripod.com/policies/levasseur/ levass3a.html.

Surprising and entertaining

[djn214 · 8/10 · 29 August 2007]

I had absolutely no interest in seeing the film and only did so after I was able to get some promotional tickets. Though the story sells like a coming of age tale, it's much better than that. The beginning is a bit cliché but once the story begins to take hold it becomes a unique and enjoyable film experience.

Carly Schroeder is a fun actress to watch. It will be interesting to watch her acting career develop in the next few years. George Harris and Christine Adams are wonderful and tend to steal the scenes without trying. Jane Lynch is always a welcome addition and adds some class to the whole film.

The story, though obviously geared towards younger girls does not discriminate against age or sex; it's a fun film for anyone.

Excellent family movie for parent and teen/tween girls (and boys)

[jerry_welch · 9/10 · 24 August 2007]

Take your family to see this movie, both girls and boys. It is the story of a troubled teen who eventually learns to communicate, lastly with her father. The main character is portrayed wonderfully by Carly Schroeder and supported by an excellent cast. The cinematography is superb, both above and below water.

Although there is substance abuse by the main character/troubled teen, it is completely within context for the character development. In fact, the movie goes to great lengths to properly develop all the characters and give them some depth. As to the substance abuse portrayed, it can be a good way to start conversations (communicate) with your child about what they may have or will likely be exposed to in the course of their travels through the teens.

My 14 year old son enjoyed the movie immensely. This is a true family film, not a children's film and should be treated as such. But don't shy away from taking your child, even as young as 8-10 depending on their social development.

A Real Gem of a family movie

[doc-207 · 10/10 · 24 September 2007]

Our entire family enjoyed this wonderful family film. We recently noticed that it won a "Parenting Award" from the NAPPA and for good reason IMO. The combination of Animals interacting with humans in family films has always been appealing to audiences and Carly Schroeder has both charisma and a genuiness about her that comes across beautifully on the big screen. But there is much more to this values based film, one that all parents with "tweens" and/or teens should love. Eye of the Dolphin is a true family drama about a parent and a child discovering each other and about communication. It also reminds me of some of the old family entertainment that we all watched as kids, Flipper and Swiss Family Robinson come to mind. The film has plenty of under water and dolphin scenes. A "must see" family film.

Great family film-especially on a cold winter day

[Riverspots · 8/10 · 19 January 2009]

I got the DVD from my public library. Hadn't heard of it before but thought how bad could it be with a dolphin. But the movie is cute and funny in a Disney-like way and I can't think of anything offensive for younger audiences (does show drinking and smoking in a few scenes). The ending is a little sugary sweet for my adult taste but the only part of the film that's overdone.

Watching the movie was like taking a mini-vacation away from the freezing Jan. temps outside. After seeing the long slow shots of the turquoise water and coral beach, the brightly painted houses, and hearing the lilt of the local Bahamian supporting cast, you can almost feel the tropical breeze. Makes me want to jump on a plane to the Bahamas right now.

This movie is one that the whole family can enjoy-how rare is that!

A young girl finds her dad and her Dolphins.

[TxMike · 5 August 2008]

I suppose this one went directly to DVD and few saw it. I found a copy at my local public library. It is a very enjoyable 90 minutes of viewing. It doesn't break much new ground, but it does what it intends to do very well.

It starts off in the US and Carly Schroeder as 14 year old Alyssa is having a rough time. Her mom died recently and she puts on too much makeup, has Ipod buds in her ear all day long, and is about to be suspended from school. She is being cared for by her grandmother, Katharine Ross (of 'The Graduate' fame) as Lucy, who breaks the news to her that she has a father. Mom had always told her that her father was dead, but in fact he lived in the Bahamas and was doing research with Dolphins.

Naturally Alyssa isn't too happy about all these developments but she and her grandmother travel to the Bahamas anyway, to look up dad, who is Irishman Adrian Dunbar as Dr. James Hawk. He never knew he had a daughter. Christine Adams is Hawk's girlfriend Tamika, who with her friendly smile gets Alyssa to venture out a bit as they go Conch hunting. Alyssa very gradually warms up to this new environment, but her dad turns out to be a very difficult person.

So the story is equally about Alyssa getting to feel good again about herself, and for she and her dad to create some sort of bond. It happens gradually and in a believable manner. Good, clean movie.

SPOILERS: There are those who want to shut Hawk down, terming his research as "junk research", and instead turn the Dolphin habitat into a tourist attraction. The fight energizes Alyssa also, and in the end we see her taking a lead role, as she addresses a crowd of visitors, a place where they can interact with the Dolphins in a controlled environment and to learn from each other.

Nice family entertainment with dolphins

[timothydutton-46074 · 11 December 2019]

Nice family movie and who doesn't love dolphins? Eye of the Dolphin is a family drama that will appeal to anyone who likes movies with the hard edges blunted and the narrative bumps smoothed. There's real heart to be found in the story but it comes along with borderline saccharine sentimentality, a too facile ending, and clean outcomes that aren't earned. The film's final scenes frustrate, not because bad things happen but because there's a sense that the movie has cheated us by substituting a resolution of convenience instead of one of substance. Among its assets, Eye of the Dolphin counts wonderful photography (both above and below water) and an effective performance by leading actress Carly Schroeder. Tween and teen girls will identify with her and the character she plays, and this makes the movie targeted strongly at them. Older viewers who are hoping for something with more heft may be disappointed.