Review of Dolphin Tale 2

I think a big part of what made this movie enjoyable for me is that they played it safe. Nothing in this movie disrupts the gentle optimism DT1 established--the kids are still devoted to marine conservation, the corporate management still consents to do what is best for the animals, the community stills supports the aquarium and all it's efforts. This time the story is more for younger viewers. Adults will notice quickly that the characters often behave like they are in a soap opera and and aren't reacting like any person actually would. The central conflict of the movie is that Winter the dolphin may have to get relocated to a new facility. They are careful to say that the animal would be placed in a marine park so that we assume Winter will be forced to perform and unhappy. Otherwise, the problem is that the adults are losing their meal tickets, not that the dolphin is in any danger. Harry Connick Jr probably ruined his chances of ever getting another role of any worth with his angry overreactions to situations that normal adults could easily talk through. Again, younger viewers wont see anything wrong--for them this is another chance to spend more time with the characters and the animals. So that's alright. And baby Hope is really cute. Family=satisfied.