Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

How sad is this?

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Nim (Abigail Breslin) is an eleven year old girl living in an island with her marine biologist father (Gerard Butler.)Nim's Island is a magical place ruled by her imagination with a pelican Galileo, lizard Fred, and Selke the sea lion.Her father leaves her alone in the island as he goes of to some research and gets lost at sea. Nim contacts writer Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) author of the Alex Rover adventure novels (also played by Gerard Butler) who is an agoraphobic, germaphobe recluse who has not left her house for years and must travel to this remote island to save Nim from impending buccaneers while having pep talks with the imaginary Alex Rover.Nim's Island is a strange film. Kids will enjoy the cute animals, low tech animation and adventures in a far away island. Adults might like the kooky humour but it really is a mixed bag. The main characters are apart for most of the film. It is strange to see Jodie Foster in something light and frothy although she does look uncomfortable in playing such a reclusive character being spurred on to breakout by the fictional Alex.

Released in 2008, "Nim's Island" stars Abigail Breslin as the 11 year-old title character who's alone on a remote pacific island while her Dad (Gerard Butler) is late coming back from an expedition. Nim emails a reclusive popular adventure writer (Jodi Foster) in San Francisco for help.I'm a sucker for island movies and this one's quite good but, for me, it's hindered by its "children's adventure/fantasy" approach. I'm talking about the Disney-esque animal shenanigans. Apart from that, however, everything clicks for a fun island adventure. While kid-oriented, there's enough here for adults to enjoy, particularly for those who are in tune with their inner-kid. It was a modest hit when released.The movie runs 96 minutes and was shot in Australia.GRADE: Borderline B or B- (6.5/10 Stars)

I don't why this has been so negatively reviewed. I really enjoyed it and I have quite strict standards. Maybe it's because I care so much about the topic - wildlife conservation and adventure. While it obviously lacks the class and sophistication of other films which I have rated an 8, it's raw enjoyability grants it rarely given special bonus in my eyes. Crappy films get a 6, and this was not crappy, it was great fun. It probably scores highly to me as it's my fantasy to live in such a beautiful wild place with so many amazing animals and plants and fighting for their survival. It was just very stimulating and refreshingly devoid of violence (being a kids film, though I'm 25). It kept me entertained all the way through.

I missed this film at the cinema and only caught it by surprise as we were flicking through the movie channel one Saturday morning and we absolutely fell in love with it. It is not the best film ever but it has heart, humour some reasonably strong performances and memorable characters. What else could a Saturday morning film with the kids need? The story begins with a seemingly idyllic relationship between a father and daughter living on a desert island that they have adapted to suit their lifestyle perfectly. We are then introduced to Jodie Foster who charms as an agoraphobic writer who's only friend seems to be the hero in her books who appears throughout the film but only in her mind. The story develops at a good pace that kept us entertained and quickly Jodie Fosters character is pushed way beyond her comfort zone and "Nim", beautifully played by Abigail Breslin enters her story arc surviving alone. The communication between the characters is well done and whilst not entirely believable it does produce a good honest and fun story.