Posted: Tuesday 19th August 2008

Nim (Abigail Breslin) and her father Jack (Gerard Butler) live a happy existence surrounded by wildlife on a desert island. When Jack takes his boat out and gets caught in a storm Nim finds herself alone and scared. Nim tries everything to contact her father with no success and when people start arriving on their island she has to figure out a plan to make them leave and find her father. With no options left Nim tries to contact her favourite author, and action hero, Alex Rover (Jodie Foster). Unaware that Alex is really Alexandra and that she is a recluse and not a hero, Nim patiently waits for her hero to come and save her.

Nim's Island is a superior family movie and a welcome addition to the family genre after a few too many duds. Where many family movies fail, Nim's Island succeeds and manages to be a wildly entertaining movie. The movie strikes the right balance between action and sentimentality and steers well clear of being too sugary sweet. Nim's world is exciting and kids will lose themselves in it. As she reads the latest Alex Rover book and imagines the action taking place around her, it will take adults (and kids) back to books that have done the same for them. Nim's relationship with nature is touching and the wildlife around her is her family. It's a magical world and one that we wish we were part of.

Abigail Breslin is fast becoming the mark of quality in films. After her Oscar-nominated performance in Little Miss Sunshine, Breslin has been picking the right kinds of movies and she scores another winner with this one. Jodie Foster surprises with her performance and showcases previously unseen comedic talent. She's a joy to watch as she struggles with her agoraphobia and conflicts with herself as to whether to jet off and find Nim. The movie's weak link is Gerard Butler who once again proves that he is capable of only one type of performance. He's fast becoming the new Sean Bean and that isn't something than anyone should aspire to be.

Extras on the disc include a commentary, trailers and a featurette.

Nim's Island is a delightful movie and 90 minutes of pure escapism. There's enough here to entertain the whole family and adults won't find themselves bored with the exciting plot. We haven't seen a family movie this entertaining for quite some time (Pixar movies aside of course). We long for the days when films like Casper, Monkey Trouble and The Addams Family entertained the whole family. Maybe Nim's Island marks a hopeful resurgence for this kind of movie.