A follow up to the modest 2011 hit DOLPHIN TALE, DOLPHIN TALE 2 clearly takes place a couple of years later after the Clearwater marine hospital has been built up into more of an educational aquarium that's less about the animals doing tricks and more about hands-on interaction between kids and marine life. The true-life tale of Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail, has inspired millions of dollars of donations to build bigger and better facilities, but the mission is still the same: to take distressed marine life, rehab it and set it free. Winter is an exception because she could not survive in the wild, since she can't wear the tail all the time (without it, her spine would curve and be exceedingly painful), and because she's paired with another female dolphin that cannot be set free, all is well as far as the USDA regulators are concerned. Until that other female dies of old age.
As with the first film, there are no real villains beyond time and perfectly reasonable health standards for the animal. When a viable female dolphin is brought into the hospital, still run by Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.), there is hope among Winter's closest caretakers, Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) and Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) that the two will be a good match. Alas, the new dolphin's ailments are curable, and she must be returned to the sea, leaving a USDA inspector (played by writer-director Charles Martin Smith) breathing down their necks with a deadline for finding a new companion for Winter.
DOLPHIN TALE 2 features a small number of subplots involving such non-problems as whether Sawyer will spend several months away from Winter to take part in a fully paid-for marine biology trip in New England. There's also an injured sea turtle's love affair with a pelican (if you think I'm joking, feel free to plunk down money to see this film). Actors who were more prevalent in the first film (Ashley Judd as Sawyer's always-understanding mom; Morgan Freeman as Dr. McCarthy, who designed Winter's tail; and Kris Kristofferson as Dr. Haskett's father) seem to be around just for the vibe but aren't really given much to do beyond cheer, smile and be generally encouraging; if they're lucky, they get to deliver a pep talk.
Much like its predecessor, DOLPHIN TALE 2's greatest contribution to the world is educational. You actually do feel like you learn a little something about these beautiful, complex creatures and their behaviors. And I'm guessing the filmmakers would be more than happy if that is any kid's takeaway from seeing this film. Many of the events in this film actually happened (I'm guessing in a less dramatic fashion), which makes it all the more a shame that so much of this movie feels phony, full of manufactured conflicts.
Not surprisingly, another candidate for pairing with Winter arises, but even that is fraught with difficulty, tearing poor Sawyer apart so much that he ignores the fact that his longtime pal Hazel has got a little crush on him. DOLPHIN TALE 2 is a harmless enough in terms of family entertainment, and there is certainly much to be learned and taught about the way marine life is cared for and put on display to the public, but this film is so utterly forgettable and uninspired as a narrative that you end up feeling like you're not so much watching it, but suffering through something.
I know as critics, we aren't supposed to feel bad for crapping on a movie like this, but I do a little bit. So I'll leave you by saying that if you were inspired or otherwise made to feel good by DOLPHIN TALE, I'm guessing you'll be tickled by the new film, which has a bit more at stake but is still front loaded with positive messages and great undersea photography. Wheee!
