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Ever since she was four years old, Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin) has lived on an island in the South Pacific with her scientist father, Jack (Gerard Butler), and a menagerie of animal friends. They have very little contact with the outside world, so Nim learns everything through the Internet—and through the books that their supply ship drops off. Nim’s favorites are the books about Alex Rover—a fearless adventurer who can get himself out of any difficult situation.
When Jack leaves the island for a couple of days, Nim sees it as an adventure of her own—one that becomes even more exciting when Alex Rover emails, asking for information on volcanoes. But then a storm hits the island, and Nim loses contact with Jack, and she begins to worry that he’s lost at sea. So she asks Alex Rover for help.
What she doesn’t realize, however, is that Alex Rover is just a fictional character—who was created by Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster), an agoraphobic author who doesn’t even dare to leave her apartment.
In the beginning, Nim’s Island is a cute little adventure that feels like it came straight out of a child’s imagination. Nim’s Island is definitely a fantastical place—a place where sea lions play soccer and little girls climb volcanoes and strange, squawking lizards chill out with sea turtles. Sure, things are a bit crazy and over-the-top, but so was I when I was 11—so I was happy to play along.
As it continues, though, all that craziness becomes harder and harder to bear—until it’s uncomfortable to watch. In cases like these, it’s easy to blame the actors. After all, Jodie Foster’s over-acted, slapstick performance is pretty embarrassing, and Butler can’t seem to get a grip on his accent. And while Abigail Breslin is a cute kid (and, generally, a talented little actress), it’s obvious that she has a hard time acting alongside computer-animated animals.
But the problems go far deeper than the acting—all the way down to the writing. The story wanders aimlessly from character to character—from Alexandra freaking out in her apartment to Jack trying to find a way to get back to Nim to Nim’s wacky adventures on the island. It takes strange side trips along the way—the strangest of which involves Nim (with the help of a farting sea lion and a herd of flying lizards) trying to scare away some fake pirates and a bunch of tourists who threaten to turn the island into a resort. And the dialogue is generally awkward and unrealistic.
While I can see what the filmmakers were trying to do with Nim’s Island, they just didn’t succeed. Instead of being a magical story that’s filled with childlike imagination, it feels uncomfortably overdone. Sure, kids might enjoy Nim’s adventures with her animal friends—and the slapstick humor will probably make them giggle. But, for parents, this one is just plain painful. The story is aimless and uneven, and the performances are erratic. And, as for the effects, they’re too cheesy to feel lifelike—but not cheesy enough to feel childlike.
Though I have a feeling that Nim’s Island made a great children’s book, this is one storybook that just doesn’t work on the big screen.
