Let’s hear it for Dolphin Tale 2, filmed mostly in Clearwater.
It was box office runner-up–$16.6 million on 3,656 screens, in its debut week. Granted, it was not met with consensus rave reviews, but it was met with consensus appreciation of “heart-in-the-right-place family fare,” animal-rights emphasis, wholesomeness, hope and impressive photography as well as a first-class cast.
In an age when movie fare too often traffics in comic books, video games, zombies, vampires and Adam Sandler, how refreshing to have a cute movie about a cause. How encouraging to have a movie that can boost tourism for all the right reasons: A well-done family movie that acts as a marketing machine for a local aquarium increasingly focused on enhancing its role as a rehab hospital for injured marine mammals.
And after Spring Breakers, Magic Mike, The Punisher and Cop and a Half, we deserved this.