I actually liked the movie better than the book. That doesn't mean its any good. I guess there is some enjoyment to be had here, but overall this movie is pretty forgettable.

With the premise that the film would not see a second time, I recognize that I liked. On TV there is a well cared-for script: in the sense that, the details that would have weakened interest of the film, was meticulously written. Obviously the story taken from a novel by Wendy Orr: in the context is something unreal, that to get a follow-up and a final in harmony with the three main protagonists. The plot of the film could have been a tragedy. A shipwreck that would have to pass the rest of the life of a father and his daughter as a hermit. [...] However, as it happens in novels, the scientist and his daughter in a surreal way and electronically they have contact of a volcanoes-writer. So they can be saved, and find a new family love.

I saw a few adverts and clips for this film at the time of its release, and it looked like an easy to like and digest family film, and obviously the cast appealed to me, so I watched it. Basically eleven year old Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin) lives with her father Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler) on a beautiful and uncharted tropical island in the middle of the South Pacific, her mother Emily died after apparently being swallowed by a blue whale that was scared by a ship called the Buccaneers. Jack is a research biologist/scientist studying microscopic marine organisms, while Nim spends most of her time with all her animal friends: Selkie the sea lion, Fred the lizard, and Galileo the pelican, who have taught her most of her skills, e.g. swimming. She also has a big imagination, and can really express it when she is reading, especially the books of Alexandra 'Alex' Rover (Jodie Foster) from San Francisco, she even gets into contact with her, believing "Alex Rover" is a man, and Alex herself sees her character Alex (also Butler) since she is so alone, neurotic, and recently agoraphobic. Jack has to leave Nim to go on a two day mission to find a new species of plankton called Protozoa Nim, he wanted to take her but she said she'd be fine, and wants to be there when Chicca's eggs hatch, but they will communicate by satellite phone. She and Alex continue communication by email, Alex, thinking that Nim is Jack's secretary or assistant, has enquiries about his knowledge, including a look at the dormant island volcano, but the little girl gets injured in the process. Jack meanwhile is caught in a storm and is shipwrecked, meaning that he cannot communicate with Nim, and he does not return by the time he said he would, so while Galileo brings him things to help him, Nim is desperate for help and asks Alex to come. While Alex braves herself to leave her house and take the journey to find the island, tourists have come across the island, the little girl assumes they are pirates, but she scares them away by convincing them, using smoke and forced rock fall, that the volcano is erupting. In the process of this Nim was spotted by little boy Edmund (Maddison Joyce), he tries to convince people he saw someone already on the island, without them believing him, but he does manage to convince Alex of her whereabouts, so she continues her journey. Eventually Alex, on the tourist boat, steals a boat and heads for the island, but she too is caught in a storm, but she is saved from drowning by Nim, and when the storm passes they finally meet each other in person. Nim is angry that Alex Rover is not who she believed, and she wants her to leave because she may have caused the island to become noticeable, but eventually they become friends, Jack returns to her daughter with the plankton he was seeking, and he and Alex become close too. Also starring Michael Carman as Captain and Anthony Simcoe as First Mate. Breslin gives a nice performance as the young storyteller, free spirit and imaginative personality, as both the father and the fictional character of the writer Butler is cool, and Foster is good at being panicky with her phobias but determined to help the little girl. It is a simple story of a father trying to get back to her daughter, a daughter trying to fend for herself, and a woman trying to reach a hard to find island, it is colourful, it is fun, and all the family will like it, it is a nice fantasy adventure. Worth watching!

How anybody can call this movie bland and forgettable is beyond me. It is absolute magic. First of all, I think it is the funniest performance by Jodi Foster EVER. Her every line, her every delivery is so funny, she should win an award for this. Abigail is simply priceless and Gerard Butler is so perfect for kids' movies. I am 39, my son is 6 and my mother is 61, and we all love it. The music is outstanding, the visuals are amazing, the sound effects, the humor... so the lizard attack, and Nim accidentally setting off a volcano and looking at it and saying "whoa, did I do that?" is forgettable? Please. Enjoy this film. I know I always do.