Nim’s Island

The concept of a scientist dad raising his young daughter on an uncharted island strains credibility, but when you get past that, Nim’s Island is all about a girl gaining self-sufficiency and letting her imagination run wild—which is not the worst thing to show kids these days. As interpreted by the charming Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), young Nim makes this a wholly watchable film for both children and their parents. Unfortunately, a parallel plot with Jodie Foster as an adventure writer with OCD never fully melds with Nim’s story, and the movie suffers as a result. The DVD includes three kid-friendly featurettes, each about six minutes, covering Nim’s story arc, her animal friends and the challenge of shooting on water. There also are a few deleted scenes and commentary tracks by Foster and Breslin, who seem to have bonded during the shoot, and Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, the married directorial team.

Shelf Talk: The colorful box art of Nim’s Island highlights Breslin (who’s currently on the big screen in Kit Kittridge: An American Girl) and her menagerie of island pets, while relegating the adults to the background. Although disappointing at the box office, Nim’s Island is based on a popular children’s novel, and that carries significant built-in name recognition.