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Nim’s Island harkens back to the kind of family film the Disney Studio churned out a few decades ago. It’s colorful, whimsical, sentimental, with a youngster at its core, and with a group of animals with an uncanny knack of not only understanding the English language, but possessing a clear understanding of technology and tools.

Nim (Abigail Breslin) lives on an unchartered island with her busy father, Jack Rusoe (Gerald Butler), a scientist doing oceanographic research. Since she has only a few animals to play with, she’s developed quite an imagination, visualizing people and places and putting herself in the middle of them. She does quite a bit of reading; her favorite book series features adventurer Alex Rover, authored by one Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster).

Nim can’t possibly know that the Alexandra is an agoraphobic on anti-anxiety medication. The poor woman can’t even retrieve her mail from a box at the sidewalk in front of her home. And Alexandra has a problem; she has a writer’s block that prevents her from devising a clever way of saving Alex from certain death. She’s written herself into a corner and her publisher is getting impatient.

Nim has a problem as well, a more serious one. Her dad left for a few days’ expedition at sea and is overdue. A severe tropical storm crippled his sailboat and he lost his satellite phone. Nim is self-reliant, but this is too much. Desperate for help, she uses a satellite connection to the Internet and reaches out to Alex Rover. Alexandra had been trying to pick Nim’s father’s brain about life on a South Pacific island via email to help her with her book. Alexandra soon discovers that Nim is a child deserted on an island, that no authority can help her, and, armed only with a latitude and longitude provided by Nim, she’s forced to conquer her fears and travel to the island to help. Alexandra has one other thing in common with Nim: a vivid imagination. Alex (also Gerald Butler), dressed very much like Indiana Jones, will come to life before her eyes and they have contentious conversations. It’s Alex who pushes Alexandra to go on a rescue mission. And expect Nim’s animal friends to provide some incredible help.

Breslin’s Nim is charming and so likeable that the viewer can’t help route for a reunion with her father and a happy ending. Foster’s Alexandra need a happy ending as well; something has to snap her out of her isolation and fears. But this is a family film, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you can anticipate the story arcs.

Having previously starred in the violent and gritty The Brave One, Foster accepted a role that is the diametric opposite of Erica Bain. Perhaps because this is such a departure for her, I was left with an impression of her not being very comfortable in the role. Usually convincing and subtle, Foster’s Alexandra is way over the top. But she’s such a talented and skillful actress that I must give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that painting with very broad strokes was the best choice in a film targeted for a young audience. More significantly, this is Breslin’s film, and she carries it well. Without her pluckiness and appeal, Nim’s Island would have fallen quite flat.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is presented in a great looking high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. I came away with the distinct impression that the filmmakers intentionally exaggerated the palette and the contrast to depart from realism and provoke a sense of fantasy. Colors are vivid and lively, almost to a fault. Reds in tourist clothing, the blues in the sea and sky, and the lush greens of the tropical island all take on a bigger than life quality. Small object detail, like individual leaves, and finely grained textures, like clothing fabric weaves, are well-defined. Black levels are inky, but shadow detail remains quite fine. Despite the exaggerated contrast, I didn’t notice any white blooming or crush.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Fox has delivered its usual DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and it’s as lively as the images. The surrounds are very active with discrete sounds, pans, and atmospherics. I was pleased by the immersion effects. Patrick Doyle’s lighthearted score is reproduced with convincing timbre across a broad soundstage widened with leaks into the surrounds. The bottom end comes to life in storms and reaches satisfying depths. The fidelity of the sound effects is also admirable. The mix is well balanced, with no loss of intelligibility during complex passages. The spoken word remains distortion-free throughout.

Alternate language tracks are in Spanish and French, both in Dolby Digital 5.1. The optional subtitles are in English and Spanish.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The Blu-ray Disc opens with two trailers: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; and, Horton Hears a Who. With the exception of these, the supplements have been ported over from the title’s DVD release, so don’t expect any of the rest to be in high definition.

We begin with two feature-length audio commentaries. The first is by co-directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. This is a rather informative track, although they do discuss the story and plot points unnecessarily. More interesting are the anecdotes from the location shooting, and educating the viewer concerning the CGI effects and the in-camera practical effects. Less entertaining is a commentary by Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin. Foster doesn’t seem completely engaged or she’s giving her young costar the opportunity to express herself. Breslin is open and chatty. She has that infectious enthusiasm of youth as she describes working with Foster, the menagerie of animals, and the animal’s trainer. Even so, expect quite a few uncomfortable gaps of silence.

There are three deleted scenes (15:29) that reveal an entire plot point that was deleted from the film: the inclusion of fictional characters, like Huckleberry Finn and Alice in Wonderland, that interact with the imaginative Nim. The second reveals another actor left on the cutting room floor, Alexandra’s assistant. The third scene is an extension of the whale theme found in the film.

The Nim’s Friends featurette (6:17) focuses on animals found in the film and the training required. We see Breslin evolve from discomfort with Selkie the sea-lion, Fred the bearded dragon, and Galileo the pelican, to outright affection, even for the little lizard. I’m not convinced that I’d be willing to kiss a sea lion. Abigail’s Journey featurette (6:42) is a short love letter to the young actress by Foster and the co-directors. We learn, not surprisingly, that much of what she experienced in the making of the film was very new to her. The third featurette, Working on Water (6:07), is the most interesting. We learn about Breslin’s training and the challenges of underwater work.

The Nim´s Spyglass Bonus View Mode is the Picture-in-Picture feature that requires a Profile 1.1 player.

There are three games oriented to the younger set that I did not explore: Write Your Own Alex Rover Island Adventure; Coconut Soccer; and, Seaside Shuffle.

Nim’s Island Trivia Track is a text-based feature that pops up factoids about Cast and Crew, Page to Screen, Science and Education, and Behind the Scenes.

The 96-minute film is organized into sixteen chapters.

Final Thoughts

Nim’s Island is better than I expected, but seems aimed at a young audience willing to believe in the sentience of several animals portrayed as far too a smart for an adult to accept. Jodie Foster’s role and performance is also quite a departure for her; perhaps she needed to kick back after the brutal intensity of The Brave One. The presentation is quite nice and the supplements are fine too. But this is a family film that perhaps the youngsters might enjoy more than the rest of the family.