Racist fantasy is never a good start for a children's film, or any film, for that matter.
1 Comment
04/04/08
Nim's Island (2008)
49
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:95
Fresh:47
Rotten:48
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Despite good intentions, Nim's Island flounders under an implausible storyline, simplistic stock characters, and distracting product placement.
Theatrical Release:02-05-2008
Synopsis: Based on the popular children's novel of the same name by Wendy Orr, NIM'S ISLAND follows the adventures of Nim Rusoe (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE's Abigail Breslin), a spirited young girl who lives on a... [More]
Starring: Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin
Director: Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Reviews for Nim's Island
More intimately scaled than a lot of other recent children's book adaptations, the sweet-natured and light-hearted Nim's Island nonetheless achieves a nice hold over its audience.
04/04/08
Jodie Foster returns to her kiddie film roots with the warm and whimsical Nim's Island
04/04/08
I'm not going to quibble too much with a harmless adventure flick meant for tween girls. Then again, I'm not going to knock myself out recommending it, either.
04/04/08
... neither particularly fantastic nor adventurous.
04/04/08
For adults, a grueling exercise in patience and endurance, especially in watching actors that we know can do better lowering themselves to try to mold themselves into some fictitious kid-friendly formula.
04/04/08
The only wonder eventually elicited by Nim's Island is of a mystified variety.
04/04/08
A children's movie obviously straining to be magical that falls far short of the goal.
04/04/08
Nim's Island is all too insular, lost in its own unique universe somewhere between Swiss Family Robinson and Joe vs. the Volcano.
04/04/08
Tweens, and particularly tween girls, will have a fine time cheering on the ever-resourceful Nim...
04/04/08
Nim's Island wants desperately to be Swiss Family Robinson, but it's more like Swiss Miss.
04/03/08
Despite its heart being in the right place, Nim's Island is a strikingly far-fetched and cloying picture that tries way too hard to be alternately juvenile and bittersweet.
04/03/08
What kind of world do we live in when a massively talented actress like Jodie Foster becomes the comic relief character in a kid's movie and is called upon to pretend to vomit (twice)? It doesn't ruin Nim's Island, but it doesn't help.
04/03/08
Good spirited, [but] rushed and clumsy.
04/03/08
devolves into a slapdash version of Home Alone on holiday
04/03/08
Some nice scenery, an unexpectedly funny performance by Jodie Foster and a unflaggingly spunky Abigail Breslin make for above average family entertainment.
04/03/08
Such an air of dumbness hovers over the movie, and it's all played so broadly that nothing about it is remotely believable.
04/03/08
A slapdash amalgam of competing visual and storytelling styles, bizarre acting, egregious product placement (particularly for National Geographic) and negative stereotypes.
04/03/08
...an amalgamation of "Romancing the Stone" (writer leaves safe life to experience adventure), "Cloak & Dagger" (same actor portrays father and literary hero) and "Home Alone" (kid fends off adult home invaders).
04/03/08
This supposed adventure movie could use a little more wind in its sails.
04/03/08
Latest News for Nim's Island
August 04, 2008:
RT on DVD: Watch an Exclusive Clip from Starship Troopers: Marauder
Sparred by the triumphant onscreen return of a certain Johnny Rico, we turn our DVD-minded focus to a few stars of yesterday popping up in new DVD releases this week: Casper van... More...
July 13, 2008:
Jodie 'Brave One' Foster is still peeved, though now it's less about what bad people do, than how icky their unsanitary their germs are. And she isn't half bad either doing a divine nitwit dining on worms or playing soccer with a coconut in the wilds. 
More...
June 04, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Carrie Beats Indy
It was grizzled masculinity versus shopping-obsessed, emotionally-open womanhood at the box office this week -- yep; Indy Jones battled Carrie Bradshaw, with the archeologist... More...
May 07, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Summer Season Begins With a Bang
Summer box office season began with a bang last Friday, with Iron Man the first of the pumped up, big-budget teen-friendly blockbusters to emerge from the bowels of the... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds