Product Details

• Actors: Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin, Michael Carman, Mark Brady
• Directors: Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
• Writers: Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, Joseph Kwong, Paula Mazur, Wendy Orr
• Producers: Alan Edward Bell
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Surround), French (Stereo), Spanish (Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: August 5, 2008
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001APZMJI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,524 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Nim's Island (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Adventure doesn't always begin with pirates on the high seas or explorers deep in the desert; sometimes it starts with an idyllic life on a private island in the middle of the South Asiatic Sea. For 11-year old Nim (Abigail Breslin) and her father and microbiologist Jack Russo (Gerard Butler), life is perfect thanks to their love of nature, Jack's mechanical ingenuity, and regular deliveries via supply ship. Loneliness is never an issue for Nim because of her special friendships with Selkie the sea lion, Galileo the pelican, and Freddie the iguana and her education is intensive, if rather unique. Adventure and imagination are ways of life for Nim whether she's heading out to sea to help her father collect plankton specimens, playing soccer on the beach with Selkie, or delving into the latest Alex Rover adventure novel, but everything changes when Jack departs on the boat for a two-night expedition to collect plankton specimens and gets caught in an unexpected storm. Alone on the island, Nim begins to worry about her father's safety as well as her own and, through a chance email, connects with Alex Rover (Jodie Foster) whom she begs to come help find her father. Problem is, author Alexandra Rover is an unbalanced big city shut-in who's afraid to leave her townhouse, not the fearless adventure hero portrayed in her books. Nim, Alexandra, and Jack embark upon the adventures of a lifetime in which each must overcome his or her own fears and perceived powerlessness and limitations in order to grow and help one another. The question is; can each prevail against his or her own insecurities and the fury of nature? Based on the novel Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, Nim's Island is first and foremost a captivating adventure full of suspense and peril which also offers a touching look at the love between a father and daughter. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

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Stills from Nim’s Island (Click for larger image)

Product Description

Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin) lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack (Gerard Butler) and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard; and Galileo, a plucky pelican. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is "invaded," Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author (Jodie Foster) of her favorite books, and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute one for the kids July 22, 2008

By wiredweird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

This lightweight bit of fluff actually has a bit more substance than I expected, but nearly enough mass to bog it down. On the surface, it's a kid-empowerment movie. Nim, the nine year old girl, is adventurous, interested in everything, and fiercely self-reliant. Alex (that's Alexandra, much to the surprise of people expecting a male Alex) is too timid to open the front door, and gets carsick before the car even starts moving. Nim is fearless and Alex is omniphobic. Still, once their friendship forms, Alex overcomes her fear of everything but her shadow to help Nim when disasters leave her alone, hurt, and frightened.

The two main characters balance beautifully. Nim is yound and bold, by nature, but still a little girl who gets scared when truly scary things happen. Alex embodies timidity, but has a core of mousy bravery that rises to the occasion. Nim lives in the world of Alex's adventure stories, which turn real around her as she reads them; Alex lives with the characters she writes, too, but has a much more argumentative relationship with them. A few other things come across nicely, too: the pervasive love of reading, nearly lost in today's media-mad world, and the image of scientist-geek as loving, strong, and physically competent. The girl-power message is there too, without being exclusive or overbearing. And despite a positive view of science, Nim brings a touch of magic, too.

I might not remember this one a week from now, but it's great entertainment for any kid in your life (with a very few slightly scary moments). If you have a rainy afternoon, have a blast.

-- wiredweird

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Nim's Island" is a fun-filled fantasy for nearly all ages. August 16, 2008

By Steven Hedge

Format:DVD

This is exactly the kind of film I've been waiting for Jody Foster to do. I always knew she had this well-hidden comedic side. In addition, Gerard Butler makes a great Scottish Indiana Jones!

Again, Amazon has done a nice job summarizing the film, so not much of that here. This is just a special film to me because I just love how this family friendly film intertwines fantasy, adventure, relationships and love into one clever package. Gerard Butler does terrific double duty as Abigail Breslin's father and Jodie Foster's alter ego who gives her the courage to face her fears to save Breslin who has been separated from her father on their island, which has been "invaded" (another clever storyline). Foster must get over her fear of the outside world in order to get to Breslin's character on that isolated island and those moments when she battle with herself and her alter ego (Bulter) are the show stopping moments for me.

The films sparkles with originality and heart. I was delighted by the performances and left smiling when the closing credits ran. This film may not delight all though. It is an awkward mix and bounces around wildly as if the writer and director had forgotten to take their A.D.D. medications, but for some, like me, that is the charm of this film, but for others, that can grate on one's nerves. It's a matter of taste.

Although just a bit too uneven at times, I completely enjoyed this film.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice story, not the book! January 10, 2011

By JLL

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

My three children have all read Nim's Island at some point and loved it so we decided to check out the movie and purchased it for Christmas this year. I should clarify this review is based on our love of the book, which is short and could have easily been made into a movie without changing it. Well, Hollywood was lucky (or unlucky) enough to get the wonderful Jodi Foster and Gerard Bulter (who are both great), however, it ended up causing them to change the story completely to "satisfy" the big names. While the book focuses on Nim's life on the island (her daily routines and getting food etc), her relationship with the animals and her relationship with Alexandra via email, the movie does none of those things. It instead, focuses on the big stars of Jodi Foster and Gerard Butler and creates a dialogue between her character Alex Rover (Butler) and the extra-reclusive Alexandra (Foster). I don't think they had much of a choice landing such big stars, they had to use them but it totally changes the story in the book. The most endearing aspect of the book is the wonderful relationship of Nim and Alexandra via email and Nim and her animals. Those relationships are diluted down and lose all potency as we are forced to endure the Alexandra's (Foster) agoraphobia/social anxiety disorder and have Nim endangering her animals by flinging them in a catapult? What? I am not an animal expert but I would consider flinging your "pet" a hundred yards in a wok-catapult is abuse! So in summary this has the characters of the book but doesn't follow the story there. Nothing is the same as the book save for the very beginning and the very, very end. So if you are looking for a cute story and nice acting but don't expect this to follow the story then it is worth watching, as for us, we wanted the book relationships not a study on the psychology of overcoming agoraphobia! I was going to list all the differences of the book versus movie but it would be everything! They even changed Trop Tourists and their interesting hats to Buccaneers and gave their unlikable tourists a lot of screen time. Too bad really. Hope that helps!