Abigail Breslin is Nim Rusoe, a precocious 11-year-old being raised on a remote South Pacific island by her scientist dad Jack (Gerard Butler) after her mom was apparently swallowed by a whale in the surrounding waters. Proud of her own 'perfect secret world', Nim spends her days exploring nature, reading adventure stories, and socializing with her menagerie of animals - the local wildlife - including her best friend, Fred the Iguana.
But one day when Jack goes out boating and disappears during a violent storm, Nim finds herself home alone. That is, until the San Francisco writer of her favorite books, Alexandra/Alex Rover (Jodie Foster), emails Jack to do some research for her next wilderness tale. While Nim mistakenly believes she's communicating with the brave world explorer Alex, that she's been reading about avidly in Rover's books, Alexandra/Alex for her part thinks she corresponding with Dad.
When Alex finally figures out that Nim is stranded on the island by herself, she's determined to pack her bags and go protect the child. But there's one little problem, Alex is a deeply neurotic borderline agoraphobic, basically fearful of everything, who hasn't left her house in 16 weeks. So her biggest problem in embarking on her journey to the far off Pacific island, is figuring out how to get past her front door.
So full of panic, she has to be literally flung from her safety nest by Alex Rover- the main character in her popular adventure stories (also played by Gerard Butler), her imaginary confidante, creative inspiration, conscience and emotional crutch.
Nim's Island is a wondrous and warmhearted adventure story with some nifty special effects and some first-rate performances. Go see it with your kids or even just to get a laugh, and remember to have fun!
