How could anything go wrong with a family adventure movie starring Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin? Nim’s Island, based on Wendy Orr’s popular young-adult novel, also boasts an inspiring theme -- discovering the hero within -- and a welcome emphasis on the heroism of two female characters. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most disappointing and disjointed films so far this year. Still, pre-teen girls will probably love the movie because of Breslin’s plucky performance as Nim, a youngster who faces considerable danger on a secluded island when her scientist father is lost in a terrible storm.  

Breslin, last seen in Definitely, Maybe and most famous for her Oscar-nominated turn in Little Miss Sunshine, seems to enjoy playing the intelligent and courageous Nim, especially in scenes with two of her animal friends, a noisy lizard and a dancing sea lion. But this wonderful little actress is placed in situations that strain credulity to the breaking point.  For example, after Nim suffers a nasty leg gash in a fall from the side of a volcano, she still walks, climbs trees and appears very active as if she’s in no pain at all. Also, Nim’s immediate negative reaction to the unlikely hero who comes to rescue her doesn’t ring true, considering the appealing character she’s shown us up to that point. And her extremely unhospitable behavior to other unexpected island visitors is very off- putting as well.       

Which brings us to the adult leads in Nim’s Island. Because Jodie Foster (The Brave One) and Gerard Butler (300) happen to be two of my favorite actors, I hate feeling negative about them in any of their films. However, they both deserve harsh criticism for their work in this particular outing. Trying her hand at slapstick, Foster fails by overdoing it at every turn. She portrays Alexandra Rover, the author of popular novels about a handsome male adventurer named Alex Rover (who looks just like Gerard Butler in an Indiana Jones get-up). Alexandra is the extreme opposite of the heroic character in her novels. She’s even afraid to open her door and walk to her mailbox. Through a set of incredulous circumstances, Alexandra finds out about Nim being alone on the island and decides to travel there to help. How I wanted to cheer her on for trying to be brave despite her frightening handicap! But those annoying pratfalls kept getting in the way.  

Butler plays a dual role as Nim’s father and the fantasy version of the fictional Alex Rover. He’s much better as the latter, but his dialogue in both cases comes across as quite ridiculous. Lost in a storm at sea, Nim’s dad bellows to the universe, “Mother Nature, send me back to Nim!” As Alex Rover, Butler is reduced to giving irritating pep talks to Alexandra or scolding her.    

Clearly, pulling together a unified story involving these three main characters must have been difficult, especially since scenes showing them interacting with each other are few and far between. Perhaps that’s why Nim’s Island appears so disorganized. Also, while watching this movie, I couldn’t help wondering how much better it might have been if presented in animation, an approach that would probably make it a lot easier to accept the unbelievable things happening on screen.

Closing on a positive note, though, I have to agree with my colleague Diana Saenger regarding what parents will appreciate about Nim’s Island. Diana says, “It's Nim's enthusiasm, optimism, resourcefulness and love of reading that parents will welcome when bringing their children to this movie.”

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated “PG” for mild adventure and brief language.)