'Dolphin Tale' is just a fluke

Based on the life of Winter, an amputee dolphin with an unusual prosthetic tail, "Dolphin Tale" comes from the producers of "The Blind Side" and seems clearly inspired by the faith-based marketing success of that film, and others like "Secretariat" and "Soul Surfer." As a result, "Dolphin Tale" spends almost as much time carefully courting a specific audience as it does telling its story.

Winter, playing herself (she's very natural), is a Florida bottlenose who washes up on a beach with her tail caught in a crab trap. Sawyer (Nathan Gamble), a lonely 11-year-old, soothes Winter until the rescue team arrives and later volunteers at the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she struggles to survive. Unfortunately, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr., barely breathing) must remove Winter's infected tail, delivering a potential death sentence.

Meantime, Sawyer's cousin Kyle (Austin Stowell), a wounded Iraq War veteran, comes under the care of eccentric prosthetics doctor Cameron McCarthy (a refreshingly lively Morgan Freeman). That gives Sawyer his lightbulb moment and, conveniently, gives the film a chance to strike an ingratiating, patriotic pose.

"Dolphin Tale" often feels like a list of faith-based talking points. It covers home schooling (Sawyer's mother, played by Ashley Judd, exists mainly to lament the lousy state of public education) and includes an obligatory scene of prayer. Dr. Haskett's father (Kris Kristofferson) speaks in semi-sermons ("You are sorely lost, son"), and even the marine hospital feels like a church stand-in, rallying the community around a dolphin charity case.

Director Charles Martin Smith ("Never Cry Wolf") dutifully covers these bases, making the movie much longer and more tiresome than necessary. Nearly two hours of corn and coded messages, "Dolphin Tale" will test the patience of viewers of all faiths and ages.

PLOT The true story of an amputee dolphin who gains a new tail.

CAST Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr. (RATING: PG)

LENGTH 1:47.

PLAYING AT Area theaters, some in 3-D.

BOTTOM LINE At nearly two hours, this corny feel-good movie may not pass the fidget-test for young viewers or adults. (mild scares for very young viewers)