Nim's Island

Nim's Island (2008), starring Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin, and Gerard Butler.

The film follows Abigail Breslin's character of the title, who lives with her scientist father (Gerard Butler) with her 3 island animal companions, a pelican, a sea lion and a CG lizard, called Fred. Nim loves the novels of Alex Rover, an Indiana Jones/Rick O'Connel type character, who travels the world looking for adventure and finding trouble. Jodie Foster plays Alexandra Rover, the agrophobic author of said novels, who talks to her creation in her head, played also by Gerard Butler. She gets in touch with Nim by accident and in response to a plea from Nim sets off to help her out, despite going through palpitations that would need a very big paper bag to calm her down!
Foster plays this role fantastically reminding the public that she can do something other than her usual, of late, intense natured acting. For me she carries the movie and it is a joy to see her do something more comic for a change.

Butler plays his role fantastically as well, toeing the line between comic for the role of Alex Rover and dramatic when he is lost at sea as the father. The chemistry that Butler and Foster have needs to be reused in another film in my view.

Out of the three it is Abigail Breslin in the title role that fails to bring the magic to the screen that she delivered with Little Miss Sunshine and also Definitely Maybe. The majority of the laughs while she is onscreen come from the animals, mainly the sealion.

The movie holds together well, even if you are fooled into believing pirates are gonna ransack the island, but overall it didn't have the adult factor that it could have done. The solid and humouress appearence of Foster is what makes this movie worth watching.
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆