Abigail Breslin plays the title charter in this adapation of a kid novel by Wendy Orr. She’s a bright and capable eleven-year-old living alone with her scientist dad (Gerard Butler) on a remote island near Borneo. She’s in love with the Indiana Jones stories of Alex Rover. They’re so outlandish that even an eleven-year-old wouldn't believe they are true stories, as their agoraphobic author (Jodie Foster) is apparently passing them off as. (This is a foolish alteration from the book.) Dad’s sudden disappearance brings these characters, the girl and the timid author, together in ways that will be fairly predictable to older audience members, who may or may not care for the other fantasy element, Nim’s apparent ability to command the birds and lizards on the island, though apparently not her pet sea lion. What should be most appealing is Nim’s independence. She climbs a volcano, scares off potential tourist invaders, and even fixes the rooftop solar panel. Despite calling on a fictional dude for help, Nim becomes “the hero of her own story.” Kids should lap it up, and they’ll be amused by Alexandra the author’s imagined conversations with Alex the adventurer, also played by Butler.
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viewed 4/5/08; reviewed 4/5 and 4/6/08
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