Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

  • Starring: Abigail Breslin, Gerard Butler, Jodie Foster
  • Summary: Anything can happen on Nim's Island, a magical place ruled by a young girl's imagination. It is an existence that mirrors that of Nim's favorite literary character, Alex Rover, the world's greatest adventurer. But Alexandra, the author of the Rover books, leads a reclusive life in the big city. When Nim's father goes missing from their island, a twist of fate brings her together with Alexandra. Now, they must draw courage from their fictional hero, Alex Rover, and find strength in each other to conquer Nim's Island. (Fox Walden) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 24
  2. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. Exhilarating and enchanting family picture. It's the best I've seen this year and highly recommended for girls and for boys, too.
  2. Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    75
    For all its limitations, the film still looks terrific. Flawless CGI and forays into animation keep things visually lively, and Nim’s enviable life is likely to hook kids into the story early and keep them entranced.
  3. Reviewed by: Helen O'Hara
    60
    Smarter than it sounds and carried by a very funny performance by Foster, this is a kids’ movie that’s bearable for adults too.
  4. The movie's dated, stereotypical comedy often contradicts its wholesome intentions, coming across as laboriously cutesy and occasionally perverse.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. AriN.
    9
    It was a cool movie. I liked it because it was a thriiler adventuere. I really thought it should have gotten a better review. -ari
  2. It's mostly Home Alone on a tropical island with perhaps a touch of Mowgli. It's all rather Disneyesque but the talented Abigail Breslin and the charming setting keep it entertaining enough to watch. Jodie Foster's performance as an agoraphobic writer, however, takes the movie that extra mile. Well above the usual family fare. Expand
  3. ChadS.
    7
    Who the hell does Jack Rusoe(Gerald Butler) think he is? MacGyver? "Nim's Island" comes equipped with two teams of screenwriters. Maybe, just maybe, the original pair of scribes preferred that Nim Rusoe(Abigail Breslin) be given the "Castaway" treatment, rather than have "Nim's Island" be a sort of "Home Alone on a Deserted Island", especially when the loner girl shoos away a boatload of tourists. For dramatic purposes, her father should be kept off-screen for the duration that he's lost at sea. But, alas, "Nim's Island" is a children's movie. And yet, Jodie Foster gives such an inspired comedic performance as a reclusive Emily Dickinson-type writer, a tension is created between the two narratives, because Alexandra Rover's story seems aimed at adults. Since Foster raises the game, you'll want Nim to exhibit the same psychological realism as Alexandra, an agraphobic, who's forced to become a hero like her alter-ego. But the island-alone girl never seems truly terrified at her prospects of being a sudden orphan. Neither do we, because "Nim's Island" includes Jack's progress with his leaky boat. There's never any doubt about his safety thanks to an anthromorphic(read: Disneyesque) pelican. It's a shame that the filmmakers didn't give the target audience a little more credit and throw more harm towards Nim's way, because Foster gives an Oscar-caliber performance in what essentially becomes a throwaway film. Collapse
  4. DecepticonPom
    1
    I've been seeing plenty of family movies with my nephew and niece recently and enjoyed some surprisingly decent romps but this is meanderring tosh! Jodie Foster is squandered on a potentially great role that ultimately serves no purpose whatsoever than to hang a tugidly flimsy and unexplored possible romance in the last 5 seconds. Garbage! Expand

See all 8 User Reviews

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