Nim's Island

Based on Wendy Orr’s youthful feminized spin on Robinson Crusoe, "Nim’s Island" is a low-key adventure comedy for preteens that will touch the hearts of their gooey-eyed parents. Abigail Breslin plays Nim, the daughter of Jack Rusoe (played by Gerard Butler), a scientist slash writer who’s made an idyllic life for them on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. When she isn’t frolicking with her wild animal friends, Nim reads Alex Rover adventure novels written by Alexandra Rover (played by Jodie Foster), an agoraphobic San Francisco author. Nim gets a double dose of trouble when her dad’s two-day boating expedition leaves him stranded at sea, just as a cruise ship company broaches the small island with the intention of turning it into a regular destination. Nim’s SOS e-mail to Alexandra shakes the writer out of her comfort zone to risk going to the island to rescue Nim. Even if Foster’s attendant pratfalls fail to register many laughs, the movie’s overall feel-good tone chimes like a bell.

Rated PG, 95 mins. (B)