Inspired by A True Story: Dolphin Tale

Dolphin Tale is a 2011 family drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi and a book of the same name. It stars Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, and Morgan Freeman.

The book and film are "inspired by the amazing true story of Winter", a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. She lost her tail after becoming tangled in as rope attached to a crab trap and had to be fitted with a prosthetic one


Harry Connick Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett
Nathan Gamble as Sawyer Nelson
Ashley Judd as Lorraine Nelson
Kris Kristofferson as Reed Haskett
Morgan Freeman as Dr. Cameron McCarthy
Cozi Zuehlsdorff as Hazel Haskett


Differences between the movie and actual events

In the movie Winter is found stranded on a beach near Clearwater, by a fisherman sitting on the shore (and rescued with Sawyer's assistance). In real life, Winter was found in Mosquito Lagoon (on the opposite side of the state), not on a beach, by a fisherman in the lagoon, and no children were involved.

In the movie it is mentioned that Winter's tail was amputated due to infection caused by the tail being caught in the rope. In real life, the loss of blood supply to the tail (from being caught in the rope) caused the tail to naturally fall off.

In the movie the process of developing Winter's tail takes place over a few weeks by a Veteran's Administration doctor working during his vacation. In real life, the process of developing a suitable tail (and attaching it) took well over a year by Kevin Carroll and a team of experts from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics.

In the movie Clearwater Marine Hospital (already struggling from financial issues) is severely damaged by a hurricane and faces closure, only to be dramatically saved by "Save Winter Day". In real life, Clearwater Marine Aquarium did not face any such financial pressures, either before or after Winter's arrival.

Dolphin Tale 2 (2014)




The team of people who saved Winter's life reassemble in the wake of her surrogate mother's passing in order to find her a companion so she can remain at the Clearwater Marine Hospital.

Director:
Charles Martin Smith
Writers:
Charles Martin Smith, Karen Janszen (characters), 1 more credit »
Stars:
Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble | See full cast and crew »