Kids in London - Nim's Island

My teenage son and I wanted to see Indy in his latest action adventure and kept breaking out into the song. But my 10 year old daughter looked dangerously close to entering the tantrum zone so we relented and went along to see "Nim's Island".

Well, even if you have teeny tiny kids this is a winner. From almost the first scene there is a lovable large seal doing suitably amusing tricks (playing football, speaking, hugging lonely child etc) and a cute crested lizardy thing making rude noises, scaring the baddies and also hugging lonely child.

The scenary is spectacular and if I knew the location of this secret island I too might try - like the baddie Buccaneers in the film - to take a holiday there. Chances are though that some mega-film star or Richard Branson already owns it.

Anyway. The film moves at a reptilian pace - a kind of single parent version of Swiss Family Robinson. Widowed Dad who is a scientist in search of a new prozoan (no, this is not really explained - and neither is the phosperant kind which means that my daughter thinks it was magical fairy glowing protozoans)who has taken his 11 year old daughter out of school to live on an idyllic island. Who cares about SATs and GCSEs eh?

In yet another act of gross negligence the father goes off in the sailing boat alone searching for micro-organisms leaving his daughter on island alone because she wants to be around when the turtle babies hatch...we know how he feels about giving in to 10 year old girls rather than having the BIG ROW.

Anyway. A really big storm means that Dad is left in a wrecked boat with only the super-smart pelican Gallileo to help by catching fish, bringing tools from the island and acting as a sort of living sat-nav system.

Meanwhile, daughter on island strikes up email correspodence with who she thinks is her action packed hero (and he is SOOOOO like Indiana Jones we thought that actually we had won the pre-cinema negotiation) but is really the author who is Jodie Foster.

And here's the interesting point - Jodie looks really OLD. Wrinkles around the mouth, sinewy arms and really just, well, old. Bit of a change from The Accussed and Silence of the Lambs. Anyway. There are some laughs along the way but it is a bit slow and only really saved by the fab animal interactions.

Those with kids under 10 can be sure that this will provide a suitable diversion during what is set to be a pretty rainy half term. Maybe tomorrow we'll persuade my daughter - if the rain continues - to come and meet Indiana Jones for the first time - then the rest of the week if the rain continues we can get the old movies out of the attic....