Big fun for the familyBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
Without the magic tricks of Pixar animation and with limited special effects, Big Miracle is a big treat for the entire family. Inspired by a true story in the late '80's about the effort to save three whales trapped in Alaskan ice, director Ken Kwapis deftly navigates between oil companies that want to exploit the region and Greenpeace workers who want to save the whole place, above and below the ice. His use of news footage from the original story adds a welcome realism.
Big Miracle is especially effective showing all sides of the rescue effort, from working with the solid ice and below 0 temperatures to revealing the politics from the president of the US to the prime minister of Russia.
The complicated negotiations to save three animals should show children the many facets of people with different agendas and how cooperation and compromise are the answer to success.
The pedestrian parts such as the romance between Greenpeace's Rachel (Drew Barrymore) and reporter Adam (John Krasinski) are thankfully brief and restrained, and predictable. The respect for Inuit intuition about the whales' habits is not overdone either. However, Ted Danson as the big bad oilman is over the top although surprisingly short of caricature due largely to Danson's charm playing the good and bad side of the tycoon with a measure of humor.
The story of the many avenues to be taken before saving the whales is told in a straightforward fashion with respect to the natural and political challenges inherent in an effort that is seen globally. Unlike smarmy animated stories popular today, Big Miracle is almost old fashioned.
And that's not a bad thing.
John DeSando co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain He is also a film critic for Fox 28. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com