**1/2

Nim (Abigail Breslin from “Little Miss Sunshine” which I have never seen) is a girl who lives on an uncharted island with her dad, a marine biologist named Jack (Gerald Butler). Nim thinks she is living the perfect life. She has animal friends, a dad who loves her, and the Alex Rover book series. She loves the Alex Rover stories because of his taste for action and adventure.

Nim does not know that the writer of the series, Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) has not left her apartment for quite some time. She obsessively uses hand sanitizer and usually never leaves her computer. Alex also has an imaginary friend, the Alex Rover in her book series (Gerald Butler again.)

When Jack goes off to search for plankton on a solo two-day trip, Nim thinks everything is okay. Jack however, ends up in a monsoon, and his boat almost gets destroyed. In the meantime, Nim has to stop invaders from a cruise ship from coming on the island and ruining their beloved home.

When Jack does not return, Nim emails Alex asking for help, to come to the island and find her dad. Alex does so reluctantly, and many strange things happen to her.

“Nim’s Island” had its ups and downs for me. The CGI (Computer Graphic Imaging) animals were done very well. I was surprised at how they had e-mail and computers on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. Unfortunately the film is somewhat different then what the preview leads you to believe. I expected more action on the island once Jodie Foster arrived, and I thought it ended stupidly. The actors were smartly picked and Jodie Foster’s character was like Bob in “What About Bob,” in a chick form.

Mostly I was very disappointed because it wasn’t what I was expecting. Maybe elementary school children and adults will like this, not teenagers. Rated PG for mild adventure action and brief language.

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