Parents' Guide to

Beneath the Blue

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Fact-based dolphin tale has some tense moments.

Movie PG 2010 92 minutes
Beneath the Blue Poster Image

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What's the Story?

BENEATH THE BLUE is a 2010 drama that addresses the concerns of many marine-life scientists trying to protect dolphins from poachers and lethal underwater government sonar testing. An actual court case about Navy testing is cited. Alyssa (Caitlin Wachs) helps her scientist father, Hawk (David Keith), who has developed a language humans and dolphins can use to communicate with each other. When Craig (Paul Wesley), an attractive young man, inserts himself into the lab, Caitlin falls for him but (spoiler alert) he turns out to be a spy for a dolphin poacher. It's later revealed that Craig, an undercover ensign in the U.S. Navy, thought he was following legitimate Navy orders but was in fact being manipulated by a greedy rogue lieutenant. The dolphin is abducted and recovered.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

The filmmakers do a solid and intelligent job of weaving a fictional tale of romance and marine biology espionage with the facts of a real-life legal dispute. The conflict here is between environmentalists and the U.S. Navy over its lethal underwater sonar-testing policy. This sequel (with a different cast) to the 2006 Eye of the Dolphin, was also shot in the Bahamas. Underwater footage of humans romping with playful dolphins is beautiful and engaging.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's message. Does it seem like an evenhanded look at efforts to save marine wildlife?

  • Do you think a fictional portrayal is an effective way of explaining a real-life problem to an audience? How would a documentary or TV news story do it differently?

  • How can you tell if the information in a fictionalized portrayal is trustworthy?

Movie Details

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