For as long as I can remember, I’ve had something of a preoccupation with stranded-on-a-remote-island stories. That delightful premise has brought me Swiss Family Robinson, Gilligan’s Island, Castaway and LOST, which seems like the culmination of a lifelong obsession. But while LOST may have perfected that particular niche, I will never tire of stories in that vein, so I was excited to see the promos for Walden Media’s latest film, Nim’s Island, directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin.

Though I’d never heard of the book on which it is based, I’ve been pretty impressed with Walden’s efforts thus far, so with the lush location, reliable company and noteworthy cast – Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler – I expected that I was in for a treat. I was not disappointed.

Nim (Breslin) is the self-sufficient young daughter of respected scientist Jack Rusoe (Butler), who’s been living with her on an island they discovered on a trip around the world seven years ago following the death of her mother (Shannon van der Life). It’s the perfect place for him to study strange natural phenomena and find new species, and it’s populated with friendly animals who teach Nim all sorts of fascinating lessons about her world.

Not that she’s entirely isolated from the rest of humanity; Jack somehow has managed to rig up Internet access, so there’s no shortage of information, and though no one knows the exact coordinates of the island, he periodically goes out to meet supply ships. Along with some basic necessities, these shipments include books about Alex Rover, a swash-buckling adventurer who Nim adores.

When strangers threaten the island just as a sudden storm prevents Jack’s swift return from a scientific mission and Nim receives an e-mail from the real Alex (Foster), the author of the series, the contact seems serendipitous. If anyone can get her out of this mess, surely it’s her hero! Little does she realize that the Alex she loves is a fabrication and that his creator is afraid to step outside her own house, let alone travel halfway around the world on a dubious rescue mission. Can she summon up the hero inside herself for the sake of a child in need?

Breslin is charming as the titular Nim, who is remarkably self-assured and intelligent but still needs nurturing. This must have been a very fun role for her, living in a perfect playground and interacting with affable seals, pelicans and lizards. Foster is great as the agoraphobic author, taking her character’s insecurities to comical levels but making us sympathetic to her plight and rooting for her transformation into a woman more like the Indiana Jones-like character who does all her living for her. Her interplay with Butler is especially interesting, as there is a very real sense of affection between the creator and the character, and it’s easy to forget that he does not exist. It’s an interesting commentary on how real characters can become to those who invent them.

Butler is irresistible as the funny, vivacious Alex, acting as both a comfort to Nim and a coaxer to Alexandra. When they bicker, she is merely arguing with herself, but just as my heart just about broke when the inanimate Wilson floated away in Castaway, I found myself totally invested in the relationship between the two Alexes. Butler’s Alex was the most engaging character in the film for me, which makes sense since, as he points out early in the movie, everyone loves him. That’s not such a tall order when you’re a fictional hero. But true-to-life heroes are a bit more complicated, as Nim and Alexandra are about to learn. I have to give Butler extra props here; while I most enjoyed his performance as Alex, he also portrays Jack, which I didn’t realize until the credits rolled. Having him play both parts introduces another level of symbolism, but the effect is subtle since he makes the roles so different from each other.

While this movie, with its extravagant tree house (complete with zip lines), friendly native wildlife and light tone, is more similar in tone to Swiss Family Robinson than LOST, but although the book predates my favorite show, I can’t help drawing a few comparisons. I assume the name Rusoe is a take on Crusoe, as in Robinson, but it also makes me think of Rousseau, the crazy French lady who’s lived on LOST’s island for 16 years and can fend for herself quite well, though solitude has made her quite lonely. Jack, of course, shares a name with the heroic doctor, while Alex happens to be the name of Rousseau’s island-raised daughter, and as in LOST, one of the movie’s central conflicts involves industrialists seeking to take advantage of the island.

Fans of ABC’s most mystifying serial might enjoy making such connections, even if they are coincidental. Then again, some will no doubt find Nim’s Island corny by comparison. Certainly this PG-rated film is considerably more kid-friendly; in fact, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it to exceed a G rating, as there’s no language that I noticed and the action is never more intense than something one might encounter in the average animated Disney feature. But it’s a lovely little film with engaging characters, a stirring score by Patrick Doyle and lush cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh. Filmed in Australia, it’s a feast for the eyes, especially in an eerily beautiful scene with Breslin and novice actor Maddison Joyce, who takes a small part and makes it memorable enough that I hope to see more of him in the future.

Nim’s Island is yet more evidence of the quality of Walden Media’s output, and it may draw more readers to a series that doesn’t seem to have gotten a lot of attention thus far. I plan to look it up myself, especially in hopes of learning the inspiration for Nim’s name, the significance of which the movie does not explore. It explores a lot of other things, though, so if you’re in the mood for a light-hearted island adventure, set sail for Nim’s Island.

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Feel-good Movie