The Clearwater Marine Aquarium and their beloved dolphin, Winter have been given quite the Hollywood treatment recently. Dolphin Tale, a feature film starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, is based off the inspiring, true recovery story of Winter the dolphin here in Clearwater.
The film was shot earlier this year in locations across Pinellas County including the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Admiral Farragut Academy, Honeymoon Island, and the Bay News 9 station. Dolphin Tale is a 3-D family movie based on the real, harrowing experience of Winter the dolphin.
If you're not familiar with the story, Winter was found off the coast of Florida caught and badly injured in a crab trap. She was brought to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in critical condition and miraculously nursed back to health, but not before her tail had to be amputated. With the help of leading veterinarians, Winter was eventually fitted with a prosthetic tail, the first of its kind, and now lives as a normal, functioning dolphin at the aquarium.
Dolphin Tale is based off the story of Winter with a young Nathan Gamble playing the boy who befriends the dolphin, Ashley Judd playing his mother, Morgan Freeman as the prosthetic doctor, and Harry Connick playing the vet who helps the dolphin get back to health.
Dolphin Tale will be released in Real D 3-D and normal 2-D in theaters on Friday, September 23. To get a glimpse of Winter, head to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium before the surge of tourism expected from the movie's release.
