At Ecorazzi, we love us some whales, sharks and dolphins, preferably when they’re able to enjoy a good swim in the ocean without the threat of harpoons, fishing net entanglement or finning looming large. Frankly, every planetary citizen should give them props – whales for their ability to fight global warming (thanks to a funky little process known as fecal fertilization), sharks for their “ecological balance and biological control of other species” and dolphins for the evolution they made from land to sea.

To some, the benefit of ocean crusaders such as Pierce Brosnan and Paul McCartney working to highlight the value that these marine creatures have in our ecosystem is almost as valuable as the entertainment industry’s more mainstream focus on marine-themed film projects such as:

• Ric and Lincoln O’Barry’s Blood Dolphins documentary.
• Malcolm Wright’s Whale Like Me documentary.
• The Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski flick, Everybody Loves Whales (set to shoot next month).
• Sharktopus….oh, just kidding!
• Ryan Reynold’s The Whale, a documentary about the true story of a killer whale named Luna.

The newest entry in the marine creature feature category is called Dolphin Tale, the true story of a boy who befriended a 3 month old rescued dolphin (named Winter) that lost its tail and two vertebrae in a crab trap back in 2005 (the complete details of which are revealed on the Clearwater Marine Aquarium website). Harry Connick Jr. has signed on to play the marine biologist who treated the dolphin, Morgan Freeman will be portraying the doctor who created her prosthetic tail, Ashley Judd is going to play the boy’s mother and Winter the dolphin will actually be starring as herself.

Currently in production with a target release date of September 2011, those who are touched should definitely take some time to watch this remarkably inspirational video which documents Winter’s real life story and lengthy recovery process. Triumph of the spirit, indeed!

Via Cinema Blend