Three years ago, Warner Bros. gave us (what felt like) the first live action marine animal family film since ‘Free Willy’. Although its concept was based on a true story – a beached dolphin was found with a nearly severed tail due to being caught in a trapper’s snare – the main narrative was as generic as could be. Obviously made for kids, the movie did well enough to spur a sequel that furthers the true story of the amputee dolphin, infusing it with just as much fluff as the first movie. Get ready for more of the same.

‘Dolphin Tale 2’ is set a few years after the events of the first movie. The entire cast returns – even if just for a few scenes – including the comic relief pelican to make the kids giggle. With her prosthetic tail, “Winter” is now a main attraction for the thriving marine animal hospital-turned-amusement park. However, a sad life event is about to throw Winter and those who work with her into a tailspin. You see, federal laws require that Winter be kept in a tank with another female dolphin. When Winter’s pal Panama dies of old age, the main human characters are told that they have one month to find another injured female for Winter to be paired with. For all involved, it’s doesn’t look good.

If the first movie was all about saving Winter, the sequel is all about saving those who care for her. In this ‘We Bought A Zoo’-like storyline, the hospital workers need Winter. The bad kid actors need her. The adults who pop up throughout (Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman and Harry Connick, Jr.) need her. But a bad government man is going to take her away if something doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, this plot isn’t enough to fill a feature-length movie. For that, two other true story survival and rehabilitation tales are thrown into the mix.

There’s no denying the generic simplicity of the ‘Dolphin Tale’ movies. I rejected the cookie-cutter first entry until I watched it with my oldest daughter, at which time I saw it through her eyes. Her curiosity about the sea was born through that movie. I remember having that same moment as a kid, but I luckily didn’t have to experience it with a bad movie. (Mine came from a hardcover Nat Geo book made for kids.) For that, I can’t entirely hate the ‘Dolphin Tale’ franchise. Truthfully, although they’re not good movies, they are good for kids – which is the only audience I can recommend watch this needless sequel.