Big Miracle

Big Miracle is a dramatization of Operation Breakthrough, a multinational effort in 1988 to free three California gray whales trapped underneath the arctic ice. With winter threatening to freeze the only small hole of water through which they could rise for air, Big Miracle tells the story of people from all walks of life descending on Barrow, Alaska to attempt to save the creatures before they drown.

ClearPlay In Action!

The only issues ClearPlay deals with in this rated PG movie are blasphemous exclamations and a fair number of the lesser swear words (the H word, for instance). With little to filter and a true to life animal rescue story, this is a good film for the entire family.

Will I Have a Whale of Time with Big Miracle?…

Due to the film’s subject matter, I was expecting a sappy cheese–fest. While there are a couple of hokey bits, Big Miracle elevates itself by poking wry fun at environmentalists, reporters, politicians, and corporations, all with a helping of 1980s nostalgia. Depending on your perspective, the massive resources used to rescue three whales might be a gigantic waste of money or a demonstration of humanity’s nobler side. In either case, Big Miracle shows that human beings with different motives, personalities, and backgrounds can work together for a common cause.

Brian Fuller—ClearPlay Alaska Reporter

Rated PG for language; 107 min; Directed by Ken Kwapis