'Dolphin Tale 2' Opens Friday: Are You Going?

The spotlight will once again shine on Clearwater and its famous finned resident Winter when “Dolphin Tale 2” opens Friday.

The story of the plucky dolphin with a prosthetic tail won hearts across the world when the first movie debuted in 2011. The second edition of Winter’s story reunites the main cast from the first movie with such actors as Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Austin Stowell coming together to portray the search for a new companion for Winter.

Winter resides at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where she is arguably the facility’s most famed resident. The aquarium’s website even uses the URL www.SeeWinter.com. Winter is now housed with a companion named Hope, who was rescued 5 years and 1 day after Winter, the aquarium’s website says.

While animals, such as Winter and Hope, are on display, the aquarium’s main purpose is to serve as a “hospital for sick and injured marine life,” its website explains. “However, what we do is so much more. We inspire the human spirit, through the animals and their stories of survival, which touch us all.”

The 249 Windward Passage aquarium is also involved in scientific research and has a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release animals in its care.

“Dolphin Tale 2” opens in theaters across the country Friday.

What do you think about Winter and her story of survival? Are you planning to see “Dolphin Tale 2?” Tell us what you think by commenting below.

Photo credit: Patch File Photo