I know that Remarkably Bright Creatures is a book-to-screen adaptation of a very popular and beloved novel. However, after watching this film with my Netflix subscription, I couldn’t help but compare it to a niche genre of movies I grew up watching. Then, by the end of it, I found myself feeling very nostalgic for stories I didn’t even realize I missed.
Remarkably Bright Creatures Left Me Feeling Nostalgic For Movies Like Free Willy And Dolphin Tale
Now, in this adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s novel, we follow Sally Field’s Tova as she works in an aquarium and befriends the octopus who lives there. She also develops an unlikely friendship with her replacement, Lewis Pullman’s Cameron. Over the course of the film on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, these three help each other heal and find home, and it’s a very moving yet uplifting tale.
Overall, it’s a story of found family, centered on themes of grief and friendship. It’s truly a lovely and unexpected tale that left me thinking a lot about life. And that reminded me of a niche subgenre of films I watched a lot as a kid that made me feel this way.
I’m, of course, talking about Free Willy, Dolphin Tale and other family-friendly movies about unconventional friendship that, oftentimes, involve some kind of animal or aquatic creature.
I remember that I watched Free Willy so much that our VHS Tape of it was starting to wear out. I adored this story of a boy becoming friends with and saving a whale. In the same vein, I was fond of the movie Dolphin Tale, too, which saw a kid help nurse a dolphin back to health after it lost its tail.
In Remarkably Bright Creatures, the octopus Marcellus helps Tova and Cameron just as much as they assist him, and it’s beautiful to see. It reminded me of these movies I grew up watching as a kid, too, and it made me very nostalgic for them. Now, I think we need more.
I Think We Need More Family-Friendly Movies About Unlikely Friendship That Are Uplifiting
Reviews for Remarkably Bright Creatures used adjectives like “warm,” “old-fashioned,” “traditionally heartwarming,” “touching,” and more. It was simply a wonderful story about people (and an octopus) who were trying to fit in and found hope and love with each other.
I don’t know about you, but I think we could use more comforting stories like that. I remember all these feelings watching Willy be freed during Free Willy, and I was very moved by the dolphin learning to swim again in Dolphin Tale. In the case of Remarkably Bright Creatures, I was deeply impacted by Tova, Cameron and Marcellus' journeys to find or come to terms with their homes. They helped each other heal, and that’s something we all need to see more of.
To put it simply, it's nice to see beings accepting one another, loving each other and helping each other as best we can. It’s really as simple as that, and it’s something these movies about humans and aquatic creatures have done very well.
While this genre is niche, the lessons often explored in it are universal. I learned from them growing up, and I did once again with Remarkably Bright Creatures. So, I'm truly overjoyed that this wave of nostalgia hit me so hard.
