Trueblue94, you're certainly not the only American kid who grew up adoring this movie - I loved it too! I don't even know how my family ended up with a copy of it, my parents probably recorded it off some cable channel. We had a whole huge collection of tapes that they'd recorded kids movies on when they had free cable for a little while. They literally got dozens upon dozens of movies, recording everything they could while they had the Disney channel for free. That's my best guess as to how I ended up with a copy of 'Dot and the Whale'.
All I can say is, however I came to have a copy of that movie, I'm sure glad I did. I watched it non-stop, to the point where my older brothers still tease me about it. But I have to say, I wish I could talk to the original author of the Dot series, or the people who made this movie, so that i could tell them just how much it influenced my life. I can't say I remember the entire film, but I remember the general idea of it - that anyone, no matter how small, can make a difference if they have heart and a good work ethic. I'm proud to say I've followed Dot's example; every time I've come up against an injustice, whether big or small, I've tried to do what I could to make it right. I haven't saved any whales, but I protected kids from a gang of greedy corporate lawyers, I helped make sure that China's cheating at the Olympics resulted in the first revoked medals that country has ever seen, and the list goes on from there.
And I have Dot to thank for it. I have no doubt in my mind that 'Dot and the Whale' is the single spark that led to my over-developed sense of righteous indignation.
I've been meaning to try and find a copy of the movie for a while now. I'm psyched to have finally found it on YouTube. I can't wait to watch it again, nearly 20 years later!
Anyway. I just wanted to say, you're not alone, Trueblue. I loved that movie too.
This had to be my most favorite kid movie of all time. Of course, my mom made me sell it at a garage sale when I became "too old". *sigh* I wonder if I'm the only American kid who knows of this movie's existance?
