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Turtle Diary

Play trailer Poster for Turtle Diary PG 1985 1h 35m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Neara (Glenda Jackson) is a successful children's book author with a bad case of writer's block, so she looks to aquatic life for inspiration. At a London aquarium she chances on William (Ben Kingsley), a diffident bookseller with an enthusiasm for turtles. Musing over the hopelessly confined state of a group of tank-dwelling sea turtles, Neara and William, with the help of sympathetic zookeeper George (Michael Gambon), conspire to break the turtles free from captivity.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Geoff Andrew Time Out What's left is not quite Delia Swallow for grown-ups; but the bland world this film inhabits is almost as quaint, complacent and parochial. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times A small, eccentric, exquisitely acted comedy that manages to be as eerie as it is funny. Though it eventually seems somewhat less than the sum of its parts, it's a most engaging shaggy-turtle story. May 20, 2003 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Ben Kingsley's smile, so warm and mysterious, is the sun that shines all through "Turtle Diary." Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Ángel Fernández-Santos El Pais (Spain) The metaphor is so poor that Harold Pinter's talent doesn't manage to elevate the movie... provoking in viewers a feeling of frustration. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 22, 2020 Full Review TV Guide An intelligent, witty, offbeat, and somewhat eccentric comedy based on the novel by Russell Hoban. Rated: 3/4 Jul 3, 2015 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 29, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews
Audience Member Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley liberate turtles from an aquarium and return them to the sea in this charming, quirky comedy populated with peculiar people. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Loved this charming film! Such odd characters, and such an odd script, too, but lovely. Not everything is about the turtle caper, but also about their lives and how freeing the turtles freed themselves. Wonderful performances. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member [i]I am prejudiced, I like Ben Kingsley. Saw this movie a year ago, and[/i] [i]I want to see it again. There are relatively few movies in this film genre.[/i] [i]"Turtle Diary" has a good environmental theme and a pretty good love[/i] [i]story. Shows a great love for animals, in a logical format.[/i] [i]////[/i] Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Turtle Diary

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Turtle Diary

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Movie Info

Synopsis Neara (Glenda Jackson) is a successful children's book author with a bad case of writer's block, so she looks to aquatic life for inspiration. At a London aquarium she chances on William (Ben Kingsley), a diffident bookseller with an enthusiasm for turtles. Musing over the hopelessly confined state of a group of tank-dwelling sea turtles, Neara and William, with the help of sympathetic zookeeper George (Michael Gambon), conspire to break the turtles free from captivity.
Director
John Irvin
Producer
Richard Johnson
Screenwriter
Harold Pinter
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.2M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround