 The book and film are inspired by the true story of Winter, a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.Winter lost her tail after becoming entangled with a rope attached to a crab trap, and was fitted with a prosthetic one.The film was released on September 23, 2011, by Warner Bros. Pictures; "Dolphin Tale" received positive reviews from critics and earned $95.9 million on a $37 million budget.