Bringemovies
← Browse Movies
Tadpole and the Whale
TITLE DETAILS

Tadpole and the Whale

1988-06-17 · 92 min · ★ 6.1

Adventure · Family

The adventures of Elvira, a 12-year-old girl obsessed with the sea who develops the ability to breathe underwater. Elvira and her dolphin friend Elvar meet a friendly whale, among other creatures, while back on land all is not as it should be.

Open detail page

Trailers are previews, not full movies.

No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.

Production details

Directors
Jean-Claude Lord
Production companies
Les Productions La Fête, Téléfilm Canada, La Societe Generale du Cinema du Quebec, Vachon, Super Écran, Cinema Plus
Countries
Canada
Status
Released

Top Cast

Fanny LauzierFanny LauzierDaphne
Denis ForestDenis ForestMarcel
Marina OrsiniMarina OrsiniJulie
Félix-Antoine LerouxAlexandre
Jean LajeunesseJean LajeunesseGrand-papa Thomas
Lise ThouinLise ThouinAnne
Louise RicherLouise RicherLa mère
Thomas DonohueLe père
Pierre-Olivier GagnonCapelan
Jean-Pierre LeducBernard
Jean LafontaineLe réalisateur
Jean LemireLe caméraman
André DoyleL'assistant-caméraman
Claude GriséL'homme d'affaires
Alie Lavoie GrayLa petite fille
Roland LarocheGrand-papa Hector

Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.

Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

Rental

Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

Purchase

Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

View authorized watch options on TMDb

Recommendations

Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
★ 5.9
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home1995Adventure · Family

Jesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.

Dolphin Tale
★ 6.9
Dolphin Tale2011Family

A sea of animal rescuers — and a lonely boy in need of a friend – nurse an injured dolphin back to health after it loses its tail in a trap.

Free Willy
★ 6.2
Free Willy1993Adventure · Family

When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.

White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
★ 6.9
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf1994Adventure · Family

A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.

The Legend of Ochi
★ 6.1
The Legend of Ochi2025Adventure · Family

In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.

Free Willy 3: The Rescue
★ 6.1
Free Willy 3: The Rescue1997Adventure · Family

Willy the whale is back, this time threatened by illegal whalers making money off sushi. Jesse, now 16, has taken a job on an orca-researching ship, along with old friend Randolph and a sarcastic scientist, Drew. On the whaler's ship is captain John Wesley and his son, Max, who isn't really pleased about his father's job, but doesn't have the gut to say so. Along the way, Willy reunites with Jesse.

Anastasia: Once Upon a Time
★ 5.9
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time2020Adventure · Family

Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.

PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue
★ 7.1
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue2020Family

A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.

Dolphin Tale 2
★ 6.9
Dolphin Tale 22014Family

The team of people who saved Winter's life reassemble in the wake of her surrogate mother's passing in order to find her a companion so she can remain at the Clearwater Marine Hospital.

The Big Blue
★ 7.4
The Big Blue1988Adventure

Childhood friends Jacques and Enzo share a passion for the danger of free diving. Jacques, following in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy, harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing patterns in the water, with his vital signs more closely resembling those of dolphins than men.

Oddball
★ 6.9
Oddball2015Adventure · Family

An eccentric chicken farmer, with the help of his granddaughter, trains his mischievous dog Oddball to protect a penguin sanctuary from fox attacks in an attempt to reunite his family and save their seaside town.

Aquamarine
★ 6.5
Aquamarine2006Family

Two teenage girls discover that mermaids really do exist after a violent storm washes one ashore. The mermaid, a sassy creature named Aquamarine, is determined to prove to her father that real love exists, and enlists the girls' help in winning the heart of a handsome lifeguard.

Barbie: Dolphin Magic
★ 6.6
Barbie: Dolphin Magic2017Adventure · Family

Barbie and her sisters take off on another exciting, global adventure to visit their friend Ken at his summer internship at a beautiful and exotic coral reef.

The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water
★ 6.3
The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water2002Adventure · Family

Littlefoot befriends with a mysterious, fun-loving dolphin-like creature named Mo, who is trapped in "new water" caused by heavy rain. The gang then goes on an adventure to the "big water" to bring Mo home.

Momo
★ 7.1
Momo2025Adventure · Family

Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.

Poly
★ 6.0
Poly2020Adventure · Family

The adventures of Shetland pony Poly in the South of France.

Vesper
★ 6.2
Vesper2022Adventure

After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.

Dolphin Reef
★ 6.8
Dolphin Reef2018Family

Echo is a youngster who can't quite decide if it's time to grow up and take on new responsibilities-or give in to her silly side and just have fun. Dolphin society is tricky, and the coral reef that Echo and his family call home depends on all of its inhabitants to keep it healthy. But Echo has a tough time resisting the many adventures the ocean has to offer.

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness
★ 7.2
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness2022Adventure · Family

A brave young animal explorer teams up with two trusty friends to find a powerful artifact before his greedy uncle can get his paws on it.

Beast
★ 6.5
Beast2022Adventure

A recently widowed man and his two teenage daughters travel to a game reserve in South Africa. However, their journey of healing soon turns into a fight for survival when a bloodthirsty lion starts to stalk them.

Similar titles

Jungle Book
★ 6.4
Jungle Book1942Adventure

Mowgli, lost in the jungle when a toddler, raised by wolves, years later happens upon his human village and reconnects with its inhabitants, including his widowed mother. Continuing to maintain a relationship with the jungle, adventures follow.

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
★ 6.2
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie2002Adventure · Family

Get ready as Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and the rest of the Veggies set sail on a whale of an adventure in Big Idea's first full-length, 3-D animated feature film. This is the story of Jonah and the Whale as you've never seen it before - a story where we learn that one of the best gifts you can give - or get - is a second chance.

The Cat Returns
★ 7.1
The Cat Returns2002Adventure · Family

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

The Tiger's Nest
★ 6.4
The Tiger's Nest2022Adventure · Family

In the valleys of the Himalayas, an orphan boy saves a Bengal tiger cub from the ruthless poachers who killed the tiger's mother. Together they set out in the Himalayan mountains to the Taktsang monastery in Bhutan known as "The Tiger's Nest" where Buddhist monks took refuge after the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and protect the big cats. A new great film for the whole family that talks about the importance of defending animals through the story of the friendship between two orphans, a tiger cub and a child, in a tale of brotherhood and the discovery of life.

The Girl
★ 6.3
The Girl2009Family

Story of a ten-year-old girl left alone in her house in the summer of 1981.

Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove
★ 6.1
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove2010Adventure · Family

After young Kirra leaves her Australian home to summer with her grandfather in South Africa, she soon discovers a baby orca stranded in the lagoon near her grandfather’s rundown seaside amusement park. She names the lonely whale Willy--and embarks on a great quest to lead the little guy back to his anxious pod.

Chestnut: Hero of Central Park
★ 7.3
Chestnut: Hero of Central Park2004Family

Ray and Sal, two orphaned sisters, adopt and hide a Great Dane puppy from their two adopted parents living in a luxury downtown New York apartment that expressely forbids dogs.

Where the River Runs Black
★ 6.5
Where the River Runs Black1986Adventure

An orphaned boy who was raised in the Amazon jungle is brought back to civilization by a priest who knows his father.

Trigger
★ 5.1
Trigger2006Family

A warm, dramatic story about eleven-year-old Alise's encounter with a wild horse on the run.

Entre nosotras
Not rated
Entre nosotras2018Family

Estefanía, an 8 year old girl, refuses to accept the changes that her sister's illness causes in the family. Without understanding the disease, she thinks they have abandoned her.

A Mouse Hunt for Christmas
★ 6.5
A Mouse Hunt for Christmas2025Family

A small mouse family plans a quiet Christmas outside the city, but their celebration is disrupted when humans unexpectedly appear. As the mice try to hide their preparations, the humans react to the noises behind the walls with determination.

Shana: The Wolf's Music
★ 7.5
Shana: The Wolf's Music2014Adventure

The First Nations girl Shana is a very gifted musician. But to bring her violin to sing, she must follow the wolf. Nino Jacusso has filmed this captivating coming-of-age drama with sensational beauty and spiritual tenderness.

Dream
★ 6.0
Dream2020Adventure · Family

The short follows the dream of a young boy in which strange whale teleports him to a fantasy land where a happy cat named Pero (modeled after the character in the Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko anime that serves as Toei Animation's mascot) appears. The piece is entirely dialogueless.

The Day of the Dolphin
★ 5.8
The Day of the Dolphin1973Adventure

A marine biologist teaches his dolphins to communicate in English but shady characters plan to kidnap the trained mammals for a more sinister purpose.

Young Black Stallion
★ 6.6
Young Black Stallion2003Adventure · Family

When courageous young Neera becomes separated from her family in the desert, she chances upon a wild colt. Together they find friendship, trust, and their way back home only to discover her family is about to lose everything!

Zeus & Roxanne
★ 5.2
Zeus & Roxanne1997Adventure · Family

Mary Beth is a marine biologist that gets annoyed when a dog called Zeus stows aboard her research boat. Nevertheless she is intrigued when the intrusive canine makes best-friends with her captive dolphin, Roxanne. She falls in love with Zeus's owner, Terry, a musician who rides a bike.

International Velvet
★ 7.4
International Velvet1978Family

Sarah Brown is sent to England after her parents die in a car crash. There, she lives with her aunt Velvet who introduces Sarah to the world of equestrian competition and gives her the last foal of her own prize horse, The Pie. Under the watchful eye of her aunt and horse trainer Capt. Johnson, Sarah develops into a talented rider who might have a shot at the Olympics.

Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation
★ 6.0
Belle and Sebastian: Next Generation2022Adventure · Family

10-year-old Sebastien reluctantly spends his vacation in the mountains with his grandmother and aunt. Helping them with the sheep is hardly an exciting prospect for a city boy like him - but that is without considering his encounter with Belle, a huge dog mistreated by her owner. Ready to do anything to fight injustice and to protect his new-found friend, Sebastien will spend the craziest summer of his life.

Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure
★ 5.9
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure2011Family

After a talent scout spots her performing with her dog Boi at a charity gala, Sharpay Evans sets off for the bright lights of NYC, convinced instant fame and fortune are in the bag. But theatre's a dog-eat-dog world. Fortunately, Sharpay also meets Peyton, a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.

The Silent World
★ 6.6
The Silent World1956Adventure

Join renowned explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau as he investigates aquatic habitats worldwide, showcasing whales, sharks, and diverse marine life. The film highlights the brutal realities of nature while capturing the wonder of underwater exploration, as the team ventures into previously unseen ocean depths.

Your favorites

Recently viewed

Watch

Choose an authorized server.

Full video from an operator-configured authorized source. Official trailers use a separate player. If a server fails, retry or select another authorized server.

Legal watch options

Official trailer

Trailer preview only. Press Play to start.

Privacy choices

Favorites stay in your browser. Movie images load from TMDb. YouTube trailers contact YouTube only after you allow external media and choose a trailer. Advertising consent, if ads are enabled, is managed separately by the operator’s certified CMP.

Privacy policy

After allowing external media, choose the trailer button to load its player.