Dolphin Tail Creator Talks About ‘Dolphin Tale’ Creation

It’s a tale of epic proportions, and it’s all centered around a tail.

‘Dolphin Tale’ the movie, has made a big splash (pun intended) at the box office in its first week. The story is about a dolphin that is found with a crab trap tangled around its tail. A group of volunteers take the dolphin in to try to help it, and then create a prosthetic tail for it.

The man who created that tail, Kevin Carroll, is a prosthetic mastermind. He also happens to have a passion for working with dolphins.

Carroll says he first heard about Winter the Dolphin’s situation on the radio. The rest, as they say, is history. 

“I picked up the phone and called the aquarium and said, ‘we put prosthetics on people, so why not a prosthetic tail on a dolphin'”?

It took Carroll between 50 and 60 attempts before he finally found the right fit for Winter.

And when Winter started swimming with her new tail, her tale took to the big screen.

Actor Morgan Freeman portrays Carroll in the movie. According to Carroll, having someone like Freeman portray him in the movie, was ‘just awesome’.

The tail for Winter is constantly being modified to fit Winter’s body perfectly. Because Winter is still growing, the tail is modified about four times a year, in order to keep up with her changing body.

Carroll says that Winter’s story of success, has inspired people around the world to not give up hope in themselves.

To watch more video of how the prosthetic works for Winter, click here.