For a relatively small documentary, “Blackfish” has made huge ripples. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s 2013 exposรฉ of Sea World’s inhumane conditions for killer whales and occupational perils for trainers has kept animal cruelty in the headlines, if only because the marine amusement park’s stock has nosedived since the film’s premiere.
Though writer-director Charles Martin Smith’s script for “Dolphin Tale 2” was probably completed before the release of “Blackfish,” it’s impossible not to see this sequel to the 2011 schmaltz-fest as belonging to the post-“Blackfish” era. The original “Dolphin Tale” hinged on a near-mystical connection between wayward teen Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) and Winter, the dolphin he helps restore to health after her infected tail eventually requires amputation.