Big Miracle

Big Miracle (2012) is a true-story drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Ken Kwapis. Three gray whales get trapped under the thickening ice off the coast of Alaska, and a small Alaskan town suddenly finds the whole world watching.

A local TV reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) refuse to let the animals die quietly. Their story snowballs until people who normally can't stand each other show up to help: oil executives, the National Guard, government officials, even Soviet icebreakers at the height of the Cold War. Kristen Bell, Ted Danson and Dermot Mulroney round out the cast.

It's drawn from the real 1988 Operation Breakthrough near Barrow, Alaska. Warm, unhurried, free of any real villain, it's an easy family pick for anyone who likes stories where strangers set their grudges aside for a couple of weeks. Stream Big Miracle (2012) online on iFILM.