Editing Whale Rider (section)

===Critical response===
The film received critical acclaim and Castle-Hughes's performance won rave reviews. Based on 155 reviews collected by [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 91%, with an average score of 7.77 as of October 2020. The website's critical consensus states, "An empowering and uplifting movie, with a wonderful performance by Castle-Hughes".<ref>{{cite web |title = Whale Rider (2003) |url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/whale_rider/ |work = [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date = 6 June 2012 |archive-date = 29 June 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120629202930/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/whale_rider/ |url-status = live }}</ref> By comparison, [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[Normalization (statistics)|normalized]] rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 79, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title = Whale Rider reviews |url = http://www.metacritic.com/movie/whale-rider |work = [[Metacritic]] |access-date = 4 July 2010 |archive-date = 9 June 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180609090317/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/whale-rider |url-status = live }}</ref> [[Margaret Pomeranz]] and [[David Stratton]] of ''[[The Movie Show]]'' both gave the film four out of five stars. Pomeranz said "Niki Caro has directed this uplifting story with great sensitivity, eliciting affecting performances from a sterling cast, and a wonderful one from newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes."<ref>{{cite news |title = Review: Whale Rider |first1 = Margaret |last1 = Pomeranz |author-link1 = Margaret Pomeranz |first2 = David |last2 = Stratton |author-link2 = David Stratton |url = http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/reviews.php3?id=1114 |work = [[The Movie Show]] |publisher = [[Special Broadcasting Service]] |year = 2003 |access-date =5 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040411225654/http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/reviews.php3?id=1114 |archive-date = 11 April 2004 }}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four out of four stars and said, "The genius of the movie is the way it sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving." He said of Castle-Hughes: "This is a movie star."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=2003-06-20 |title=Whale Rider |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/whale-rider-2003 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |language=en |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609142716/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/whale-rider-2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Whale Rider review |first = Roger |last = Ebert |author-link = Roger Ebert |url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030620/REVIEWS/306200305/1023 |newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date = 20 June 2003 |access-date = 5 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100707001354/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030620/REVIEWS/306200305/1023 |archive-date = 7 July 2010 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Ebert later went on to name it as one of the ten best films of 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ebert's Top Movies of 2003|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/best-10-movies-of-2003|work=Chicago Sun-Times|author=Ebert, Roger|access-date=30 January 2014|archive-date=30 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330170852/https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/best-10-movies-of-2003|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''{{'}}s [[Kenneth Turan]] praised Caro for her "willingness to let this story tell itself in its own time and the ability to create emotion that is intense without being cloying or dishonest."<ref>{{cite news |title = 'Whale Rider' movie review |first = Kenneth |last = Turan |author-link = Kenneth Turan |url = http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-turan6jun06,0,1835080.story |newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] |date = 6 June 2003 |access-date = 5 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100521005751/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-turan6jun06,0,1835080.story |archive-date = 21 May 2010 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Claudia Puig of ''[[USA Today]]'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and praised Castle-Hughes' acting, saying "so effectively does she convey her pained confusion through subtle vocal cues, tentative stance and expressive dark eyes."<ref>{{cite news |title = Haunting 'Whale Rider' revisits a timeless legend |first = Claudia |last = Puig |url = https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-06-05-whale_x.htm |newspaper = [[USA Today]] |date = 6 June 2010 |access-date = 4 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081013134901/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-06-05-whale_x.htm |archive-date = 13 October 2008 |url-status = dead}}</ref>

The film has also been discussed and praised widely within academia. Anthropologist A. Asbjørn Jøn discussed a range of Māori tribal traditions that resonate within the film, while noting links between the release of ''Whale Rider'' and increases in both New Zealand's whale watching tourism industry and conservation efforts.<ref>A. Asbjørn Jøn,'[https://www.academia.edu/19878568/The_whale_road_Transitioning_from_spiritual_links_to_whaling_to_whale_watching_in_Aotearoa_New_Zealand The Whale Road: Transitioning from Spiritual Links, to Whaling, to Whale Watching in Aotearoa New Zealand] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105145817/https://www.academia.edu/19878568/The_whale_road_Transitioning_from_spiritual_links_to_whaling_to_whale_watching_in_Aotearoa_New_Zealand |date=5 November 2019 }}', ''Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal in Folklore Studies'', 29 (2014), pp.87–116</ref>