Bindi Irwin finds love in Return to Nim's Island

BINDI Irwin is growing up - fast. The wildlife warrior has a love interest in her first major feature film, Return to Nim's Island.

Bindi Irwin

BINDI Irwin is growing up - fast.

The wildlife warrior has a love interest in her first major feature film, Return to Nim's Island.

In Sydney today, 14-year-old Irwin said the role of a conservation-minded castaway - played by Abigail Breslin in the original 2008 film that also starred Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler - was almost custom made for her.

''Nim is a little bit uppity but apart from that we are quite similar.''

In the sequel, former Neighbours star Toby Wallace plays a smitten young adventurer who travels to the pristine island to reconnect with Irwin's character.

The story picks up a few years after their first meeting, when Nim's tropical paradise is simultaneously threatened by poachers and developers.

Irwin was full of praise for her charismatic co-stars - Wallace and Selkie the sea lion.

''Toby certainly has less fishy breath than a sea lion,'' she said.

But Irwin was just as impressed by the professionalism of the sea mammals.

''They were better trained than me. They hit their mark every time.''

Irwin has acted before - in Free Willy: Escape From Pirate's Cove, a film that went straight to DVD. But this is her first theatrical release.

Return to Nim's Island, which has its premiere at Australia Zoo on Sunday, will open in Australia for the upcoming school holidays.

It screens on the Hallmark Channel in the US on March 15.