After years of defining herself as one of the business' best dramatic actors with powerhouse roles in such heavy-hitting films as "Taxi Driver," "The Accused," "Silence of the Lambs" and most recently, "The Brave One," Jodie Foster finally felt it was time to embark upon a different sort of movie adventure.

The time had come to do something, say, that was a bit more lighthearted -- something funny. But just getting the chance to do comedy wasn't a motivating factor in her trip to the cinematic destination of "Nim's Island" -- it's also a family film that allows her two sons, 9-year-old Charles and 6-year-old Kit, to come along for the ride.

"After having done lot of dark dramas in a row, I really wanted to try something where I could express a lighter side of myself," Foster said in a recent @ The Movies interview. "But to be able to have my kids actually see a film of mine projected is really amazing."

In "Nim's Island," opening April 4 nationwide, Foster stars as a novelist with a huge following thanks to the popularity of her masculine literary character Alex Rover -- the world's greatest adventure hero. Among Alex Rover's biggest fans is Nim (Abigail Breslin), a feisty young girl who lives on a desolate island with her father, Jack (Gerard Butler).

So when Jack goes missing from the island, Nim's first impulse is to call out to Alex in the hope that this adventuresome writer can help her. The problem is, Alex Rover is really Alexandra Rover, a reclusive big city writer who can barely set foot outside of her home, much less go on an island adventure.

Deciding to take the big step, Alexandra sets out for the island, and relies on the inspiration of her fictional character (realized in imaginary form as Butler) for courage to aid Nim: and there's plenty of adventure -- and misadventure -- ahead.

Before Foster signed on to do "Nim's Island," she wanted to make sure all of the proper elements were in place. Having averaged less than one film a year for the past 10 years, she admits to being " kind of notoriously picky."

"I've worked a little bit more now since my kids are older," said the two-time Oscar winner. "But I like the idea of making fewer movies and have them stand for something in terms of what I'm looking for out of it."

And Foster got just that with playing Alexandra. It's a comedic character, but not one without complexities. In fact, the emotion weight of the reclusive writer she plays in some ways reflects her own life as performer.

"The idea is that the writer has this creative, solitary life -- but that doesn't mean that it's a life that's dead. It's beautiful, big, fantastic and exciting," Foster observed. "But it can also be lonely, so it has to be balanced with another side. That's a question that I've been looking to resolve in many, many films that I've made. How does the artist balance a need for a solitary life -- a solitary voice -- to be creative, and how do they keep from being lonely?"

But as Alexandra discovers in the film and Foster knows from her own experiences, finding the balance is one thing -- but actually putting the plan into action is another.

"Alex is living her life through her main character," Foster said. "She's created this man whose afraid of nothing and who is an adventure hero, personified, so she can investigate these kinds of experiences," Foster said. "And now she has to learn how to be brave enough to integrate that into her own life. That's what artists do, we work out stuff through our work, and then we go out into the real world and experience it."

Foster, of course, has had many years of experiences -- starting out in commercials as a toddler, which led to a successful career as a child actress in both film and television. Handling those experiences in a professional manner growing, Foster could share some advice with Breslin -- that is if she thought that the "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar nominee needed it.

"She has a very balanced life and her parents are really wonderful," Foster said. "She's very well adjusted and has a great head on her shoulders. I really don't have any advice to give her. She's doing great."

In fact, Foster thinks Breslin, who'll turn 12 this month, is much farther ahead of the game than she was at that age.

"Abigail is born to be an actress -- she has an amazing well of emotion that's completely available to her," Foster said. "I did not at that age. That is something I had to learn as time went on. It was a lifelong lesson for me."

Of course, there'll be bumps in the road for Breslin, Foster added. But nobody is a stranger to that.

"Adolescence is hard on everybody," Foster said. "Who knows how anyone will fare with it. It's hard on somebody growing up in Kansas whose not in the film business. You can't imagine how hard it would be growing up in a rarified environment like this one."