This year, Deborah Diesen’s The Pout-Pout Fish makes its way from the stout cardboard pages to the big screen. Despite all the colorful scales, bubbles and iridescent colors, there’s something missing in this feature-length underwater adventure. Considering this animated feature comes from a children’s book (and series) that has less than 30 pages, credit where it’s due, the trio of writers created a more impacting tail, err tale than the eponymous fish turning his frown upside down.
Living on a rundown shipwreck, Mr. Fish discovers a hyperactive young sea dragon Pip – who had mistaken his home for a junkyard – pilfering his belongings. The heated argument that ensues leaves both their houses in ruin. But there is hope. Embarking on a seemingly impossible quest in search of the mythical “Shimmer” to grant them a wish, there’s only one problem: someone else is on the hunt.
It’s colorful, engaging, and really gets in gear after the first twenty minutes or so. Having said that, it’s that point whete the kids may have already checked out (mine did). Moreover, it’s tough to pull off charm without seeming forced or talking down to the audience. Thankfully, neither of that happens. But without the right bait, there’s also not a lot of charm in these waters. Suffice to say, the characters (as well as the simply apt casting choices) do manage to have more depth than the square pages of the source material. In that sense, you can hardly call any of the colorful creatures one dimensional.
The simple story comes off as overstuffed and therefore dense. In so doing it is weighed down by what feels like side-quests and lots of exposition. The result of which crams in wave after wave of “get the thing” plot elements such that the plot logjams.
What helps the story however is that there is more than one singular message. There are a number of takeaways that children and adults can have: changing your world view, being accepting of others, etc. and, to quote a famous one-man singing sensation, “don’t worry, be happy“.
In the end, among all the positivity, it is it the mostly unseen beta fish (the MacGuffin of the story) that offers the best and final take away: the only person who can grant wishes for you is…you. It’s a brilliant capstone. You just hope people stay awake long enough to hear it from the shimmery character herself.
G-S-T RULING:
For what it is, The Pout-Pout Fish is serviceable but far from memorable. You’re bound to see several other filmic inspirations and narrative components that helped the creative team build this world. One thing that really lags is the 89-minute runtime. It doesn’t sound long, but it feels it. What would’ve helped is a streamlined story a la the old TV movie format with a one-hour runtime. It’s worth noting that while inferior, an overlong episode of Bubble Guppies move along better than this film does. This is, unfortunately, a pretty bland fish.
