A Fish Tale (2000) User Reviews

Ignore the negative reviews, this film is much better than people give credit for!

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 26 April 2009]

I will admit that this film lacks the qualities that make Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli and Dreamworks so memorable. I am nearly 17, and I think it is a very entertaining but flawed film, that is much better than people give credit for. Adults won't find much to go on, but children will love at least one aspect of the movie.

The animation is in general very good,considering it's a danish studio, very bright in the underwater sequences. However, some of the character animation was not as good as it could have been, and it was a little flat, especially in the first ten minutes or so.

The songs were adequate, but I personally think both children and adults won't remember any of them, except "Help I'm a little yellow fish", perhaps not always in a good way. I liked that song, and I liked "Intelligence", but the other songs are forgettable. The incidental music wasn't bad either, though some of it sounded very like the Lion King.

The story is a very nice idea indeed, about three children accidentally coming across a potion that turns them into fish, and encountering a villainous fish named Joe (admittedly an odd name for a villain), who is desperate for power. I personally thought the story was a nice idea, but there were some scenes where it dragged, and others where it felt rushed. I did think the script was nicely-written, again it may depend on the audience, as there is a lot of very confusing maths and science.

The voice talents were actually not that bad at all. Alan Rickman lent his gritty baritone to a cool and suave villain, and I must say he didn't do too bad a job. As a matter of fact, I was impressed with him more than anybody else. Had he had some better material,(not as bad as it could have been) his villain could have been more memorable than they made him. Terry Jones was an inspired choice for McKrill. His character is quite mad, and there were times when Jones was very funny, but other times when he quite badly overdid the character, most notably in his song. Fly, Stella and Chuck were well done, but the only voice actor I wasn't hugely keen on was the voice actor of the shark; he was very loud and got a bit annoying.

The special features on the DVD could have been of a bigger variety. There was an interesting featurette with interviews with Rickman and Jones, and some equally interesting filmographies. If anything, there could have had a bit more variety for kids, like games and trailers for other films.

All in all, I liked this film. Is it the best animation in the world? No it isn't, but it isn't too bad an attempt. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Well Animated and Keeps The Kids Amused

[retrogames · 6/10 · 20 February 2005]

This movie which almost immediately appeared on DVD at an ultra budget price should be snapped up quickly by anybody with young kids. This movie has been played more times than any of the Disney titles since its been purchased and given the name "Help I'm a Bish" by one happy little girl... It may not have the Disney credentials but its certainly beautiful to look at and with some not bad songs thrown in to the mix will put a smile on any youngsters face (or just keep them quite for a while, which will put a smile on your face).

So don't overlook this little gem if you have a youngster of pre school age, they will love Help I'm a Bish :-)

Second Best Fish-Film to Finding Nemo

[bevanaaron · 7/10 · 26 August 2015]

This film starts off straight away by easily separating the personality of the characters within this film. The opening is quite comedic and features scenes that grips kids to the screen as well as adults. This film is moving and entertaining and a joy to watch. Many different things happen in the film to make it slightly unpredictable at times and providing a well thought through ending. Personally I especially enjoyed the scene towards the end of the film where Chuck is using different objects to get through the pipes back towards the Professors Boat. Overall this film is a not only fun but also exciting film to watch especially if you are with a child as it is slightly moving in ways that often mislead you.

This is a film I would recommend and I am surprised it has not received more recognition as many people I know have not seen or heard of this film. The film doesn't quite reach the Disney standard of 'Finding Nemo' but just ends up slightly more entertaining than 'Shark Tale'. It is a film where you cannot end up disappointed.

Go Fish.

[McBuff · 21 May 2001]

Delightful animated feature about a bunch of kids turning into fish by accident when visiting a weird scientist. Excellent animation and music with some truly mesmerizing sequences, but some scenes may be a little too creepy for very young children. Only complaint: Why is the English languaged version (with Alan Rickman and Terry Jones) missing on the DVD? ***

High Violence Content for G rating

[Big Huge Doug · 6/10 · 2 March 2008]

While I thought many aspects of the movie were OK, I was a little disturbed by the large amount of blood and death portrayed throughout the movie. It's fairly unusual as far as I can remember to see a main character suffer so graphically in a G rated film. I won't warn people away from it, but I wouldn't recommend it for younger children or those who are sensitive or scare easily. The songs are generally good, but if you're used to the Pixar trend of no singing, you may find it a little jarring. Alan Rickman does a lovely voice-over, but it was so soft at times I had a bit of a hard time hearing it. Other voices ranged from decent to non-offensive -- there were no other real standouts, although the little girl doing Stella was awfully cute. Overall I only give this a six because compared to many other fine children's animated tales, it really has very little to put it above any of the others.

not an unpleasant way to pass the afternoon...

[jlb24 · 7/10 · 12 May 2003]

A harmless little flick, that shows Disney is not the only one who can pump out "love it or hate it" cutesy animated features. It is done in the standard formula for kids movies, but drew me in.

I was sucked in by the ads I heard on French TV. The euro pop beat is a little cliché but still catchy. The title song is so nihilistic yet upbeat, I couldn't help but like it. The karaoke bonus on the DVD is even more fun for the kids. And a good way to help the kids learn French.

Unfortunately, it has not been released for Region 1, so I can't get a copy to my family in the US.

An enjoyable children's flick though some awkward plotting and forgettable songs render it to be overshadowed.

[ohsta62 · 7/10 · 20 April 2010]

Help! I'm a Fish pretty much came out of and exited to nowhere. OK, to be precise, it was produced and first released in Denmark as Hjælp, jeg er en fisk. Virtually no one knows the film as it possibly had very little marketing, I probably saw only 1 television advert of it. While it is an underrated gem if not, it's not spectacular in some terms. I cannot locate the full film which only some or most scenes are available.

The plot is quite straightforward. It is about 3 children who turn into fish. One is a boy named Fly who turns into a Californian flying fish, along with his younger sister Stella who she turns into a starfish and his cousin Chuck turns into a jellyfish. They go to a houseboat of a marine biologist called Professor MacKrill. He develops a potion that turns humans and possibly other species to various sea creatures as he predicts the Earth's sea level will rise by the Polar cap melting i.e. people would drown. MacKrill also made a potion to turn things to a human. The children drink the fish potion though they do not know its effects. They then realize their fish and must find the human potion by sunset tomorrow or they will stay fish for good.

It certainly isn't a generic story but of course, this is only the beginning of the film. The characters including the children as well as a seahorse that tags along called Sasha aren't quite colourful if not unmemorable. The villains are quite irregular. The main antagonist which is a pilot fish named Joe along with an unnamed great white shark. The two develop human characteristics by sniffing the human potion. Joe uses the antidote to have a new civiliastion of intelligent fish. While he has potential of a good villain, he doesn't do evil things often. Rather selfish ones. There's hardly anything monumental in the narrative.

The animation is decent and good for Denmark. It compares itself to major studios like Disney. The CGI is noticeable but blends fine with the traditional animation. The songs are forgettable which they are song by characters. The Danish haven't realized here that characters no longer sing in hand drawn films although the film's release was early for this concept to follow(which gives a possible thing that singing characters in films before the 2000's decade was compulsory).

It is unknown of the reception or box office of the film. It's likely it had mixed reviews with a low box office. Not to be offensive but I have never heard of the film since I saw it once on TV. The English language version of the film was released 2001 unlike its original Danish speaking one about a year ago. The 00's has seen a decline in popularity for traditional animation even if they had CGI. Instead, CGI films had reigned supreme in box office mostly than critical reception. Help! I'm a Fish is one of them and other films such as Osmosis Jones, Treasure Planet etc. In other words, the film could have had a low box office for poor awareness, audiences losing interest in TrA films as well as box office hits in 2001. From CGI successes like Shrek to Live action fare Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone, H!IaF may have unfortunately been DOA.

No instalments have been made from the film to date. That is, no sequels, prequels etc. However, a pop song was produced called I'm a Little Yellow Fish based on the film and a fansite. It is quite a shame as there is more that could be done from the narrative such as fish turning into humans. It could have been direct to video most likely. The film isn't for everyone. It has scenes that would appeal to children but some scenes that may be unsuitable for them such as a crab injuring Fly as a fish by one slash (which probably had him with a injured leg when turned back to a human).

Help! I'm a Fish is a neat film that could have been better. If not then it needed more marketing. The 'Little Yellow Fish' song is more memorable than the other songs in the film combined though it isn't all that great though enjoyable (for some). It also shows Denmark could pull out a good film that could stand among major countries in the motion picture industry like the USA. Anyway, this is all I could say, happy watching.

This was terrible!!

[agaettis · 1/10 · 27 August 2008]

I was at the movie store with my sister and my 4 1/2yr old niece and she picked this up and begged to watch it. I was happy when it started out cause it was old fashioned 2d animation and reminded me of old Don Bluth films. Yet as it continued me and my sister were appalled!! My niece actually stopped watching it halfway through and said it had scared her in some parts. The plot goes nowhere, Fly actually bleeds, the evil fish turned human drowns, Fly's aunt seemingly STEPS ON HIM. Even though the ending was cute (Sasha turning into a horse was a cute idea) I can't believe this passed for a G in America. It reminded me of the "Kids movies" I watched in the 80s that terrified me. If you have a kid especially a young one, I wouldn't recommend this at all, steer clear of it. If you insist on getting it, screen it first. This was one of the first times in a long time my sis didn't screen one of her daughters movies, she's making sure she does it every time now.

People seriously didn't like this movie?

[TheSonomaDude · 8/10 · 21 March 2013]

A 5.6 IMDb rating for a kids film like this is usually not a good sign; after all, its the same rating as Transformers 2 and Quest For Camelot. Frankly, the DVD art looks absolutely horrendous and the plot sounds like an episode from Johnny Test, but however, this movie is the ultimate example of "Dont judge a book by its over" because not only did it far exceed my expectations, but it was a near great movie in almost every aspect.

The film involves three kids who get turned into fish after drinking a potion created by a nutty scientist. The kids have 48 hours to find an antidote or else they will be stuck as fish forever. Plus, the antidote has leaked into the sea and has started to turn regular dumb fish into talking genius fish, and the villain fish (voiced by the perfectly cast Alan Rickman) has become a super genius and is bent on taking over the world. A cliché plot, yes, but this is probably the weakest of the films flaws.

The animation is stellar. The 2D looks gorgeous and flows fluidly. The 3D animation...yah, it looks pretty choppy and mediocre, but fortunately it is not used too often. The characters are well written and their interactions with each other and their surroundings are believable and fun. The songs (this is a musical, kinda sorta) aren't bad either, and I actually was humming Alan Rickman's villain song. The film is also devoid of clichés, for the most part at least. There were at least five or six moments were the film did something totally unexpected and completely original. Bravo for a kids film I say, Bravo!

One thing I must touch on is the abundance of violence. On the surface (no pun intended), this film seems extremely harmless. Wrong! This film is full of senseless death, including a shark that eats innocent fish and some of the main characters in the movie. One scene that sticks out is when the main character, Fly, gets stabbed in the face by a crab and blood, yes, BLOOD, floats around in the water. But most of all, this film has possibly THE ballsiest villain death of all time. I wont spoil it, but it is an original and fantastic way to finish the villain. Also, there is a fake-out death that occurs involving Fly that actually made my jaw drop.

Overall, this is a very well made animated movie, and the 5.6 rating is extremely harsh. I've tried to find out why this movie isn't well liked by audiences, but I cant find a decisive answer. The only negative things I can find about this film through my eyes are the brief moments of CGI animation, the main pop song is annoying, and maybe some were offended by the violence, but that still does not answer the hate this film gets. The IMDb reviews that rated this a 1/10 are completely delusional, with one person saying the only good thing was the 3D animation (which was surprisingly the worst thing), one review seeming to imply that it was made solely to cash off Finding Nemo (despite the fact that this was made four years earlier), and one reviewer did not even seem to have watched the movie, claiming that it was full of clichés, it was full of bathroom humor (which it had none) and the animation was abysmal. I am willing to bet this last reviewer simply saw the DVD cover at his local rental store and went home pretending he had saw it. Shame, he missed out on a great movie.

This is a total recommendation by every means of the word. Hopefully, you'll be just as surprised as I was, and just as satisfied too. If this movie had better marketing, it would be much more known and loved. I guarantee it.

Better than Shark Tale not as good as Finding Nemo

[matitya-33937 · 7/10 · 25 November 2022]

It's strange how many animated films there are about anthropomorphic fish. A Fish Tale, Shark Tale, Finding Nemo and the SpongeBob SquarePants movie. A Fish Tale about a trio of children accidentally transformed into fish by a mad scientist. Finding Nemo about an anthropomorphic clownfish traumatized by his wife's death who becomes comically overprotective of his son Nemo but must learn the lesson about how dangerous it is to create a risk-free environment. Shark Tale about a fish who takes credit for killing a Great White Shark to become famous and finds himself on the wrong side of an underwater mafia. SpongeBob SquarePants about an anthropomorphic sea sponge who works at a fast food restaurant owned by a Crab alongside an octopus cashier, whose best friend is a starfish and has to thwart an evil plan by a plankton. I mention this knowing that there are so many cartoons anthropomorphizing land animals that no one questions it because with underwater films people still do. Pixar cried foul when DreamWorks made A Shark Tale accusing it of plagiarizing Finding Nemo (even though Shark Tale was in production first). While the British film critic YouTuber Phantom Strider accused A Fish Tale of having ripped off A Shark Tale. Personally, I would be quite surprised if that were the case given that A Fish Tale came out four years earlier.

The fundamental problem with Shark Tale was how unlikable its protagonist Oscar was and how easily forgiven he is for his lies at the end. Fortunately, this is not that movie.

The cartoon does a good job in showing how Fly is an intelligent character despite his impulsive nature (I'm sure Fly is supposed to be a nickname but it's not clear what his real name is supposed to be but that's a nitpick). And the movie does a good job contrasting the characters of Fly and Chuck (and rendering them both immensely sympathetic by showing how protective they are of Stella). While Professor MacKrill is an entertaining character and the late Alan Rickman gave it his all as the villainous Joe the Pilot Fish. Also, when Fly is wounded and has his emotional breakdown where he's on the verge of giving up it's hard not to feel sympathy for him. And I like Chuck's character development.

The Climax where Fly outwits Joe was a great scene though the "using my brain for once" didn't really work as his character development given he was great and manipulating people (and fish) into doing what he wanted throughout the film. I do appreciate that his injury isn't instantaneously reversed when his transformation is, though the last minute scene where Chuck thinks Fly is dead but we the audience know he isn't is a bit contrived. As is the scene wherein Fly just happens to have the right arsenal of tools Chuck needs to escape. But I am fine with the scene where they find the ingredients because the song was explicitly created to make the ingredients easier to remember so there it's just that the song is working. The epilogue seems tacked on and there really wasn't any reason for the movie to be a musical (with two songs sung by the characters) and the song Help! I'm a Fish doesn't do anything for me at all. Even so, it is a children's movie and (despite Joe's onscreen death as a human) manages to do well in that department. So it's a decent film. That said it doesn't dethrone Finding Nemo (and yes, I know A Fish Tale was filmed first.)

So, it was better than A Shark Tale but not as good as Finding Nemo.

Help! I'm watching a terrible movie.

[ashdm · 1/10 · 20 October 2012]

Undoubtedly the worst movie in Alan Rickman's career, "Help! I'm a Fish" utilises overused stereotypes and shoddy animation to tell a story that favours cutesy gimmicks over plot. For a story so basic, there are still many plot-holes that even the corny songs don't manage to help you forget them. The only redeeming features are that the songs are few and far between, and that the film is remotely short - and yet the ending still couldn't come quickly enough. I found myself hoping for a nihilistic, apocalyptic ending in which all of the main characters found themselves in a watery grave.

Even as a child, I detested this movie.

Good movie for children

[cassandrayue · 10/10 · 24 January 2007]

I bought this movie for my 5-year old son who loves sea creatures. I bought the movie on a Friday and over the weekend, he watched it at least 10 times. It's his favourite movie and I must say I like it very much as well. The animation is very well-done and the angles are unique and interesting. My son still watches it twice a day, every day.

Does anyone know of any other sea-related cartoons, other than Finding Nemo?

I think this is an excellent movie for children. It's educational (teaches about sea creatures) and the story line is one of the most original I've come across.

Yay!

[mgafm · 7/10 · 9 April 2003]

This is a fun kids movie with beautiful animation! Some of the Disney movies could learn a thing or two from the Norwegians. Alan Rickman and Terry Jones do brilliant voice work on this. The songs get a little tiresome, but overall the movie is unbearably cute.

Bad

[j_crist · 1/10 · 2 February 2002]

The animation itself wasn't bad. The story was, indeed. The lines were silly and full of cliche. What was more annoying was the soundtrack, not only the pop songs (europe dance style) here and there or the tune sung by the characters but the orchestral score was terrible. Why couldn't they just do an animated film instead of a bad copy of an american animated feature? I don't think they accomplished well mixing cell animation and CG, it can be done better but it's okay. I repeat. The story is terrible, the lines are silly, music is really irritating but the animation job is pretty good. Beside, it is not Danish! There are lots of professional from all over Europe working with this film. Also, the featurette is terrible I would have preferred the danish people to speak danish although I don't understand it but I rather read the subtitle than listen to their comment in english... There are very many animated features out there so don't buy this DVD, you are going to get bored as soon as the characters speak. If you really want to see it, rent it, save your money for something better.

Surprisingly, this is still more credible than "Deep Blue Sea."

[Victor Field · 26 January 2003]

"Help! I'm A Fish" is a Danish-Norwegian-German-Irish co-production with additional animation done in Spain, England and Bangkok, plus voice work (in the English-language version) done in the UK, Canada and the US. So it's a good advertisement for international cooperation, but as a movie it's less effective.

The actual story isn't bad (three stereotyped kids - a sporty lad, his cute little sister and their fat brainy cousin - go fishing, stumble into the lair of an eccentric scientist and, thanks to his special potion, turn into fishes (a flyfish, a starfish and a jellyfish respectively); and unless they can get the antidote within 48 hours they'll stay fishes forever), but the handling doesn't have the extra touch that could lift it into something great. As is often the case in live-action films, Alan Rickman livens things up no end as the voice [again, in the English-language version] of the movie's villain, a fish who drinks some of the antidote and wants to use his intelligence to take over the undersea world, or something... it's never really clear thanks to the script.

The animation's often quite good (but the opening titles of fish swimming clash with the first scenes with the human characters - the quality is a bit jarring), some scenes are genuinely effective such as the final faceoff between heroes and villains, and it's inoffensive - unless you consider montages set to Europop songs and the presence of American voices offensive (incidentally, why are the children voiced by Americans and their parents voiced by Canadians?) - but it's not really too memorable, either. "Help! I'm A Fish" is preferable to some Disney films and is certainly closer to a proper movie than other European animated features (at least I managed to get through this, which is more than can be said for "Millionaire Dogs"), but while it's not fair to expect "The Little Mermaid," ultimately it's not nearly as cute and endearing as... well, that Little Trees song you hear over the credits.

"I'm a little yellow fish in the deep blue sea... won't somebody save me?"

Northern tryout

[jean-no · 7/10 · 3 May 2003]

This is a German-danish-irish animation movie : those countries are not very famous in the animation scene (1st: Japan, 2nd: USA, 3rd: France), it is some kind of a first tryout, and it is not bad. The design reminds a lot "iron giant" (Warner Bros Masterpiece), not as skilly but you can get the picture, the story reminds... that the writers should have work a little bit much. The computer animations are sometimes very elegant, sometimes poor. The sound is good. Well that's not a masterpiece but it is definitly not as bad as some Disney stuff like "little mermaid" or "beauty and the beast" and it is much better than any Disney sequel (Pocahontas II, Lion King II, and, argh... Little Mermaid II - they dared do it). Anyways : I didn't enjoy this movie very much, but my kids did, they still prefere Chihiro, princess Mononoke, Monsters Inc., Kirikou or the brilliant Lilo & Stich, but they enjoyed "Hjælp, jeg er en fisk" ("oups, je suis un poisson", in french).

A good adventure at the bottom of the sea

[DogePelis2015 · 6/10 · 17 March 2021]

It is not the best animated film in Denmark; however, it is still good entertainment for children.

OH MY COD! This movie was surprising, not that bad. However, the story is a bit fishy.

[ironhorse_iv · 6/10 · 29 November 2015]

At first, I kinda flounder on seeing this Danish animation movie for the longest time, until I finally gave this movie a watch. Now, that I had seen this, I really don't need any more time to mullet over it. While, this movie directed by Stefan Fjeldmark isn't as good as Pixar's 2003's 'Finding Nemo' in the masterpiece department; 'Help, I'm a Fish' wasn't as bad as critics make it out to be. Yes, it cod be batter, but it was a pretty enjoyable for the most part. This movie got me hooked, lined and sinker. I kinda like this underwater adventure film. It was decent. Still, the movie's story could had needed, a little work when it came to the science. It's seem bit too implausible for humans to turn into fishes. It also seem a bit illogical, that fishes would be able to understand, language so quick, but it never once, felt too distracting or bizarre for a kid's film. It's better off, just to ignore it and just try to enjoy the film. I think, children will easily understand, what's going on, no matter, how much exposition is spit out. Anyways, the movie tells the story of three kids, whom were accidentally turned into fishes, when a mad scientist, Professor MacKrill (Voiced by Terry Jones/ Søren Sætter-Lassen in Danish)'s experiment with global warming and its rising oceans tides goes horribly wrong. Now, left in the ocean to fend for themselves, the three kids; the adventurous, Fly (Voiced by Jeff Pace in English/ Sebastian Jessen in Danish), the child genius, Chuck (Voiced by Aaron Paul in English/ Morten Kernn Nielsen in Danish), and last, the baby sister, Stella (Voiced by Michelle Westerson in English/ Pil Neja in Danish), must find the strength and courage to fight against a power-hungry enemy fish, Joe (Voiced by Alan Rickman in English/ Nis Bank-Mikkelsen in Danish) for leadership of the ocean; while, also racing against time to recover the antidote which will turn them back into normal selves. Can the kids make it, back to solid ground or will they be end up being shark bait? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, 'Help! I'm a Fish' had a very interesting production. The movie was finish in late 1999, and released in Denmark in 2000. Yet the producers felt to release the film in the U.S, a year later in 2001, under a different name and title, 'A Fish Tale'; despite already having a full English speaking cast redubbed, the original Danish lines. I guess, the producers didn't had the confidence to release it, earlier or retouches had to be done in the animation side. In my opinion, I don't see much, different, from this and the Danish version, so who knows, why it was released so late! All, I know is the hand-drawn animation in this film is just as good as two largest American animation studios at the time: Disney & Dreamsworks. It looks amazing! I have a theory, that some of those companies animators, also work on this film, because I see, a lot of familiar drawing styles. You can really tell, in the way, the animation people's heads are shape and how they moved, frame by frame. You can also tell, that the movie used some early CGI in some of its sequences. They mostly were cleverly cover by cell-shaded, so it always be too conspicuous, however, some of them, really stick out, such in the scenes featuring machines, storms or larger creatures. One thing, I didn't really didn't like, about the CGI, is how the newer DVD cover art makes it seem like a fully computer animation movie, when it was not. Another thing, that the newer DVDs gone is a really crappy 3-D rendering. It really looks horrible. Talking about horror, while, the movie is indeed rated G, the movie is full of nightmarish imagery, such as human bodies graphic degenerating, cult-like organizations & anamorphic fishes, getting eaten. These scenes might scare, little children. The movie is also full of intense moments that will get anybody heart-rate up. Lots of great suspense and action scenes. Not all things, were scary. There were some humor that audience might find funny, but they were few in between. I do like, how the movie pull on your heartstrings, however, I wish, the movie would able more time to sink in, before revealing, the big twists. One thing, the movie was really adequate; was the music. "Intelligence" by Alan Rickman & 'Help! I'm A Fish" by the band, Little Trees were alright, but none of them, were that catchy to me. Maybe, I just don't like Euro-pop. The voice talents were actually not that bad at all in this. All the child actors in this, work well. I'm still shock that Aaron Paul from 2010's TV Series, Breaking Bad, voiced the nerdy kid in this. It's so different, from the roles, he would be known for. Alan Rickman is also remarkable. He lent his gritty baritone to a cool and suave villain. Very impressed with his performance. Terry Jones was a great choice for Professor McKrill. His character is quite mad, and it works for him. Still, I really didn't like his singing voice. Way too much, silliness- there. The rest of the voice actors were fine, in their limited roles. I do like, how the movie has character development, and some importation good morals. Advocates teamwork, friendship, and "brain power" is a great message for the children. I like how the main courageous young hero has empathy, strength of character, and takes responsibility for his mistakes. His two companions are equally resourceful and the three work together to get themselves out of trouble. Overall: Engaging heroes, exciting action and all-around good animation, makes this a gill-ty pleasure for me. It will gained a cult-follow in the years to come, for sure.

Terrible Movie!

[freakfire-1 · 1/10 · 31 December 2008]

Really? Did the producers have to make this? Were the animators held at gunpoint? Am I the reincarnation of Theodore Roosevelt? All of these questions could be answered with a 'yes' but it would do nothing to make anybody feel better.

Anyway, its a corny kid story about some kids and an adult getting turned into oceanic creatures. Yes, I know it sounds exciting but hold on for a moment. There is this bad guy and he is after something. All turns out good in the end and they return to their previous states of humanity and all are happy.

Really? Is there a point to this movie? The animation was bad and the script was bad even for a kids movie. I want this part of my life back. "F"

Great Movie!!

[smglva · 10/10 · 10 September 2005]

I think this was a great movie! It was funny and full of cliché! I especially liked Stella, the little girl, she was so innocent and curious. It reminded me of my baby cousin. Fly was the bad boy in the group. He didn't do it on purpose, just somehow whenever he did something it always became a catastrophe. For example- If Fly hadn't wanted to go fishing in the first place it never would have happened. But if he hadn't, there would be no story. Charles is the nerd in the group. Which is great actually, he's funny, witty and always saying long words! It makes you wonder what he's saying. If there was no Charles there would have been no chance for Fly and Stella to get back to being human! Joe was another great character. Obviously hes the real bad guy, the one who makes a problem of what the good guys are trying to do and they have to kill him! It was a great movie and i recommended it to all my friends and now i'm recommending it to you!!!!

A Tale of Three Fishies

[homerthefreak-786-658831 · 7/10 · 18 April 2024]

Love when movies have a theme song that's named after the movie, especially when the movie has a title like "Help! I'm a Fish". Alan Rickman is in this as Alan Fishman and they're great, almost overqualified if they didn't sell it so well. They even get a "Be Prepared"-style villain song. Aaron Paul is also in this weirdly, in a very early role, and it's a pretty bad voice acting performance tbh, but you can tell it's them if you listen closely. But this was pretty solid for a kids movie from the 2000s that nobody in this country has seen unless they were really into Shark Tale when that movie came out and their parents picked this up because it was rereleased as "A Fish Tale" to trick people into renting it. Weirdly, it would also work as a prequel that sets up the events of the movie Shark Tale. I wish there was something like this for Cars, that'd be horrifying. Reminds me a lot of We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. I'd say it's probably better than that even, but honestly I don't remember that movie very much and I will probably end up forgetting this one too. (6.5/10)

can't be recommended

[Dunnar · 2/10 · 16 May 2003]

This horrible movie can't be recommended, it SUCKS big time, it has a lousy plot, and not even children like it! It doesn't entertain, but boore, because the pictures are very bad, and because the music is bad, no songs that you like, and defenetly not a soundtrack I would buy.

Good entertainment for the whole family.

[Animany94 · 9/10 · 26 August 2017]

I loved this as a kid and I bought it recently to see if it still holds up to this day. And it did in almost every way!

If you look away from some forgettable songs, the rest of the movie is both funny, original and at times surprisingly dark. It has elements which adults can relate to. The feelings of desperation when your children disappear is every parent's worst nightmare. This is what makes this a good family movie.

The main characters develop nicely throughout the movie and end up learning lessons worth a fortune. It is very well done. Joe is also a pretty good villain. Wanting to have power and control is not original, but the setting of it here is indeed!

The climax of the movie is great! Both intense and actually pretty violent and scary.

Recommendable for you and your family.

Fishtastic? I'm not convinced.

[polo_tottie · 4/10 · 2 April 2006]

Not sure I would go so far as to say this film is 'fishtastic'. The only highlight for me was Terry Jones providing the voice for Professor MacKrill, and the interview with him in the DVD extras.

The rest of the film, I thought, was unremarkable - of course, there are 'cute' moments as there are in any children's films (usually in the shape of Sasha the seahorse and Stella the Starfish), and also occasionally funny moments. However, the 'baddies' were unconvincing (they just weren't mean enough - the guard crab was about as menacing as a sea slug.) and the colours were washed out.

It just seemed to me that this film was cheap (and poor) attempt at a Disney imitation.

I would have to say that the only part of this film that is worth watching more than once is the song 'Fishtastic, but true' as it is incredibly catchy - I found myself humming it for the rest of the day. The rest of the film really isn't up to much.

Wanna Change Lungs for Gills?

[Rindiana · 5/10 · 12 September 2009]

Crisply paced and not too preachy kiddie adventure with adequate animation and some nice visual and narrative ideas among the clichéd standards.

On the other hand, the frequently upcoming songs are instantly forgettable, the character work is rather flat and there's nothing particularly memorable about this little diversion, though it's nice to look at as long as it lasts.

In short, it's okay Sunday morning fodder for the small ones.

"Finding Nemo" it ain't!

5 out of 10 fishy situations