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.
