The Pout-Pout Fish

by Mike McGranaghan

Move over Nemo and Spongebob! There’s a new underwater hero to fall in love with. The Pout-Pout Fish is based on a series of children’s books written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna. If you’ve had young kids in the past fifteen years, you’re undoubtedly familiar with it. Now the character moves to the big screen in a bright, big-hearted, and funny adventure the whole family can enjoy.

Nick Offerman provides the voice of Mr. Fish, a sullen, cranky figure who likes things a certain way and is generally happiest when left alone. (Ron Swanson aside, this is the role Offerman was born to play.) His quest for quiet is seriously interrupted after he causes an accident that destroys the home of spunky sea dragon Pip (Nina Oyama). Seeking to make amends, he reluctantly agrees to embark on a quest to find a mythical, wish-granting fish named Shimmer (Jordin Sparks) who might be able to help. His personality traits are tested significantly in the process.

The movie entertains in large part because of how funny Offerman is with his deadbeat performance style. He’s hilariously curmudgeonly here, which makes scenes with the hyperactive Pip particularly amusing. This is very much a mismatched-buddy comedy for kids, wherein one character worries incessantly and the other wants to charge full speed ahead into every situation. Not so coincidentally, that mirrors the relationship between many children and their parents, giving the film a relatable quality for its target audience.

Additional fun comes from the creatures Mr. Fish and Pip meet along the way. Amy Sedaris is a riot voicing three pink dolphins. The group is portrayed in a Mean Girls style that earns some of the movie’s biggest laughs. A dash of adventure comes in the form of Mr. Fish’s rival, Benji (Remi Hii), a cuttlefish looking to impress his demanding mother Marin (Miranda Otto) by finding Shimmer in order to save their own home. The race to see who can get to her first helps keep the story’s pace zippy.

Directors Ricard Cussó and Rio Harrington charmingly adapt the beloved book series, retaining one of its most important qualities: although written for children, adults can get something out of it, too. The movie is animated with bold colors and cute character design, and the comedy is of the silly variety that keeps the kiddos in stitches. But some of the jokes are pitched a bit higher, so that mom and dad can have a good time. Themes about coping with frustration, the value of teamwork, and conflict resolution span across ages, allowing the story to strike a chord with everybody.

To utilize some of Diesen’s prose, The Pout-Pout Fish is a quality family picture sure to keep away the dreary-wearies.

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