Help! I'm A Fish

Help! I'm a Fish (Danish: Hjælp, jeg er en fisk; also known as A Fish Tale) is a 2000 Danish-German-Irish traditionally animated science fiction musical film directed by Stefan Fjeldmark, Greg Manwaring and Michael Hegner, and written by Stefan Fjeldmark, Karsten Kiilerich, John Stefan Olsen and Tracy J. Brown. It stars the voices of Alan Rickman, Terry Jones and a then-unknown Aaron Paul.

## Plot

Three children are turned into fish when they visit a mad scientist and subsequently find themselves embarking on an amazing underwater adventure. They encounter a fish who is developing a plan to take control of the oceans and then the world.

## Good Qualities

1. Beautiful animation reminiscent of films like The Iron Giant as well as many of Don Bluth's films. It's very fluid and detailed, the character designs are nice and very pleasant to look at (not to mention how well the character designs for the main trio as fish), and the transition shots make the scenes flow very well with each other.
2. Amazing backgrounds, especially the ones used for the ocean (not to mention the ones used in the film's opening, combined with and greatly helped by the serene music, makes it easily one of the most beautiful shots in the movie).
3. The voice acting is excellent.
4. Very likable and charming characters.
	* Fly, the main protagonist, is an outgoing and energetic boy with a tendency to act without thinking (which plays a big part in why the overall plot of the film started in the first place, as it was his and Stella's decision to leave and go fishing that led them to meeting Professor H.O. MacKrill in the first place). In spite of how many times his impulsive and reckless nature causes problems for the others, he's never outright mean-spirited at any point during the film and it's made very clear that he cares for Stella and Chuck, as well as getting them all back to human before it's too late.
	* Stella, Fly and Chuck's 6-year old little sister and cousin (respectively), is an sweet and upbeat young girl. She has a very cheerful and curious personality (the latter of which is what kickstarted the events of the movie as it led her to drinking the fish potion after mistaking it for lemonade). But like her cousin Fly, it's still clear that she means well, which is probably best demonstrated by how compassionate and protective she is of her seahorse (and later real horse), Sasha.
	* Chuck is Fly and Stella’s nerdy cousin who serves as the more cautious foil to their more energetic and impulsive personalities. He starts off as being much more pessimistic about ever becoming human again (especially when compared to them). However, after Fly is severely injured, he takes charge by busting back into the lab and single-handedly fighting off the piranhas trying to stop them. And by the end, he's noticeably more confident and easygoing than he was in the beginning.
	* Professor MacKrill is an eccentric but kindly marine biologist. Who kick starts the events of the film by developing the "fish potion", a serum with the ability to transform humans into fish, due to him reasoning that climate change will melt the polar icecaps within the next century and the potion's purpose being to help humans survive said events (along with an antidote to reverse the process).
	* Joe serves as a threatening and legitimate threat for the movie. As he gained scarily high intelligence for a fish after consuming little more than a single drop of antidote. Not to mention how he not only plans to use the antidote to build an army of intelligent sea creatures and take over the oceans as ruler of the fish, but he even tries to force the children into making more antidotes or he'll kill them. The fact that he's such a malicious and horrific villain, only to have quite a common name is also extremely ironic. And his death scene, while arguably pretty anticlimactic, is still absolutely horrifying (as he drowns *onscreen*).
5. The story has excellent pacing and flow.
	* Similarly, the concept of kids being turned into fish (after drinking a potion meant to turn people into fish in order to help them survive global warming) and ending up in the ocean where they must return to the surface in 48 hours before they stay as fish forever is an interesting one for a film.
6. Funny moments like this exchange between Joe and Shark.
	* **Joe:** Now, tell me all you know about this... divine cocktail, and I'll tell you about my great plans for you.
	 **Shark:** SERVED IN OYSTER SAUC- (Joe forces his mouth shut)
	* Not to mention this one after Fly, Stella, Chuck and Sasha have escaped:
		+ **Joe:** USELESS! THE PAIR OF YOU! YOU'RE NOT FIT FOR SUSHI! I sentence you to EXECUTION!
		**Shark:** Uhhh... what's that?
		**Joe:** Shark! Chew up that useless crab, and eat yourself when you're finished!
		**Shark:** YEA- (realises what Joe is trying to get him to do and growls at him)
		**Joe:** (Panicked) Uhh... I mean, um, that won't do, my mistake, no one has to execute themselves in a civilized society... YOU! (points to random fish)
		**Fish:** Uhh... who? Me?
		**Joe:** Yes, you! Because of your long and loyal service to me, I hereby appoint you Chief Executioner!
		**Chief Executioner:** Oh thank you sir! Oh thank you sir!! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, than- (is eaten by Shark)
		**Joe:** Ehhh... on the other hand, we could just call it water under the bridge, a great leader is distinguished by his ability to forgive.
7. Emotional moments like Stella having to say goodbye to Sasha and the others mistaking Fly to be dead (he wasn't, but still).
8. Joe's sacrifice was surprisingly fun, as he drowns, when he fully became human.
	* + **Fly:** Can a human *breathes* underwater?
		#\*\* **Joe:** OF COURSE NOT!
9. The classical score for many scenes as well as the pop tune used for the main theme are great soundtracks. While most of the songs don't really fit the tone of the movie (see BQ# 3), some of them are still pretty enjoyable on their own and the music itself fits the scene their in pretty well and is also very nice to listen to.
10. **Great Ending:** After Fly pursues Joe into the pipe, tricking him into repeatedly drinking from the potion by challenging his intellect. Joe evolves into a deformed humanoid and drowns. Fly drags the antidote back into the lab, Chuck uncorking it just as Lisa and Anna open the door to the flooded lab. Chuck and Stella become human once more, reuniting with their parents and MacKrill. After a few tense moments in which a stuffed fish is mistaken for the limp body of Fly, the human Fly emerges from one of the lab's pipes with a broken leg. Some time afterward, the family and MacKrill play on the beach. Sasha appears, so Chuck and MacKrill transform her into an actual horse, who Stella rides around with joy.

## Bad Qualities

1. Much of the plot relies on occurrences that are the result of sheer luck (the kids discovering the lab, the statue falling that saves the seahorse and kids, the water tornado, etc.).
2. Fly, while a likable main character, can be somewhat inconsiderate of others at times due to his abrasive nature.
3. Most of the songs don't fit the tone of the film and come out of no where.
4. The US rename "A Fish Tale" feels like an attempt to capitalize on Shark Tale.
5. The pilot for the film which was produced in 1996 has the characters making an alliance with other fish like they were starting a rebellion against Joe and implied a battle going on between Joe and the kids, and it feels like a shame that the plotlines weren't added into the final product.

## Reception

*Help! I'm A Fish* received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences alike upon it's release. However, the film grossed $5.6 million in Denmark against an approximate $18 million budget, making it a box office bomb. But despite the film's poor performance at the box office, it later won the Chicago International Children's Film Festival category Children's Jury Award.

## Trivia

* David Bateson voices both the Shark and the Crab.
* In the United States, the film is rated PG by MPAA for some mild peril and action.