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Film ► Obscure animated film thread (recommend and discuss!)



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WaltK

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I’ll be coming back to post some more, but I’ll start with a childhood favourite of mine that I recently revisited...

HELP! I’M A FISH
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(Known as A Fish Tale in the US, apparently)

PREMISE:
Three ordinary kids meet an eccentric professor who has been working on a potion that can turn human beings into fish. Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, the kids end up on a deep sea adventure while under the influence of said potion, where they need to retrieve the antidote, which has wound up in the hands of a former average-fish-turned-evil-mastermind (said antidote, when consumed by normal fish, turns them smart, you see) and his legion of potion-smartified minions.

Also, if the kids don’t drink the antidote within 48 hours, they will be stuck as fish forever, because, well, what else where you expecting?

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH IT:
This Denmark-made animation from the turn of the century serves up an admittedly preposterous premise in the form of a solid family film with gorgeous animation that can be best described as Don Bluth meets Brad Bird. It’s bright and colourful when it needs to be, but really goes all in on the darkness that perfectly displays just how dangerous the ocean is. These dark elements gear toward one of the most intense and anxiety inducing final acts I’ve ever seen in an animated film. The voice cast, which I’ll get to later, deliver solid performances, and the soundtrack is more banging than it has any right to be, including three super cheesy but ridiculously catchy pop songs, and a damn epic villain song.

CAST NOTES:
The film isn’t exactly bursting with star power, but there are a couple of well-known headlining talents, with the legendary Alan Rickman, as the big bad, being the most immediate example. And Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, lends his vocal chops to the professor.

More mind blowingly; Chuck, the main character who turns into the jellyfish, is voiced by a very young, and very pre-Breaking Bad Aaron Paul.

TRAILER:
 
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Soldier

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Just wanted to throw it out there that despite the title being "Help! I'm a fish!" starfish and jellyfish (which are now known as seastars and jellies respectively) are not actually fish (they're invertebrates). The scientist who is a marine biologist still addresses the potion as something that turns people into fish though, as opposed to sea creatures.

Minor nitpick I know, but the marine biologist in me just won't let these things slide.
 

Max

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The Secret of the Seal. I used to own that bad boy on VHS. I remember someone gave me the movie, one of my mom's friends maybe, but I can't remember the exact origin of my receiving it. I've also never met another soul who knew anything about this movie. I have found it on YouTube though, which kind if stirs my nostalgic curiosity. Also, I remember the animation being better than what is shown on the cover (not that the animation is anything spectacular, but it does have that nice '90s anime feel). I "think" it's an anime, though at that age I had no idea what anime was.

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