‘The Pout-Pout Fish’ Review — Cuttlegeddon
The Pout-Pout Fish is based on the 2008 children’s book of the same name by Deborah Diesen. The film is co-directed by Ricard Cusso and Rio Harrington with a screenplay by Elise Allen and Elie Choufany. In an underwater town of fish in the depths of the ocean, Mr. Fish (Nick Offerman) is treated differently because of his pouty demeanor and permanent frown.
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Seeking refuge from a town constantly reminding him to cheer up and smile, a blue ocean pout named Mr. Fish is on the verge of blocking everyone and everything out and living a life of complete solitude when he crosses paths with a hyperactive yellow sea dragon named Pip (Nina Oyama). Pip’s parents are about to have 300-400 babies (the film can’t decide), and Pip is about to be overlooked in favor of her younger brothers and sisters. So she’s trying to gather things that will make the house look nice while her parents are gone.
After an argument between Mr. Fish and Pip, both of their homes are completely destroyed. Now they have to begrudgingly set off on an adventure that spans the entire ocean to try to find a magical pink Siamese fighting fish that grants wishes named Shimmer (Jordin Sparks), who can restore their houses to their former glory, hopefully before Pip’s parents return.
At the same time, a town of cuttlefish is on the verge of leaving their home because it’s being overrun by kelp. Marin (Miranda Otto), a female red cuttlefish who acts as the leader, intends to take everyone above the kelp and take over the fish town above them by any means necessary. Her son Benji (Remy Hii), an orange cuttlefish, has no intentions of leaving his home. He also wants to find Shimmer and wish for his fish folk to stay put. Unfortunately, Shimmer’s magic is said to grant only one wish. So it becomes a race between Mr. Fish, Pip, and Benji to reach Shimmer first.
The Pout-Pout Fish is an engaging co-production between Australia and the United States, which may explain why you won’t recognize most of the cast apart from Nick Offerman. Visually, the film bursts with color, from the vibrant pinks of Dolphin Cove to the dazzling underwater fluorescence when Mr. Fish and Pip interact with a biofluorescent eel — both truly memorable highlights.
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The issue is that the film is distributed by Viva Pictures, which has released some great animated films such as The Amazing Maurice and Night of the Zoopocalypse. But the majority of Viva Pictures films look like direct-to-video slop. Their films probably don’t get a fair chance because of that, but it mostly comes down to their weak character designs and posters.
There’s that studio and distributor, The Asylum, that always seems to quickly produce cheap knockoffs of whatever is currently in theaters and spits them out on DVD and Blu-ray, so people mistakenly buy them thinking a mainstream title is already available for home release. 2025 saw versions of The Monkey (The Jolly Monkey), Predator: Badlands (Predator: Wastelands), and Avatar: Fire and Ash (Pandora: Fire and Ice), among many others.
At times, Viva Pictures feels like the animated version of The Asylum, except Viva Pictures isn’t imitating anything in particular. Because I enjoyed The Amazing Maurice and Night of the Zoopocalypse so much, I try to make time for a Viva Pictures film if the opportunity arises. But there’s always that hesitation because the animation doesn’t seem as polished as it could be.
The Pout-Pout Fish’s biggest strength is in its message. Mr. Fish is an outcast from society. He’s treated differently because he looks like he steps out into public in a bad mood every day. Part of it is a lesson of not judging a book by its cover, but it’s also because Mr. Fish had trauma as a child. There’s a flashback of Mr. Fish wanting to rush off and play with a bunch of other fish as a child, but his father yells at him. The other fish hear that, and all that little version of Mr. Fish can think about is what everyone else thought about: how they judged him. As an adult, the only things that calm Mr. Fish are his zen garden and meditation.
Pip is the opposite of Mr. Fish, as she is about to be surrounded by more siblings than she can count, but she’s now the oldest and won’t require as much attention as the others. Both Mr. Fish and Pip feel a deep sense of solitude, and that is what initially brings them together, despite their drastic personality differences.
Every new character that Mr. Fish and Pip encounter builds towards the film’s ending. Everything they learn is used in the film’s finale. It’s interesting in a way because Mr. Fish and Pip are almost eaten, lost to darkness, and electrocuted to death, but those experiences become valuable tools later. The film paints predators and enemies in an unusual light: while they start off as foes, anyone can become a friend or well-known acquaintance simply by how you treat them.
The Pout-Pout Fish doesn’t entirely work, but it’s an animated film that means well, and that effort is evident throughout. As a whole, The Pout-Pout Fish features bright, splashy animation in which cynicism naturally melts into optimism in under 90 minutes. Every underwater encounter builds towards something pure and inspiring.
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The Pout-Pout Fish (2026)
PROS
- Colorful visuals
- An optimistic message that lingers long after the film is over
CONS
- Some of the humor is clever, but most of the film's comedy falls flat
- Ugly character designs
