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{{Short description|2000 Danish animated film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Help! I'm a Fish
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| gross = $5.6 million<ref name=gross />
}}
'''''Help! I'm a Fish''''' ({{langx|da|'''Hjælp, jeg er en fisk'''}}; also known as '''''A Fish Tale''''') is a 2000 animated [[science fantasy]] [[musical film]] directed by Stefan Fjeldmark, Greg Manwaring, and Michael Hegner, and written by 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]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Iversen |first=Ebbe |date=2000-05-14 |title=Dansk succes i Cannes |url=https://www.berlingske.dk/samfund/dansk-succes-i-cannes |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=[[Berlingske]] |language=da |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The film tells the story of three kids–Fly, his little sister Stella, and cousin Chuck—who turn into fish and must return to human form before 48 hours are up; otherwise, they will be stuck as fish forever.
It was released on 6 October 2000 in [[Denmark]],<ref name=":4" /> 10 August 2001 in the United Kingdom, and 5 September 2006 in the United States. Animation production was split between [[A. Film Production]] in Denmark, [[Munich Animation]] in Germany, and [[Terraglyph Interactive Studios]] in Dublin, Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title={{!}} The Irish Film & Television Network |url=http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&aid=70&rid=989&tpl=filmography_dets&only=1&force=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100138/http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&aid=70&rid=989&tpl=filmography_dets&only=1&force=1 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date= |website=[[Irish Film and Television Network]]}}</ref> The film was a commercial failure and [[box-office bomb|box-office flop]], grossing $5.6 million in Denmark against an approximate $18 million budget and receiving mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences.
==Plot==
Fly is an impulsive 12-year-old boy living with his younger sister Stella and parents Lisa and Bill. When their parents go out for the night, Fly and Stella are babysat by their aunt Anna and her son Chuck, a cautious, overweight genetics prodigy, and Fly and Stella's cousin. When Anna falls asleep, the children sneak out to go fishing. Caught in a high tide, they stumble across the boathouse of Professor MacKrill, an eccentric but kindly [[Marine biology|marine biologist]]. Reasoning that [[climate change]] will melt the polar icecaps to produce [[Sea level rise#Long-term sea level rise|marine transgression]] within the next century, MacKrill reveals he has developed a [[potion]] to transform humans into marine animals, along with an antidote to reverse the process.
Mistaking it for [[lemonade]], Stella drinks the potion and turns into a [[starfish]], which Fly unknowingly throws out the window into the sea. Chuck discovers the mistake after finding Stella's transformation caught on camera. The trio set out to find Stella, but their boat sinks in a storm. Fly and Chuck drink the potion, becoming a [[California flying fish]] and a [[Aurelia aurita|moon jellyfish]]. Bill and Lisa return home to find Anna frantic with worry. Noticing that Fly's fishing equipment is gone, Bill, Lisa, and Anna head to the beach to search for them but find only Fly's rollerblades. The adults fear the worst until Professor MacKrill, having survived the storm, arrives and shows them the video of Stella's transformation.
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| Joe || Nis Bank-Mikkelsen || [[Alan Rickman]]
|-
| Professor H.O. MacKrill<ref>{{cite web |title=Urban Cinefile Feature |url=http://www.urbancinefile.com/home/view.asp?a=7493&s=Reviews
|-
| Shark || [[Dick Kaysø]] || [[David Bateson]]
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==Production and music==
{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}
On 4 October 1997, Stefan Fjeldmark (who is the film's writer), Michael Hegner and Greg Manwaring were hired and set to direct ''Help! I'm a Fish'', also known as ''A Fish Tale''. Karsten Kiilerich, John Stefan Olsen and Tracy J. Brown wrote the script for the film. Anders Mastrup and Russell Boland produced the film for release in 2000. On 9 March 1998, it was announced that Jeff Pace, Sebastian Jessen, Michelle Westerson, Pil Neja, [[Alessandro Juliani]], [[Aaron Paul]], Morten Kernn Nielsen, [[Terry Jones]], [[Søren Sætter-Lassen]], [[Alan Rickman]], Nis Bank-Mikkelsen, [[David Bateson]], [[Dick Kaysø]], [[Louise Fribo]], [[Ulf Pilgaard]], [[John Payne (voice actor)|John Payne]], [[Peter Gantzler]], [[Teryl Rothery]], [[Paprika Steen]], [[Pauline Newstone]], [[Ghita Nørby]], [[Richard Newman (actor)|Richard Newman]] and [[Zlatko Buric]] joined the film. On April 12, 1999, it was announced that [[Søren Hyldgaard]] would compose the music for the film. In 1996, a pilot trailer was completed, which has resurfaced on the Internet. The environment and object designs, animation, plot, character names, voices and designs are noticeably different from how they would eventually appear in the finished film.<ref>{{cite web |
Development and storyboarding of the film were completed in Denmark. Production then moved to Germany and Ireland for the final phases of animation, lighting, colour and production to maximise tax credits offered to foreign film projects in Germany and Ireland. The film's soundtrack contains "[[Help! I'm a Fish (Little Yellow Fish)]]" performed by [[Little Trees (group)|Little Trees]], "Agloubablou" performed by [[Cartoons (band)|Cartoons]], "Ocean of Emotion" performed by [[Meja]], "People Lovin Me" performed by [[Lou Bega]], "Ocean Love/Ton Amour Ocean" performed by [[Anggun]], "Close Your Eyes" performed by [[Patricia Kaas]], "Interlude" performed by [[Terry Jones]], "Fishtastic" performed by Terry Jones, and "Intelligence" performed by [[Alan Rickman]].
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The film was released theatrically on 6 October 2000 by [[Nordisk Film]]<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=Hjælp! Jeg er en fisk – Danish Film Institute |url=https://www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/film/hjaelp-jeg-er-en-fisk |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=[[Danish Film Institute|DFI]]}}</ref> and was released on DVD and VHS on 6 January 2003 by Movie Star.
[[HanWay Films]] and PID (Producers International Distribution) handled international sales to the film.<ref>{{cite web |title=Help! I'm a Fish |url=https://www.hanwayfilms.com/help-im-a-fish |
The film had a theatrical release in the United Kingdom by Metrodome Distribution, released on 10 August 2001.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Robert |title=Parole Officer checks in at the UK box office |url=https://www.screendaily.com/parole-officer-checks-in-at-the-uk-box-office/406579.article |website=[[Screen International|Screen Daily]] |access-date=13 February 2024}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Egmont to adapt Help! I'm a Fish for TV |url=https://www.c21media.net/news/egmont-to-adapt-help-im-a-fish-for-tv/ |website=C21Media |access-date=13 February 2024}}</ref>
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===Box office===
''Help! I'm a Fish'' became the most-watched Danish cinema film of the year, with 335,000 tickets sold during the last 13 weeks of 2000 and 265,000 people going to the cinema in 3 ½ weeks alone.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2001-01-03 |title="Hjælp! Jeg er en fisk" blev årets mest sete film |url=https://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/hjaelp-jeg-er-en-fisk-blev-aarets-mest-sete-film |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Berlingske |language=da |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The film grossed $5.6 million in Denmark against an approximate $18 million budget and became a [[box-office bomb]].<ref name="gross">{{cite web |title=Help! I'm a Fish (2003) |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=helpimafish.htm
The film was deemed to have been more successful at the box office in [[Germany]] and [[France]].<ref name=":2" />
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''Help! I'm a Fish'' received mixed-to-postive reviews.
Renee Schonfeld from
===Awards===
''Help! I'm a Fish'' won a Children's Jury Award for Feature Film or Video – Animation in the 2000 [[Chicago International Children's Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FILM FESTIVAL — WINNERS LIST 2000 |url=https://facets.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CICFF17_Awards_2000.pdf
==Soundtrack==
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Danish teen-pop girl group [[Little Trees (band)|Little Trees]] performed the title track, "[[Help! I'm a Fish (Little Yellow Fish)]]", which was released as a single in the UK. Fellow Danish girl group [[Creamy]] also recorded a version of the song.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hansen |first=Thomas Søie |date=2000-11-08 |title=Hjælp! Creamy er tilbage |url=https://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/hjaelp-creamy-er-tilbage |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Berlingske |language=da |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Belgian girl group [[K3 (band)|K3]] also recorded a Dutch version of the song for the movie.
# [[Help! I'm a Fish (Little Yellow Fish)]] – [[Little Trees (band)|Little Trees]]
# Do You Believe in Magic? – Loona
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