Line #5 WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/m_a_Fish.jpg]]
2
3	->''Once, there was only silence, and not a speck of hope in sight. And every tiny bubble burst on its journey towards the light. But the spark of creation will flicker again, it's a brand new era... about to begin.''
4	-->-- '''[[BigBad Joe]]'''
5
6	''Help! I'm a Fish'' also known as ''A Fish Tale'' is an animated ScienceFantasy feature film from 2000 by the Danish animation company Creator/AFilm, although [[ShortRunInPeru it was originally released, produced and recorded in English in an attempt to increase revenue]]. It was later released in Danish under the title "''Hjælp, jeg er en fisk''". Despite the English original cast, it wasn't until 2006 that it came to U.S. shores, under the title ''A Fish Tale''. Not to mention it had ''[[CoversAlwaysLie really sucky]]'' cover art. The English voice cast certainly wasn't something to sneeze at though, boasting of cast members such as Creator/TerryJones in a supporting role and Creator/AlanRickman as the BigBad (and a pre-fame Creator/AaronPaul as one of the main characters as well as Agent 47 himself, Creator/DavidBateson in two supporting roles).
7
8	This is the plight of the young troublemaker Fly, his cheerful younger sister Stella, and their overweight, nerdy cousin Chuck, who stumble across the laboratory of [[AbsentMindedProfessor an eccentric professor, named MacKrill]]. The professor, more than happy to have a audience to show off his WeirdScience inventions to, boasts to Fly and Chuck about his greatest discovery; the so-called "Fish Potion", which can transform people to sea creatures. Unfortunately, Stella, in an unattended moment, mistakes the potion for a drink, and takes a swig of it, transforming her into a starfish. In the ensuing confusion, she accidentally gets thrown out of a window into the sea by Fly, and only upon consulting a video tape do the other three find out what happened to her. Whilst searching the sea for Stella though, a storm brews up, and in a moment of hotheadedness, Fly drinks the potion, turning into a fish himself. A few moments later the boat capsizes, and to save himself from drowning, Chuck drinks the potion, whilst [=MacKrill=] [[DisneyDeath seemingly drowns]]. Although things seem hopeless, the professor ''did'' make an antidote, but as luck would have it, it was tossed into the ocean when the boat capsized, and is now in the hands of Joe -- a megalomaniac pilot fish, who plans to harness the power of the human intellect and use it to control the other fish.
9
10	[[RaceAgainstTheClock Oh, and did we mention that if Fly, Chuck, and Stella don't get the antidote in 48 hours, they'll be stuck as fish forever?]]
11	----
12	!!''Help! I'm a Fish'' provides examples of the following tropes:
13	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: The CGI is cel-shaded, so it isn't always as conspicuous. The [[spoiler: giant octopus]] is fairly sticky-outy, though.
14	* AbsentMindedProfessor: [=MacKrill=]. Also counts as a MadScientist.
15	* ActorAllusion: When setting out to find the now-fish-ified kids, Professor [=MacKrill=] (Terry Jones) sings to himself that he must "[[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife find the fish]]".
16	* AcidTripDimension: Stella goes through a rather strange one prior to her transformation.
17	* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Fly is visibly disturbed by the act of tricking Joe into killing himself.]]
18	* AnimalTalk: Averted. Even though Fly, Chuck, and Stella have been turned into fish, they can't speak with other fish except ones that have been exposed to the antidote.
19	* {{Animorphism}}: The main premise of the movie revolves around the main cast turning into ocean animals and trying to turn back into humans.
20	* AnthropomorphicTransformation: The fish potion's antidote not only makes fish more intelligent, but it also gives them a more cartoony and anthropomorphic design. [[spoiler:It can also transform them into humans (mostly, anyway), as Joe finds out the hard way.]]
21	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Granted this is a children's film, but:
22	** The ForcedTransformation purpose of Professor [=MacKrill=] consists of a bunch of random aquatic ingredients which can somehow perfectly change a human into a fish, also allowing them to speak perfect English and maintain certain physical characteristics (hair, glasses, a skirt). The antidote reverses this, but if an actual fish drinks it, they gain human intelligence. If they keep drinking it, [[spoiler: they turn into deformed humans, as what happens to Joe]].
23	** Mixing a seahorse and a horse's DNA in the film can create a perfect fusion of the both, even though neither of them are even close to being the same species.
24	** Piranhas are ''fresh''water fish - they apparently are able to survive long enough in saltwater.
25	** Despite their name, starfish and jellyfish are NOT actually fish even though the film treats them as such with Stella and Chuck turning into them.
26	* ArtisticLicenseGeology: The professor's claim that all habitable land would be lost if the polar ice caps melted. ''Even if that happened'', even if the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland and the mountain glaciers melted, the simple answer is, no. While we would indeed lose numerous coastal cities, it is simply inaccurate to say that the ''entire world'' would flood. Sea levels would only rise about 70 meters (230 feet). But many cities, such as Denver, would survive. Then again, [=MacKrill=] seems to be a bit of a CloudCuckooLander.
27	* AsimovsThreeKindsOfScienceFiction: One of Professor [=MacKrill's=] WeirdScience inventions is a potion that turns people into fish. It's never seen how it works or the creation process. Rather, [=MacKrill's=] lack of safety measures gives a curious little girl easy access to it. This forces her big brother and cousin to use the very same potion to retrieve the antidote from the depths of the ocean. Therefore, it's categorized as an Adventure kind of SciFi story.
28	* AssholeVictim: The Crab spends his last moments just boasting about how he is the new "king", and then quickly gets eaten by the Shark to no one's grief. It doesn't help that he almost mortally wounded Fly and tried to kill the kids just before that.
29	* BadBoss: Joe. He fires Shark, insults Crab, and orders for their execution for their failures (although he then changes his mind) and that's not getting into how Shark is allowed to eat sentient fish in Joe's empire and how he orders his troops to construct a statue in his likeness. Near the end of the movie, his mistreatment of both Shark and Crab causes trouble for him and his plans.
30	* AWildRapperAppears: Some versions of the film have this during "Do You Believe In Magic?".
31	* BigBad: Joe. He gets a hold of the antidote that the heroes need after they've all been turned into sea creatures, and uses it for his own desires.
32	* BigBadWannabe: Crab proclaims himself the new king of the ocean after [[spoiler: knocking Fly down and drinking the last potion]], but only briefly takes charge of the army of crabs before getting eaten by Shark due to his own [[SmugSnake smug attitude]].
33	* BigNo: Chuck does one of these near the end of the movie [[spoiler:when he believes Fly is dead]].
34	* BlackComedy: Shark's habit of eating fully sentient creatures, which would be utterly terrifying if it weren't [[PlayedForLaughs played for (very dark) laughs]].
35	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: When Joe drinks too much of the antidote, bones sprout out from his back and arms, he develops a tumor like growth on his head, his skin starts to rip and slough off and his teeth become crooked and a few even fall out.]]
36	* CelestialDeadline: Those who don't turn back to normal within 48 hours of the fish transformation will stay fish forever.
37	* ChekhovsGun:
38	** The Professor's [[spoiler:water-pump system]], which plays a large part in the climax.
39	** Fly's fishing lure. It allows his family to track down where he, Stella and Chuck went once they go missing.
40	** The video recorder, ''twice''. Initially intended to record professor [=MacKrill=] turning into a fish, it also ends up recording Stella turning into a starfish. The first time around allows Chuck to find out (too late) what happened to Stella, and the second time around it's used as proof of the children's state when Anna and Fly's parents aggressively interrogate professor Mac Krill.
41	* ClippedWingAngel: After Joe [[spoiler:drinks an awful lot of antidote and slowly transforms into a monstrous mockery of a human being, (see BodyHorror above), seemingly having become a much more powerful and threatening creature, he loses his gills, which are now replaced by lungs, making him unable to breathe underwater anymore. Realizing this too late, he promptly drowns and dies, his deformed corpse washed away by the ocean.]]
42	* CoversAlwaysLie: The [[http://www.theneitherworld.com/hiaf/images/aftcover.jpg U.S. DVD cover art]] makes the film look like a {{Mockbuster}} of ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''. Even weirder, Creator/AlanRickman's name is placed above the title, but his character isn't even shown on the cover. This solitary name also makes it sound like Rickman is the lead role. Or the shark.
43	* DerangedAnimation: Stella's "turning-into-a-starfish" sequence is very different from the rest of the movie - when she drinks the fish potion, the perspective around her becomes distorted and Stella begins to fall backwards as the background also distorts and shatters, followed by even more distorted background images and visions of her surroundings rapidly zooming in and fading out before everything finally settles, ending with Stella falling over and fainting.
44	* DisneyDeath:
45	** [[spoiler:[=MacKrill=] nearly drowns during the storm but fortunately survives. The main characters, however, think he ''did''.]]
46	** [[spoiler:Near the end of the film, Chuck believes Fly is still a fish and has died. He tries to put the fish in a bowl full of water, but it does no good. His mother tries to help out, but Chuck gets very angry and then slips, accidentally dropping the fish in the process and then having his mother step on it. Seconds later, Fly emerges from nearby boxes, now back in his human form. Later, Anna finds out that the fish she stepped on is the same stuffed fish Fly examined earlier.]]
47	* DitzyGenius: Joe might be quite smart for a fish, but [[spoiler: his logic can sometimes be messed up that when he drinks the antidote, he forgets that humans can't breathe underwater.]]
48	** Professor Mackrill is obviously a genius scientist and his potion is brilliant, but the man himself... isn't all there.
49	* ADogNamedDog: A great white shark named Shark and a crab named... well, Crab.
50	* DoNotTouchTheFunnelCloud: An ''underwater'' version, but nonetheless seems to work under the same principles. The "underwater tornado" does not appear dangerous until it gets close enough to suck its victims in.
51	* TheDragon: Both Shark and the Crab are this to Joe. [[TheStarscream At first.]] Once Shark gets fired from his position by Joe and Crab [[spoiler:gravely injures Fly and becomes more intelligent by drinking the antidote]], they both rebel against Joe.
52	* DubNameChange: The Japanese dub changes Fly's name to Tobi, from "tpbu", meaning "to fly". Similarly, the movie itself is retitled "Tobi Wars".
53	* DumbMuscle: Shark. His DVD character profile states that the reason he puts up with Joe's poor treatment is simply because he does not have the brains to rebel.
54	* EurekaMoment: When Joe [[spoiler:is escaping the flooded lab with the remaining antidote]], Stella calls him a "stupid fish". This gives Fly the idea to [[spoiler:go after Joe and trick him into drinking more antidote so that the latter can turn into a human underwater and drown.]]
55	-->'''Stella:''' Fly! What are you doing?\
56	'''Fly:''' Using my brain! For once...
57	* EvilBrit: Joe, an account of being voiced by none other than Creator/AlanRickman.
58	* EvilOverlooker: In one of the posters for the film, Joe and the Shark can be seen behind the main characters, the former sporting a sinister grin on his face.
59	%%* EvilSoundsDeep: Joe and Shark.
60	* ExplainExplainOhCrap: Joe's gloating at his increased intelligence from drinking the antidote is cut short by horrified realization once it dawns on him that [[spoiler:he's become a strictly air-breathing human deep underwater]].
61	-->'''Fly:''' Can a human breathe underwater?\
62	'''Joe:''' OF COURSE NOT-! ''(realizes he's just doomed himself, before proceeding to cease breathing and drown)''
63	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The majority of the film takes place within 48 hours, according to Professor Krill.
64	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
65	** [[spoiler:Joe]], who also gets a DeathByIrony. He turns into [[spoiler:a human, but because he's underwater and humans cannot breathe underwater, he ends up drowning after realizing his mistake of drinking the antidote]].
66	** A lot of the (mostly sapient) fish that Shark eats over the course of the film suffer this as well, because Shark [[EatenAlive eats them alive and usually on-screen]].
67	* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: [[spoiler:Fly gets injured by a giant sentient crab to the point of visibly bleeding.]]
68	%% FauxAffablyEvil: Joe.
69	* FingerTenting: Joe does this during his NewEraSpeech. Kind of. He doesn't have fingers, but the same visual purpose is achieved by it.
70	* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Chuck is washed into [=MacKrill's=] lab, he has a jellyfish stuck on his head, which is what he will turn into later. Similarly, while in the lab, Fly comes across a stuffed fish labeled "California ''Fly''fish", which looks exactly like the one he will turn into.
71	** Fly and Stella's [[MeaningfulName names]] were also foreshadowing what kind of fish they were going to turn into. Fly's was certainly more obvious, and the name Stella means "star".
72	** When Fly is trying to take the antidote from Joe, Chuck warns him that they'll drown if they turn back into humans underwater. [[spoiler:Guess how Joe is defeated?]]
73	** A more subtle one, but when Joe drinks enough antidote to grow fingers, he also grows eyebrows and a hint of a human nose.
74	** During the "Fishtastic" song, when Fly and Chuck walk behind a fish tank as they follow [=MacKrill=], all of them have their heads completely obscured by the fishes inside the tank, one for each head. While Fly and Chuck don't turn into the same species that obscured their heads and [=MacKrill=] doesn't turn into a fish at all, the colorations do match (yellow for Fly, and blue for Chuck).
75	* FreezeFrameBonus: When Fly unwittingly hits the Esc button on Chuck's laptop and causes the system to crash, there's a single frame that features the logo of a real (& now-obscure) game called ''Chase Ace 2'' displayed on the monitor as it glitches out.
76	* FurryConfusion: Pointedly averted. Anthropomorphized fish are either humans who have been exposed to the fish potion or fish who have been exposed to the antidote. All other fish are realistic.
77	* GreenAesop: The professor's whole reason for creating the fish potion -- due to a danger presented by melting icecaps. It's not actually as big of a motivator as you might think, though.
78	* GuileHero: Near the end, Fly saves the day by outwitting Joe. [[spoiler:He tricks the latter into drinking enough antidote to turn himself into a human underwater, drowning as a result.]]
79	* HeroesGoneFishing: Literal variation; the whole plot springs up from a fishing trip.
80	* HollywoodHealing: Downplayed. [[spoiler:As a fish, Fly becomes weak from Crab injuring him and seemingly doesn't heal, but once he turns back into a human, he's quite fine aside from his leg being broken.]]
81	* ImColdSoCold: [[spoiler:Fly. Justified due to him having (seemingly) lost quite a bit of blood.]]
82	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Chuck's mother, Aunt Anna. While she seems like your typical "nasty, negligent aunt" in the opening, she proves herself to be fairly formidable in searching for her son, and softens up in the end.]]
83	* KarmicTransformation: In a way, Chuck. He is a clever boy with a lot of nerdy and academic interests, but the fish potion turns him into a jellyfish, a creature that ''doesn't have a brain at all''.
84	* LegoGenetics: Random bits of ocean-stuff is enough to turn humans into fish, fish into humans, and, eventually, [[spoiler:seahorses to actual horses]].
85	* MeaningfulName: Fly and Stella's names foreshadowed what kind of fish they were going to turn into.
86	* MermanityEnsues: As the film's title suggests, the characters are turned into fish when they drink a potion.
87	%%* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: The crabs.
88	* MorphicResonance: Each transformed character keeps at least one physical characteristic of their human form.
89	* MusicalisInterruptus: Fly does this to Joe while the latter is singing "Intelligence". [[spoiler:He was actually trying to continue the song, but it hilariously failed.]]
90	* NewEraSpeech: Joe makes a short one before his VillainSong.
91	* NoCartoonFish: Partially averted. Simply put -- Cartoon = Human/Fish that has been exposed to one of the potions. Not Cartoon = Not exposed to the potion.
92	%%* NoIndoorVoice:
93	%%** ''All'' of the crabs.
94	%%** Shark too, mostly.
95	* OhCrap:
96	** Chuck has one when he plays back the recording on [=MacKrill=]'s video camera and realizes all too late that the starfish Fly is about to toss out the window into the ocean is actually ''Stella''.
97	** Joe gets a major one [[spoiler:right before he kicks the bucket]].
98	--->[[spoiler:'''Fly''': Can a human breathe underwater?]]
99	** Fly also has a moment like this [[spoiler:before he's injured by the crab]].
100	* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: Joe's transformation into a human at the climax could be considered an inversion]].
101	* PersonalitySwap: Throughout the movie Fly is carefree and optimistic while Chuck is constantly worrying and willing to give up easily. [[spoiler:After Fly is wounded they completely switch personalties.]]
102	* ProfessorGuineaPig: [=MacKrill=]'s demonstration of the fish potion involved him stepping into a fish tank, potion in hand, and asking for the results of whatever happens to him to be filmed on a video camera. Subverted in that he has to halt the experiment to fetch the antidote and leaves the fish potion out for someone else to grab...
103	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Joe's answer to the question [[spoiler:"What happens to a fish that drinks too much antidote?"]]
104	-->[[spoiler:'''Joe:''' It. Becoooomes... ''(gasp)'' HUUUMAAN!]]
105	* PuffOfLogic: [[spoiler:Fly outsmarts Joe by asking him semi-complicated questions, leading Joe to drink more and more antidote, making him more and more human. By the point Joe has turned more or less fully human, Fly poses him the final question: "Can a human breathe underwater?" Joe answers "Of course not!" and immediately drowns.]]
106	* RaceAgainstTheClock: If the kids don't get the antidote within 48 hours, they'll be stuck as fish forever.
107	* RedOniBlueOni: Fly's red personality to Chuck's blue personality. [[spoiler:However, this dynamic is reversed after Fly is injured.]]
108	** Also Shark's red personality to Joe's blue.
109	* RewrittenPopVersion: "Do You Believe in Magic" is slightly different on the soundtrack album, including the addition of AWildRapperAppears. Occasionally this version is used on TV airings.
110	* SceneryPorn: The underwater landscape.
111	* ScrewLearningIHavePhlebotinum: What ends up happening to any fish exposed to the Fish Antidote. At one point in the movie, you see Joe take a sip of the potion in order to solve a math problem.
112	* SeahorseSteed: Sasha the seahorse helps carry the main characters around. [[spoiler:In the end, she is turned into an actual, land-bound pony.]]
113	* ShoutOut
114	** The main villain, Joe the pilot fish, seems disturbingly similar to ComicBook/TheJoker from Franchise/{{Batman}}'s earlier animated series (who even had [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE34TheLaughingFish an episode]] about transforming fish to have his iconic SlasherSmile).
115	** "You're forgetting something! [[Franchise/StarWars The Force is with us]]!"
116	** As Joe is being placed on a [[HitlerCam podium above a adoring crowd]] with a red x-esque symbol reminiscent of a swastika behind him, the lyrics declare him to be "[[Film/TriumphOfTheWill Prince of the Whales/Will]]".
117	* SiblingTeam: Fly and Stella are a serious oddity in the world of children's animation -- not only do they still have both their parents, but they genuinely love each other! Who'da thunk?
118	* SickeningCrunch: [[spoiler:In the commotion during Fly's DisneyDeath, Chuck slips and "Fly" goes into the air. Aunt Anna reaches up to catch him, drops it and ''[[NightmareFuel accidentally steps on Fly]]'', causing this noise.]]
119	* SlasherSmile: Joe sports them frequently throughout the entire movie, but his most prominent and sadistic one is [[spoiler:right after he turns human.]]
120	* SuperDrowningSkills: Chuck during the beginning of the film. He gets better once he becomes a jellyfish.
121	** As he explains to Fly after the three of them have been transformed, this was actually the reason he had no other choice but to drink the potion after [=MacKrill's=] boat capsized during the storm whilst they were looking for Stella.
122	--->'''Chuck:''' I can't swim…\
123	'''Fly:''' Why didn't you say so before?!\
124	'''Chuck:''' I ''had'' to drink the potion.
125	** The issue of humans drowning underwater comes up repeatedly, ranging from Chuck in the beginning, to Fly trying to trick Joe into letting him drink the antidote during his VillainSong, to [[spoiler:Joe turning human at the end and drowning]].
126	* SuperNotDrowningSkills: An odd variation. While [[spoiler:Joe]] ultimately does drown after [[spoiler:becoming almost entirely human]], he is briefly able to talk underwater before drowning. Obviously, humans ''cannot'' talk underwater in real life.
127	* TeamPet: Sasha the seahorse.
128	* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Skirt-wearing starfish? Alrighty then. Seeing how Fly keeps his hat and Chuck keeps his glasses, we should be more concerned that she has pigtails.
129	** Fish Fly is also seen to have hair towards the end of the movie.
130	* TookALevelInBadass: Chuck starts out as Fly and Stella’s nerdy cousin, being much more pessimistic about ever becoming human again compared to them. However, after [[spoiler: Fly is severely injured]], he takes charge by busting back into the lab and single-handedly fighting off the piranhas trying to stop them.
131	* TitleDrop: Averted. No one actually says "Help! I'm a fish!" like you may expect from the title. They do say "Help!" a lot, though.
132	* ThreateningShark: Averted with Shark. Though he is... well, a shark, his brain is the size of a pea.
133	* TomTheDarkLord: The name of our BigBad, a Joker-looking, Alan Rickman-voiced maniac? Joe.
134	* TransformingConforming: The antidote created by Mac Krill may turn humans turned into fishes back into humans again, but has the reversal effect on fishes, giving them intelligence and the hability to talk. However, when Fly tricks Joe into drinking more antidote, the fish mutates, turning into a heinous mockery of a human being. And humans can't breath in the water...
135	* UnnamedParent: In the credits, Fly and Stella's parents are listed as "The Mother" and "The Father"... Even though their names, Lisa and Bill, are actually given in the movie.
136	* UpliftedAnimal: Any fish exposed to the antidote gains human-like qualities including the ability of human speech and human intelligence. How human the fish becomes depends on how much antidote they're exposed to.
137	* VillainSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giVEorC-NOc "Intelligence"]]. Also counts as a CrowdSong.
138	* VocalDissonance: Even though he's a kid, Chuck's voice sounds older.
139	* WeCanRuleTogether: Implied by Joe, when he's trying to weasel the anti-fish formula out of Fly, Chuck, and Stella. [[spoiler:It's only an act however, as he plans to feed them all to Shark.]]
140	* WeirdnessCensor: When Fly finds Starfish!Stella on the floor he doesn't notice this starfish has pigtails and a skirt.
141	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It's never explained what happened to the other uplifted fish after [[spoiler:Joe's death]]. It's possible [=MacKrill=] and Chuck may turn them back by pouring the fish potion into the nearby ocean, or that the effect may wear off over time.
142	* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Used numerous times.
143	* YellowEyesOfSneakiness: Joe, Shark, and the Crab all have bright yellow sclerae in contrast with the other fish in the movie. [[spoiler: Joe keeps this trait when he becomes human.]]
144	* YouAreWhatYouHate: Joe and the fish become hateful of being aquatic creatures forced to live in water, wishing to be more human and rise to the surface world.

Context WesternAnimation / HelpImAFish