Animation / The Reef

"If you'll indulge for a moment my rhyming motif
I'd like to tell you of a place called the Reef.
The entire coral kingdom is a delight to the senses
Alas, that is not where our story commences.
We are used to Blue Water, this water would spook us
It's the color of phlegm, but possibly mucus.
And the salty sea spray that wafts on the breeze
Is like the stuff that comes out of your nose when you sneeze.
In this polluted ominous swill
There's one little fish of unusual skill
Who would one day meet the most incredible fate
Full of fighting, romancing, becoming live bait.
I know it boggles the mind and it beggars belief
But that's the lad we would one day see.\\"

—Opening lines

The Reef (also known as The Reef: Shark Bait in certain parts of the world) is a 2006 computer-animated South-Korean film produced by WonderWorld, Studios, DigiArt and FXDigital.

The movie follows the life of a young orange fish named Nemo, erh Pi (short for Pisces), whose parents tragically die when they are caught in a net. Having no one in the world except for his - supposedly - crazy aunt Pearl, he sets on a journey with two dolphins, erh porpoises, Meg and Percy, to reach the Reef. Upon arriving (fully as an adult), he bumps into Dylan, a Cowardly Lion fish who becomes his best friend (and turns out to be his cousin) and Cordelia, a beautiful pink angelfish who poses as a model for "National Geographic". Pi instantly falls in love with her. Unfortunately for him, a mean tiger shark called Troy has also set his eyes for Cordelia and abuses our protagonist whenever he spots these two together. After a hard beating (where Pi and Cordelia enjoyed a romantic night staring at the stars), Pi decides that he's had enough of Troy's bullying and asks Nerissa, an old sea turtle who's rumored to be a wizard, to teach him martial arts to finally defeat Troy and win Cordelia's heart. Yap, you read the description just right. And you are probably wondering what the people associated with the film were thinking when they were producing it. We don't know either.

Despite being a critical and commercial failure, it garnered a sequel titled "The Reef: High-tide" which was released in 2012.

Not to be confused with the the horror film from 2010.

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The Reef: Shark Bait contains examples of:

• Advertised Extra: Max, the crab, features prominently in many posters and DVD covers of the movie, despite not playing a major role.
• Affably Evil: Mostly Eddie.
• Always a Bigger Fish: Portuguese Man O'War are strong enough to weaken Troy, but not for long.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Dylan is openly against his mother's antics, the way she dresses and flirts outside the house and her belief that the pearl his late husband gave her is magical. By the end of the film, he grows a bone and fully accepts her.
• Ancestral Name: Pi is short for Pisces. His mom is named Piper and his father Pike. All three of their names start with "Pi".
• Anti-Smother Love Talk: One of the things Dylan has forbid his mother is showing publicly her love.
• Animal Talk: Most of the animals in the film talk to each other, even those that belong to different classes.
• Armor-Piercing Question: When Cordelia learns that Pi trains with Nerissa to fight Troy, she calls him out for his stupidity. Pi then confronts her and asks her why she agreed to marry Troy, even though she doesn't love him. Cordelia replied that it's because he promised her he would leave Pi and the Reef alone. Once he hears that, he asks her why she doesn't trust him in the same vein as Troy.
• Artistic Licence Marine Biology:
  • Mostly on the size of the characters. Troy the tiger shark and Thornton the walrus should be larger, at least compared to Pi and Cordelia.
  • Walrus tend to live in the seasonally ice-covered northern waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, not in the tropical waters of the Reef.
  • Troy, a tiger shark, is in love with Cordelia, an angelfish. Even ignoring the fact that sexual attraction between these two species would be impossible in Real Life, one can wonder about the whole reproduction thing.
    • Same thing applies to Cordelia and Pi, who may be both fish, but of different breed (Pi is an orange wrasse).
  • It's never explained how Pi, who is an orange wrasse, is related to Pearl, who is a purple elongate surgeonfish.
  • Speaking of which, wrasses and elongate surgeonfish are explosive breeders, yet both Pi's parents and Aunt Pearl only managed to raise one kid.
• Asshole Victim: Troy loved to bully the fish of the reef and beat the crap out of Pi whenever he spotted him, but him being dragged on the surface inside a net while pleading for his life can give any viewer the shivers. Although the sequel shows he survived and he's now locked in a cage, while humans put him into torturing.
• Big Bad: Troy, a Threatening Shark who pines over Cordelia and loves to terrorize the residents of the Reef in his free time.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Percy and his mother come at the very best moment to help Pi in his fight against Troy.
  • When Troy is about to eat a helpless Nerissa, the trio marlins and Thornton come to the rescue.
• Big "NO!": Troy yells one before he's dragged over the surface inside a net.
• Brains Versus Brawn: One of the aesops of the movie. If you can't beat a bully with your strength, you can use your brains - and the sea - against him.
• The Bully:
  • Troy acts more like your typical high-school bully, rather than the ferocious predator you'd expect. Though there's a scene showcasing a large amount of fish skeletons and Troy luring there, indicating he just ate a school of fish.
  • Troy's henchmen love to bury Dylan's face in a lobster's hole whenever they visit the Reef.
• Calling the Old Man Out: When Thornton tells Pi that his story is actually made up, Pi is justifiably angry at him and calls him out.
• Camp Gay: Buddy and Lou. It's never stated, but it's pretty clear from their mannerisms.
• Character Development:
  • Although Pi was brave from the start, he tended to act temperamental, resulting in plenty of Curb Stomp Cushions between him and Troy. After a Training Montage with Nerissa, he learns to notice the environment and not to rush into foolish actions.
  • Dylan let Bart and Eddie abuse him whenever they spotted him and was openly ashamed by his mother's divination arts. By the end of the film, he grew a bone, finally punished his bullies for all these times they buried his head into a lobster's hole and hugged his mother, fully embracing her crazy antics.
• Cheerful Child: Pi and Percy when they were little.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The net! Once it grabs you, you never return to the ocean! Pi lures Troy into following him inside a net and escapes in the last moment.
  • Marriage proposals in the fish kingdom are done through a pearl. If a female fish accepts the pearl that a male fish hands her, they are married for life. It's the reason why Aunt Pearl likes to stare at the pearl of her late husband, why Nerissa is so protective of his own pearl and it becomes a Plot Point in the film when Cordelia tells Troy she will accept his pearl, on condition he leaves Pi and the Reef alone.
• Chekhov's Skill: When Pi's parents die and he is adopted by a group of porpoises, they teach him how to leap out of the water. Pi finds this skill useful when he fights Troy, for it helps him escape the net and not to be trapped in, unlike his rival.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Aunt Pearl. Everyone thinks she's nuts for believing she possess divinatory abilities, but it turns out she does!
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Dylan to his mother.
• The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Pearl's pearl is indeed magical.
• Cool Old Guy: Nerissa. Despite his old age, he can fight off squids and other predators with ease.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: Pi's early fights with Troy can be summarized like this: Pi rushes in front of Cordelia to protect her, Troy slaps him with his tail, Pi loses his senses. The end.
• Damsel in Distress: Pi thinks Cordelia is one when he sees Troy lurking behind her. Turns out Troy had no intention to eat her, but he nevertheless never leaves her alone.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Turns out Nerissa has one. He used to live on the Reef, until one day humans kidnapped his wife. When he asked for help, nobody acted. It was then that he left and chose to live in a deserted shipwreck, away from the fish he thought friends. The only thing remaining from his missing wife was the pearl Nerissa has gifted her.
• David Versus Goliath: The entire movie is about Pi, a small orange wrasse, confronting Troy, a massive Threatening Shark and coming victorious.
• Despair Event Horizon: Troy ruins the romantic date Pi and Cordelia enjoyed by slapping Pi so hard he loses his senses. Cordelia then comforts Pi as the current leads him to Nerissa's shipwreck.
• Determinator: Pi is determined to save Cordelia from Troy's jaws. It's possible he feels this way since he failed to save his parents from the fishnet.
• Devastating Remark: When Cordelia agrees to accept Troy's pearl (in the Reef, accepting a pearl means you and your gifter are married for life) so Troy will finally leave Pi alone. All Pi can do is say an exhausting no.
• Distressed Dude: During their final battle, Troy slaps Pi so hard, a bunch of huge rocks start falling on him.
• A Dog Named "Dog": Pi is short for pisces.
• Downer Beginning: The film delivers us to Boston's polluted waters, filled with all types of mutant fish, where we meet a young Pi and his parents. Surely, that's not a place one should raise their children. Additionally, in the next five minutes, a fishnet arrives to drag both of Pi's parents away.
• The Dreaded: Troy is this for the inhabitants of the Reef, being a Threatening Shark and all that.
• Famed In-Story: The story of Pi's fight with Troy becomes legend, and Pi himself is elevated to the status of folk hero.
• Foil: Pi to Dylan. Pi is an orange wrasse, brave and adventurous and always eager to explore new places. Dylan is a blue elongate surgeonfish, more timid and neurotic in comparison who wants to appear cool. He's also embarrassed by his mother's affections, whereas Pi doesn't mind.
• Electric Jellyfish: Portuguese Man O'War. One sting to a small fish, and it's a goner.
• "Eureka!" Moment: When Pi spots the fishnet during his fight with Troy...
• Face of a Thug: Troy and his henchmen. The mutant fish in Boston also count, even though they don't stay for long.
• Feather Fingers: From the little we see of the pelican, he seems to have these.
• Fiendish Fish: The mutant fish which inhabit Boston. Polluted water is not good for your skin, kids.
• For Doom the Bell Tolls: The background music when Troy and Pi are trapped inside the fishnet.
• Foreshadowing: Pay attention to the fishnet at the beginning of the film. And the one at Flat Bottom. They will come handy in the ending.
• Funny Octopus: The one at the beginning that is seen driving a car and the other the inks Pi and Percy when they peep at him.
• Gasshole: One of the marlins.
• Genius Ditz: Aunt Pearl who believes she possesses divination powers and that her pearl is magical. And she's proven right.
• Genre-Busting: It's an action-martial-arts-animal-comedy-packed film.
• Gratuitous French: Max, Cordelia's manager, whose entire character is modeled after French stereotypes, like his whiskers resembling a French mustache and wearing a shell as a beret.
• Guile Hero: Nerissa is pretty strong, but he wins most of his battles through his wits and that's the lesson he wants to teach to Pi.
• Humans Are Cthulhu: Played with. Fish know that humans hunt them, plus they have only seen humans wearing their scuba diver equipment, so they are umfamiliar with their real features. Yet, they don't mind when they are visiting the Reef and they eagerly pose when they show their cameras.
• Interspecies Friendship: Different kinds of fish get along, with the exceptions of the ones which prey on fish, like sharks or pelicans.
• Karma Houdini: The fishermen who caught Pi's parents.
• Keet: Pi and Percy as kids.
• Laser-Guided Karma: For all the torment the fish of the Reef and Pi suffered in the presence of Troy, it's pretty relieving when he's caught in a net.
• Meaningful Name: Pi's name is short for Pisces.
• Memetic Badass: Pi becomes one In-Universe, due to his victory over Troy.
• Might Makes Right: Troy's philosophy.
  Troy: I'm a tiger shark, baby. I own whatever I take. And I take whatever I want.
• Mr. Exposition: Dylan when Pi arrives to the Reef.
• Love at First Sight: Pi doesn't need to give Cordelia a second look and he's instantly mesmerized by her beauty.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Despite claiming otherwise, Eddie and Bart only hang out with Troy, because he threatens them he will eat them if they fail him.
• Mood Whiplash: Right from the beginning.
• Nice Girl: When Cordelia is not photoshooting for "National Geographic", she spends her time helping the inhabitants of the Reef.
• No Cartoon Fish: Averted. The fish there are stylized to appeal cute to the younger audience.
• Ocean of Adventure: A fight under the sea.
• Oh, Crap!: When Pi's father hears that a net is approaching.
• Papa Wolf: Shown briefly when Pi's father hears of a net approaching and grabs his family to save it. He manages to free his son, but him and his wife are too big to escape.
• Parental Substitute: After both of Pi's parents are caught in the fishnet, Pi is adopted by a wandering porpoise named Meg and becomes part of the herd.
• Parents Are Wrong: Since Pi's father dislikes Aunt Pearl for (supposedly) being crazy, he refuses to leave Boston, even though, as his wife claims, its polluted waters might mutate Pi, just like all the other fish there (who most of them are freaks of nature). Boston indeed turns out to be a dangerous inhabitant, just not for the reasons Pi's mother thought...
• Pink Means Feminine: Cordelia is a pink angelfish working as a model for human magazines.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Even though said death happened years before the actual events of the film. After both of Pi's parents are captured in a fishnet, Pi has to leave the polluted waters of Boston and go on migration with a herd of porpoises to go live with his Aunt Pearl on the Reef.
• Pun:
  • When Pi tries to impress Cordelia, he lifts to pebbles to show his strength and says "Check out these mussels!". Turns out that the pebbles were actually mussels.
  • After Dylan and Pi witness Nerissa fighting off a gang of squids, Dylan exclaims "Turtlely awesome!"
  • When Aunt Pearl takes Pi and Dylan for a walk, they bumped into Dr. Tang, whom Aunt Pearl describes as "a very prominent sturgeon".
• Punny Name: Pi is short for Pisces and he's a fish.
• Really 700 Years Old: Nerissa. Given he's a turtle (who are reported to live up to 150 years), it makes sense.
• Red Herring: Downplayed. When Pi spots Troy lurking behind Cordelia, he thinks he wants to eat her, being a Threatening Shark and all that, and rushes to help her. Cordelia turns to face him, with a frightened look on her face, Pi speeds, and Troy... gives her a kiss on the cheek, taking aback both Pi and first-time watchers. Of course, Troy's intentions aren't any better...
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Pi is the red oni to Dylan's blue oni. Even their colors match!
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Pi and Percy when they were kids.
• Sapient Eat Sapient: Nearly every form of animal life, aquatic or otherwise, is capable of speech with one another.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Gender-inverted. Pi is the energetic half of Cordelia's meek half.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Cordelia photoshoots for National Geographic, Max compares her to Audrey Hepburn, but "only better, with flakes".
  • Just the mere fact that Cordelia has appeared on the cover of National Geographic.
• The Smurfette Principle: Only three characters who played a major role in the film are females. The protagonists, bad guys and and other recurring character are all males.
• Stargazing Scene: Pi and Cordelia enjoy one before Troy arriving and ruining.
• The Stinger: After the credits are shown, we get a last scene with Thornton, where we discover that he was the narrator all along, having staged a play to retell Pi's heroic deeds.
• Swordfish Sabre: Not swordfish, but the marlin trio love to fence whenever they are given the chance.
• Those Two Guys:
  • Bart and Eddie.
  • Buddy and Lou, the Camp Gay crab and sawfish.
  • To a lesser extent, Aunt Pearl and her starfish.
• Threatening Shark: The Big Bad of the movie.
• Toilet Humor: After Edd and Bart shove Dylan in a lobster's hole, Dylan starts to pee.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • The entire conflict could have been avoided had Pi's father thought of turning left or right when he heard of that goddamn net!
  • Sure, Troy! It was a great idea to chase Pi with a net enclosing you. Nothing bad would happen.
• Unusual Animal Alliance: After both of his parents die, Pi is adopted by a swarm of porpoises, even though porpoises eat fish.
• Villains Want Mercy: While he's being dragged to the surface inside a net, Troy pleads for his life and begs the fish around him to save him, before letting out a Big "NO!".
• What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: The good guys are colorful tropical fish, whereas Troy, the villain, is an ugly, drably-colored shark with sharp teeth.
• You Had Us Worried There: No-one believes that Pi can successfully fight and beat Troy, but he proves them wrong.

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"The townsfolk said "Pi, you can't possibly win
He will swallow your head and pick his teeth with your fin",
But Pi was determined, he refused to despair.
I know it's all true, for you see, I was there.\\"

—Closing lines