Big Fish & Begonia 2016

    There is another world within our world that is not seen by humans.  The beings there control time, tide and the changing of the seasons.  Chun turns sixteen and she is transformed into a dolphin to explore the human world.  When a vortex opens for Chun to return to her world, she is caught in a net.  A human boy drowns freeing her from the net.  She feels she must give him back his life because of his kindness and courage.  His soul is inside a tiny fish and Chun must nurture it to grow.  When the fish has grown enough, Chun must release him back to the sea.

     There is a LOT more to this story than what is on the surface since it is based on Chinese mythology.  There are many Chinese cultural differences not understood in Western cultures?  The animation is very beautiful and filled with color.  There were many times I wondered how this was going to turn out.  Would the ending be happy or would it be tragic instead?  I was drawn into the characters both human and animal.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)  

100 min, Animation directed by Xuan Liang and Chun Zhang with the voices of Guanlin Ji, Shangqing Su, Timmy Xu, Shulan Pan, Yuanyuan Zhang, Jiu’er, Lifang Xue, Jie Zhang, Xiaoyu Liu, Zhongyang Baomu, Yu Cheng, JB Blanc, Johnny Yong Bosch, Greg Chun, Todd Haberkorn.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 90% critic 73% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 20 reviews, Indie Wire Grade B-, Metacritic 72 out of 100 with 10 critics 7.3 out of 10 with 7 reviews, c/net 3.5* out of 5*, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Cath Clarke.

Special Note:  Filmed in Beijing, China.  This film became China’s second highest grossing locally produced animated feature.  It is the directorial film debut of Xuan Liang and Chun Zhang.