Production has begun in Queensland on a feature adaptation of best-selling picture book franchise The Pout Pout Fish.
Brisbane-based Like A Photon Creative will work with MIMO Studios and Macmillan Publishers on Pout-Pout Fish: The Movie, which will follow the original adventure of the fish with a “frowny face and a big heart”, as he and his friends navigate the undersea world.
Like A Photon founders Kristen Souvlis and Nadine Bates are producing alongside MIMOS Studios founder Cyma Zarghami and COO Madeira Ginley. Macmillan Publishers is financing the project, as well as executive producing.
It comes more than 15 years after the release of the original book – written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna – which has since gone on to spurn 42 titles in eight languages, leading to sales of more than 8.5 million copies.
Souvlis and Bates, who served as creative producers on the upcoming animated feature Scarygirl, said they were excited to bring another popular children’s character to life.
“Not only is this film a unique and fresh take on underwater living, but the underlying concepts of self-acceptance and found family are very close to our hearts. We can’t wait to share this gorgeous story with young audiences around the world.”
The adaptation was one of the first animated preschool projects announced by the New York-based MIMO Studios, which Zarghami, a former Nickelodeon president, launched in February 2020.
At the start of 2021, Variety reported that the company was in talks with various streaming-video hubs and kid-focused media outlets regarding a trio of 45-minute 3D animated musical specials based on the books. Carin Greenberg was initially attached to write the scripts, although she is no longer involved.
More than two years later, Zarghami said the feature collaboration with Like A Photon was timely, given the popularity some of the other animated franchises had experienced this year.
“At a time when the demand for kids and family content is at an all-time high, as evidenced by the runaway success of films like Super Mario Bros, we are so thrilled and honored to be able to partner with the incredibly talented Like a Photon Creative to bring the wonderful book series The Pout-Pout Fish to life,” she said.
“With a slew of wonderful adventures and incredible brand awareness, this is the exact type of project I envisioned when I began MIMO and is something that certainly could become a major franchise for us.”