Big Fish & Begonia

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Big Fish & Begonia

PG-13

Released Apr 6, 2018

1h 45m

Fantasy

Adventure

Anime

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Popcornmeter

94%

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32 Reviews

71%

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250+ Ratings

A 16-year-old girl embarks on a fantastical and dangerous adventure after transforming into a dolphin. When a boy sacrifices himself to save her, she uses magic to bring him back to life -- only to learn that this power comes at a serious price.

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Critics Consensus

Big Fish & Begonia's richly rendered blend of animation styles perfectly complements its bighearted, surprisingly complex cautionary fish tale.

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Michael Leader

Little White Lies

More a visual marvel than a true masterpiece, but hopefully this is just the start of something new.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 17, 2018

Full Review

Michael Sragow

Film Comment Magazine

Spinning their own variations on ancient Chinese myths, these directors make a poetic plea to protect actual species-while delighting audiences with transcendent make-believe.

Apr 12, 2018

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

While the movie's kaleidoscope of striking images and distinctive characters is spellbinding, it lacks psychological depth. And the question of what the hell is going on is never far from your mind.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 12, 2018

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

The slightly ambiguous mythology is perplexing to follow and thick in allegory to a degree for sure. Yet, it’s immensely reachable with its ethereal parallels to human virtues.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 16, 2024

Full Review

Preston Barta

Fresh Fiction

Big Fish & Begonia may not be the big catch it could have been, but there's a dreamlike quality to the film that's commendable.

Rated: B-

Mar 30, 2019

Full Review

David Hogan

Anime UK News

So to sum up, Big Fish & Begonia is a visual treat that has some heart and childish imagination behind it.

Rated: 8/10

Feb 17, 2019

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Jhosep G

There's a good storyline, and good characters we root for. Howeverz the development and the deepness that never actually leads anywhere undermine most of the good decisions developers had already made.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/26/24

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CaveMan I

An emotional ride, a masterpiece indeed!! & grab towel while you're watching this one, you might ended up crying !

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

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Audience Member

Definitely more eye-candy than anything, but still an elevating experience to not miss

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

Very beautiful animation of the scenery and of the characters. Story is fascinating and it made me cry 😭

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

Beautiful scenery but absolutely horrible plot with zero character development that made it frustrating and unbearable to watch. I nearly didn't finish it and am now left utterly frustrated that I've wasted an hour and a half of my life for this tragic excuse of a movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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s p

Wow. I'm impressed this film was enjoyed by some. The visual details are great and the animation very nice, but the story is absolute trash. We are dropped in this magical world without context, no lore, strange plotholes (So the rat lady goes to human land... and ? ) ... The characters are forgettable and bland. Every scene is almost a stand alone with no link to past and future scenes. There are so many plot threads that lead no where. All the dialogue is very bland and just boring. This film was so frustrating, because it had great potential, but it is totally ruined by the terrible story. Stay away unless you are deaf and you just want to see nice pictures.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Xuan Liang

Director

Chun Zhang

Director

Stephanie Sheh

Chun

Johnny Yong Bosch

Qiu

Todd Haberkorn

Kun

Fong Sung

Old Chun

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Synopsis

A 16-year-old girl embarks on a fantastical and dangerous adventure after transforming into a dolphin. When a boy sacrifices himself to save her, she uses magic to bring him back to life -- only to learn that this power comes at a serious price.

Director: Xuan Liang, Chun Zhang
Screenwriter: Xuan Liang
Distributor: Funimation, Shout! Studios
Production Co: B&T Film, Huoerguosi Enlight Media
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Anime
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 6, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 24, 2018
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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