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Year of the Fish

Play trailer Poster for Year of the Fish Released Aug 29, 2008 1h 36m Fantasy Romance Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
58% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A servant girl (An Nguyen) in a Chinatown massage parlor receives a magic goldfish from a mysterious street vendor.
Year of the Fish

What to Know

Critics Consensus

This modernized and rotoscope-animated update on the Cinderella story is charming at times and visually impressive, but audiences may find it to be too coarse for children and too superficial for adults.

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Critics Reviews

View All (24) Critics Reviews
V.A. Musetto New York Post The director-writer, David Kaplan, is able to hold our attention, and the film's unusual look lends a magical feeling. Rated: 3/4 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Without the animation layered on top of the action, the film would be thoroughly lacking in dramatic interest. Rated: 2/4 Oct 17, 2008 Full Review Jeff Shannon Seattle Times Apart from the debut of appealing An Nguyen and a pet fish instead of a magic slipper, there's nothing particularly innovative here, and the film's seedy milieu ensures that it's anything but a kid-friendly fairy tale. Rated: 2/4 Sep 26, 2008 Full Review Burl Burlingame Honolulu Star-Advertiser Making the film 'animated' creates a remove from the harshness of reality, like erecting a scrim between performer and audience, but it also makes for a certain glow. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 5, 2011 Full Review Tenley Woodman Boston Herald Rated: B+ Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Stan Hall Oregonian A re-imagining of Cinderella set in a massage parlor in New York's Chinatown, David Kaplan's film juxtaposes grime and exploitation with winsomeness and superstition. Oct 10, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (18) audience reviews
Juan R An interesting take on the tale of Cinderella. The premise is good and I quite enjoyed Nguyen in the lead role. The acting from most of the supporting actors ranges. What really took me out of it was the rotoscoping which I've never been a fan of. Still, the premise is nice enough for a viewing. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/15/21 Full Review Audience Member It's a little weird, but it's also a beautiful love story! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member It's exactly Cinderella in modern Chinatown. While the visuals are interesting at first, it gradually becomes more annoying than charming. In the end, the movie is a bit to dark for children but too shallowly simplistic for adults. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member o man patinka pasakos... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member A simple story of a women..... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member There's a lot to like about this movie. Unlike others, I don't object to the use of rotoscope here. I definitely preferred Waking Life, but not because I felt the animation was out of place here. This movie is visually appealing. The animation advances the story's fairytale quality. The soundtrack was often overbearing and there was rampant stereotyping. Still, the movie had its charm. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Year of the Fish

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Cast & Crew

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David Kaplan

Director

An Nguyen

Ye Xian

Ken Leung

Johnny Pan

Tsai Chin

Mrs. Su

Randall Duk Kim

Auntie Yaga

Sally Leung Bayer

Grandmother

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Year of the Fish

Year of the Fish (2007) Year of the Fish (2007) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A servant girl (An Nguyen) in a Chinatown massage parlor receives a magic goldfish from a mysterious street vendor.
Director
David Kaplan
Producer
Rocco Caruso, David Kaplan
Screenwriter
David Kaplan
Production Co
Funny Cry Happy
Genre
Fantasy, Romance, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 29, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 23, 2016
Runtime
1h 36m