I have seen this film with my brother back in 2006, when I was 10 and he was 6. My dad brought this film from a video-club, not even looking what it is (typical for him, he just asks "Is this a film for kids?" and if it is, he takes it). When I saw the cover, I knew it will be a bad film, but I put it in and watched it anyway.
The film is about a fish named Pi. He lives in Boston with his parents, who are starting to think should they leave Boston and go to a tropical reef, where Pi would be safe. Both of them are caught in a fishing net, and Pi is saved by some porpoises. They bring him to the tropical reef his parents were talking about.
Next, he sees Cordelia, a pink female fish, being taken photos of by some divers. Pi immediately falls in love with her. There are some fish around her, and among them he finds his cousin, Dylan. There, he learns about the inhabitants of the reef. He learns about "flatbottom" (the open ocean), and that all the fish avoid it, because fishing isn't forbidden there, and there are numerous fishing nets.
Soon after, a bully shark Troy (oh, how original name) appears on the scene, with his two pals, a barracuda and an eel. Troy kisses Cordelia, and Pi unsuccessfully tries to stop him and save Cordelia. The eel and the barracuda attack Dylan.
Pi learns that Troy is a true nightmare for the inhabitants of the reef, and that nobody has enough courage to stop him. He meets a sea turtle, Nerrisa, who teaches him some kind of martial arts and shows him some places where Troy could get stuck or worse, so Pi could defeat him.
As the day of the fight between Troy and Pi gets closer, Cordelia begs Pi to not do that, because Troy could kill him. In the meantime, Troy is trying to find a pearl and give it to Cordelia. He promised he'll find the most beautiful pearl in the ocean for her (in the film, when a fish gives a pearl to another one, it means the first fish wants to marry the other one). He gets angry and sends his pals to find one, and they see Nerissa's dark-blue pearl and try to steal it, unsuccessfully. Fearing of Troy's punishment, they steal the pink pearl of Dylan's mother.
The day of the fight comes. Troy appears on the reef and starts singing rimes, like he's the best, the strongest and so on. Pi stops him and provokes him. Troy gets angry and chases him to kill him. Pi quickly swims through narrow passages, and Troy gets stuck, but is saved by the divers from the beginning of the movie.
Pi tries out another trap: a sea current filled with jellyfish. Troy bashes into one and faints. He falls on the sea floor. Pi comes to him to claim his victory, but Troy suddenly awakens and kicks him. The other inhabitant of the reef, when they see what happened, rush in to help Pi. Some of them attack Troy, and the others help Pi.
Pi gets better and lures Troy into a fishing net. As the net is going to the surface and the only way out is getting narrower and narrower, Pi quickly swims to the top and jumps out of it. Troy tries to do the same, but is to big to get through. He cannot get out, and he gets pulled out of the water.
Everybody celebrates the victory. Dylan manages to defeat his provokers, Troy's two pals, and takes the pearl they have stolen. Nerissa gifts his blue pearl to Pi, and he gives it to Cordelia. She accepts him. Even the eel and the barracuda start celebrating and find their place among the others.
OK, these are thing that I noticed in the film:
* Firstly, I'm not sure that in Boston there are so colourful fish as Pi (he's orange).
* Next, the dolphins (porpoises) that saved him and brought him to the reef are very stupid and unnaturally looking.
* How can Dylan know that Cordelia was in National Geographic? He couldn't just walk out of the water and buy one!
* The people that made this film should have made the fish look more natural. In this way I'm not even sure that Troy really is a tiger shark (because I think that tiger sharks have some kind of stripes on them).
* There's a wise sea turtle, Nerissa. Why does it always need to be a turtle? Putting a sea snake or something instead of Nerissa would be more original, I think.
* The graphics are awful!
* Troy is smiling through the whole film! How can a baddie smile all the time? He must be a psychopath or retarded or something!?
* I noticed a goof in the film: in the current there are some jellyfish, and Troy bashes IN THE HEAD of one. The heads don't sting, only the tentacles or how are they called.
* There is a walrus or something in the film, and, during the whole film, he did not go to the surface to breathe (I say this because walruses can't breathe under water).
In the end, I give this film a 3 out of 10. Why 3, why not 1? Because I watched it the second time with my little cousin, a toddler. She enjoyed the film, so I think this movie is suited for toddlers.
