The Pout-Pout Fish (2026)

Deborah Diesen’s picture book takes about as long to read as a commercial break, and The Pout-Pout Fish stretches it into a 92-minute quest with side missions. Mr. Fish, a grump who loves his shipwreck and nobody else, gets dragged along by Pip, a baby sea dragon with an absurd number of siblings, to find Shimmer, a fish who supposedly grants wishes. Along the way they help some jellyfish, a few dolphins and a mother whale, and it plays like a checklist. The reef is bright and colorful, but the animation has none of the charm of the book’s drawings, and the writing almost never surprises. Nick Offerman is the best thing in it. His gloomy grumbling is perfect for a fish whose face is stuck in a pout. It made $5.5 million worldwide on a reported $10M. A 4.3 because Offerman is great and the rest is fine for little kids and nobody else. $21.07 says your kid aims a giant pout at you within an hour of the credits and refuses to explain it.

What works: Nick Offerman is perfectly cast as the gloomy Mr. Fish, and the reef looks bright and cheerful.

What doesn’t: The story is a string of errands, the animation lacks the book’s charm, and the writing never surprises.

Who it’s for: Preschoolers who already have the book memorized, and the parents who read it to them every night.