The Pout-Pout Fish is making the leap from page to screen as Deborah Diesen’s well-known gets a theatrical adaptation.
Known for its signature “glub, glub, glub,” the 30-page board book has long been a bedtime favorite. Now, the story moves to theaters, with singer and actress Jordan Sparks voicing one of the film’s standout characters.
“[The world] has known me since I was 17 years old and has had preconceived notions about me. I was shiny and new and all these things. But there was so much more to me and so much depth. I’m still trying to figure out my path and my journey,” shares the multi-hyphenate entertainer with Parents. “So to be able to voice Shimmer was really fun. I’m always that person who wants to help and encourage people.”
In the film, Sparks voices Shimmer, a mythical fish who grants wishes but struggles with the pressure tied to her reputation.
“I think that’s what I was most excited to be a part of,” she tells Parents. “The fact that all of us kind of go through those self-doubts or wishing people actually knew me for me, not for what they see on the cover.”
She also pointed to a moment in the film where the character allows herself to be vulnerable. “She admits, ‘Hey, I need help sometimes too,’” she says. “I thought it was so beautiful.”
The film was adapted by screenwriter Elise Allen, who previously worked on Netflix’s Princess Power. She also spoke with Parents about expanding the story for the screen.
“There was a mystery inherent in it,” Elise explains to Parents. “Why is he a Pout-Pout Fish? It wasn’t enough for me that he was just born looking like that. No, there had to be a story behind it.”
She continues, “To expand it into a whole world… there’s a lot of world-building you have to do, which I love. I have deep respect for authors. For me, getting the opportunity to take someone’s story and expand it and enhance it, but always keep the core of what makes the book so good, that’s a process that I love.”
The Pout-Pout Fish* is now playing in theaters nationwide.