Big Fish & Begonia

Big Fish & Begonia is a Chinese animated fantasy set in a hidden spirit world whose inhabitants govern the tides and the turning of the seasons. Chun, a sixteen-year-old of that realm, undertakes a coming-of-age rite that sends her into the human world in the form of a red dolphin. When a young fisherman named Kun drowns while saving her, she is overcome by guilt and gratitude, and she bargains with Ling Po, the keeper of souls, to bring him back. The price is half of her own lifespan, and the boy returns as a small fish whose growth she must nurture until his soul can be released into the human world. Her devoted friend Qiu helps her care for him even as he loves her himself, and a wider catastrophe begins to threaten the spirit realm.

The film was directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun, with Liang also writing the screenplay. It was made on a modest budget of about 5 million dollars, but its worldwide gross of roughly 86 million dollars was a strong return, and its profile extended well beyond China, helped by Korean animation studio Studio Mir's involvement in production. Ratings are consistent across audiences: 7 out of 10 on IMDb from about 7,500 votes, and 7.3 out of 10 on TMDB from around 500 votes. A critics' rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 32 reviews places it in similar territory, suggesting a film that found a receptive audience among both reviewers and the viewing public.