Without the animation layered on top of the action, the film would be thoroughly lacking in dramatic interest.
Comment
10/17/08
Rate this Movie 
Year of the Fish (2008)
55
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:12
Rotten:10
Average Rating:5.4/10
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.
Theatrical Release:Aug 29, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: A modern Cinderella story set in New York City's Chinatown, Year of the Fish is a classic tale retold through the eyes of a young woman struggling to find a new life in the United States. Director... [More]
Reviews for Year of the Fish
To some degree, it's trying to find the magic in the everyday, but the attempts to ground it are cringe-inducing and problematic.
08/28/08
Written and directed by Reginald Harkema with a sharp eye toward the paradoxes of fighting The Man in the 21st century.
04/26/07
Click to read the article
04/23/09
The result [of the animation technique] is similar to the look of Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly, but much softer and more fluid. It's ideal for the storybook plot and quite dazzling at times.
08/29/08
Although writer/director David Kaplan attempts to elevate his amateur narrative attempt with the same rotoscoping animation technique that Richard Linklater used to great effect with "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly," the effect comes across as overwro
09/02/08
Year of the Fish is a sweetly engaging effort that manages a fair amount of charm and innocence in spite of the rather seedy surroundings.
06/12/07
David Kaplan's sweet, if superficial, fairy tale won't change the world, but it makes nice use of its setting (Chinatown) and visual style (rotoscope animation).
08/29/08
The director-writer, David Kaplan, is able to hold our attention, and the film's unusual look lends a magical feeling.
10/18/08
Year of the Fish does feature more than enough clever moments and ideas to compensate for forcing audiences to sit through yet another tale of a woman who needs a man to rescue her from a life of drudgery.
08/27/08
An adult fable told with childlike simplicity, Year of the Fish updates an ancient Chinese version of the Cinderella story with imagination, charm and just the right amount of sweetness.
08/29/08
Top CriticKaplan keeps the story breezy and brisk, and provides his down-to-earthily modern fairy tale with an appropriately other-worldly visual style.
08/29/08
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.
10/10/08
Unfortunately, much of the novelty in 'Year of the Fish' is eclipsed by ethnic stereotypes and an oppressive score
08/26/08
Too raw for kids and too simplistic for adults.
08/29/08
Year of the Fish is an eye-opener for those unfamiliar with the tribulations many immigrants endure on their road to American citizenship.
09/26/08
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.
09/26/08
HBO's 1990s cartoon series Happily Ever After multiculturalized traditional fairy tales, and Year of the Fish may as well be a live-action episode of the now-defunct program.
08/25/08
Charming and dreamlike, Year of the Fish wrings every dime out of its low budget with wonderful performances that are by parts adorable, sharp and sweet and certainly worth a look.
09/05/08
Even animation addicts might find their eyes glazing over at this digitally rotoscoped Cinderella story set in an oh-so-magical modern-day Chinatown.
08/27/08
Latest News for Year of the Fish
August 17, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds