Final Friday Top Five: Sea Movies

In an attempt to get organised, I have decided to introduce a new feature blog - everybody's favourite, a Top 5! So on the last Friday of every month, I will be doing aquatic themed Top 5s, starting with Top 5 Sea Movies. This is marrying two of my loves, really. I did Film and Television Studies at university, and I like to pay hommage to that every now and then. So, no more waffle and onto the list!

Top 5 Sea Movies!

5: Help! I'm a Fish (2000)

Photo from IMDb.com

As a guppy, I used to surf the music channels a lot. I stumbled across the bop Help! I'm a Fish by Little Trees and a little bit fell in love it with. I am a sucker for a catchy tune. Once I realised it was from a film, I then had to watch it. Eventually, it came round to Sky and I was able to record it. I. Loved. It. It's a nonsense film where some kids drink a potion and become fish. They lose the antidote potion and go on an adventure to find it. Someone else finds it, an evil fish voiced by none other than the late, great Alan Rickman.

It has a couple tunes it in, I vaguely remember some funny lines, and of course the heart wrenching moment where the kids have to fall out for some reason. It's been a while since I've seen it. I'll have to borrow it off my mum, providing it survived all the recent moves. Because yes, we bought it on DVD. It has Alan Rickman playing a singing, evil fish in it. This film is worth its weight in gold. (Can you tell I am still upset about Alan Rickman's passing?)

4: Finding Nemo (2003)

Photo from IMDb.com

I saw this in the cinema. I would have been 12. But even then I could appreciate how beautifully animated this film was, and still is! Even at that tender age I would spend hours watching all the special features. The animation crew studied how fish swam to make the animated movements as real as possible. The way they characterised each creature without over anthropomorphising them is a fantastic feature of this film. The characters have recognisably human traits, like the forward facing eyes, but they aren't too cartoon-y. The realism is astoundingly beautiful.

And then there is Bruce. For me, he epitomises the fact that sharks are misunderstood badasses. He is gentle, compassionate - fish are friends, not food - but he has animal instincts which sometimes cannot be controlled. He is every shark which has been branded a monster or a man killer. Exactly not that.

3: Sharknado Saga (2013-2018)

Photo from IMDb.com

These films are beyond dumb, which is the reason why I love them. Creature Features are a staple of movie history. Often listed a B-movie, they were the lower calibre film you watched before the main feature. The Sharknado films are exactly that. And they are fun.

The concept is so out there - I mean, c'mon, tornados which spew out man hungry sharks? Utter nonsense! But for an hour and a half, I can suspend my disbelief to enjoy the weirdly star studded, time travelling franchise. And it doesn't take itself seriously either. Just look at that poster and the names for the sequels. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No. Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens. Comedy gold.

And this is the thing which needs to be remembered about Creature Features. They are works of fiction. They are made up. They are not real. If a tornado really was to throw a bunch of sharks onto land, most likely what would happen is there would be a lot of dead sharks. I'm sure a couple bites would be thrown, because they would be scared and confused in those moments before they suffocated. So no need for chainsaw wielding and cyborg heros to save the day with a shark massacre, nature would take care of it. Yes, you read that sentence right. Cyborg...

2: Jaws (1975) 

Photo from IMDb.com

Honestly, this film would have been in the number one spot had my actual number one not existed. This is the OG shark movie (am I using that right?). This is the film which coined the term "blockbuster" because people queued around the block to see it. This film had hype. Production problems delayed its release to summertime and sensationalised headlines about its malfunctioning animatronics made it seem like it would never be made. Clearly the perfect combination to make it a blockbutser film! Coincidentally, they called the puppet shark Bruce, which is were Nemo's Bruce gets his name.

I first saw this film when I was no older than five. It was on the TV while we were on holiday and my mum decided it would be a really good idea to show it to us - her small, impressionable children. I got so scared that I would not go to the toilet after watching it. I genuinely thought Jaws was going to come up and bite my bum. Because yes, in my mind the shark was called Jaws. Why wouldn't it be? Safe to say, I did not watch this film for a long time.

But clearly, I was not too scarred by this event. For I watched it again in my teen years and read the book while at university. It still makes me jump, which is one of the many great things about this film, but I can at least go to the toilet after watching it now! And that's partly because I know Great Whites won't fit in a toilet, but mostly because I know the "lone shark" is rare. And it's even rarer that they would partake in multiple attacks on people. Sharks deserve our respect, not death.

And, also, who doesn't love the "I think we're going to need a bigger boat!" moment?!

Honourable Mentions!

Before we get to the number one spot, here are the ones who nearly made it in:

Sharks Tale - I could only think of how I liked that the fish looked like who voiced them.

Deep Blue Sea - Sharknado made my point about Creature Features better. Still love this film, though!

Free Willy - I don't remember this film well enough to justify it a place, I only remember that I liked it.

And now, drum roll please...! 

1: The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) & Sponge Out of Water (2015)

Photos from IMDb.com 

Yes. Both. I wrote my dissertation on Spongebob Squarepants and how it's written as much for the parents as the children. The second film just proved my point further. So for that reason alone, they are in my number one spot.

But there's more! While clearly writing 10,000 words on a giggling sponge was my love of the sea trying to force its way to the surface, these masterpieces (I went there) have so much more to offer. One of my favourite things about these films is you never forget that it takes place underwater. (The bits which are, anyway.) Yes, the characters are all fish or aquatic creatures, but have you ever noticed the little bubbles which come off them? It really drives home the fact they are moving through water. It's that small, attention to detail which makes this franchise. 

Creator Stephen Hillenburg is a trained marine biologist. The man knows his fish! So not only has he created this wacky world where crabs can open restaurants in lobster traps or a single plankton can build massive contraptions for his recipe-stealing nefarious ways; he has done it from a place of knowledge and understanding. In Bikini Bottom, he has created an ecosystem.

Also, these films are genius. It flips between genuinely profound to absurd in the blink of an eye. For example, after the secret formula dematerialises these are Plankton and Spongebob's thoughts:

Plankton: [in thoughts] Wait a minute, molecular deconstruction? I proved that to be a scientific impossibility seven times!
SpongeBob SquarePants: [in thoughts] Wait a minute, I think I forgot to empty Gary's litter box today.

One of my favourite quotes from the TV series is an exchange between Sandy and Patrick. She says, "Patrick, don't you have to be stupid somewhere else?" He replies, "Not 'til four." This show has found that perfect balance between intelligent and silly, and it works. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to actually writing that essay the second film inspired!

And there you have it, my Final Friday Top 5 Sea Movies! Not sure what to do for next month's yet, but if you have any suggestions do share them! And what are your Top Five Sea Movies? Comment below and let me know!