The famous children’s book The Rainbow Fish is set to make a big-screen appearance once again, more than thirty years after its publication.
If you were born in the 1990s, you may have read it and re-read it. Published in 1992, The Rainbow Fish is without a doubt one of the most famous children’s books. Written and illustrated by the Swiss author Marcus Pfister, it has sold more than 30 million copies. It’s fair to say that Pfister’s distinctive artistic style is instantly recognizable, as is the iridescent sheen on the scales, for which the author had to concede half of his royalties due to the production costs involved.
And it looks set to continue lighting up young eyes, as a feature film has just been announced.
Rainbow Endgame
Deadline has announced the development of a German animated adaptation of the book. It’s a co-production between StudioCanal Germany, Claussen + Putz Filmproduktion and Zodiac Pictures, which had already collaborated on several animated films such as Heidi. More interestingly, it’s also the result of a partnership with the Angsburg puppet theater. It’s therefore veteran puppeteer Florian Moch who will handle writing, and also direct the feature. The film will indeed be brought to life using this traditional art form, with Moch crafting most of the puppets himself.
A lovely homage to the original book’s watercolor artwork, which had already sparked an animated series broadcast in 2000. However, some adjustments will be made. In fact, Deadline reports that Rainbow Fish does not only have friends in the United States. In its tale, he refuses to share his beautiful scales with other fish, out of pride, until he worries about his solitude to an octopus, who advises him to yield to sharing. In the end, every fish, including him, gains a scale and he discovers the happiness of living together.
That message has long drawn criticism in the United States over the 2010s and 2020s from various conservative or pro-liberty commentators. Journalists such as Neal Boortz and others like Matt Welch did not hesitate to alert American parents to what they described as the socialist ideology (yes, really) promoted by Marcus Pfister. Playwright Topher Payne even created an alternate version titled The Rainbow Fish Keeps his Scales, arguing that the original taught children to “depress themselves to please others” (remarks drawn from an interview in Publishers Weekly).
To counter these interpretations, the team has tweaked certain aspects and added new characters, allowing them to deepen the central theme of sharing that the author intended to evoke. Filming will continue through mid-August, with a German release scheduled for November 19, 2026. There has been no announced release in France yet, but StudioCanal will handle distribution worldwide.
