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Aquamarine
EMAILPRINTTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 52 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Family/Kids
Written by:
John Quaintance
Jessica Bendinger
Alice Hoffman (novel)
Directed by: Elizabeth Allen
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 3, 2006
DVD: June 13, 2006
Running Time: 109 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for mild language and sensuality
Starring Emma Roberts, JoJo, Sara Paxton, Jake McDorman, Arielle Kebbel, Claudia Karvan, Bruce Spence, and Tammin Sursok
Following a violent storm, a beautiful and sassy mermaid named Aquamarine washes ashore and into the lives of two best friends about to be parted at summer's end. When Aquamarine falls for a local, hunky lifeguard, she enlists the girls' help to win his heart and in exchange offers to grant the girls one wish. (20th Century Fox)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
The movie has a sweetness and innocence that makes it near perfect entertainment for its target audience.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Undemanding, unsurprising and really quite charming within conventional limits, Elizabeth Allen’s tween-coming-of-age feature debut is as realist as can be, given that, of the three nice Florida girls who need to grow up in the movie, the eponymous heroine (Sara Paxton) is a high-achieving blond mermaid with vaguely feminist leanings, a twitchy blue tail and the comic timing of an up-and-coming Cameron Diaz.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
A bright and breezy tween fantasy romantic comedy that coasts along on its charming performances and the light comedic touch of first-time feature director Elizabeth Allen.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Refreshingly, the movie never wavers in the importance it places on friendship over just about anything else.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Unique because it's the rare movie that fiercely respects the altruistic loyalty that bonds girls to one another.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Won't win points for originality, but the screenplay includes some snappy dialogue, smart observations, and an uplifting message about the importance of friendship.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
It's not the best "Little Mermaid" movie - it's totally predictable and its trio of tweeners squeal at a pitch that could break glass. But it's also a bubbly confection about best friends, crushes on preening lifeguards, grrrl power and shades-of-blue fashion tips.
Read Full Review >USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
Despite corny one-liners and plot developments that don't always hold water, Aquamarine rises above the flotsam filling theaters this time of year with a likable tale of friendship and charming performances.
Read Full Review >Empire Anna Smith
This fantasy comedy should entertain its pre-teen female market – and repel those silly superficial boys (swoon).
Read Full Review >The New York Times Neil Genzlinger
Ms. Paxton isn't quite as magnetic as a movie mermaid ought to be, but the two buddies are a treat to watch, especially Ms. Roberts, showing the genes of her Aunt Julia.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
That everything gets worked out -- friendship affirmed, jokes made about silly magazine articles on reeling in a boy -- is as sure as the soundtrack's inclusion of a Mandy Moore song.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
This is a totally predictable exercise if you're not in the target market.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The film robs mermaids of everything exotic and remarkable about them in mythology.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Gregg Rickman
Aquamarine will likely please its undemanding tween audience--especially if today's kids are as unsavvy a crew as 20th Century Fox seems to think.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Aquamarine is better than nothing for its woefully underserved audience.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie is awfully sweet. The young actresses playing eighth-graders look their age, for once, and have an unstudied charm.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Winda Benedetti
If "Splash" was a movie for grownups and "The Little Mermaid" was a film for kids, it's safe to say that the latest flick to feature a mermaid is aimed directly at those who are neither adults nor children, but rather lost somewhere in that awkward middle zone in between.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The story has its hokey moments ("There's something very fishy about that girl"), but the sincerity and focus of the storytelling compensate.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Aside from an inspired bit involving a pair of sycophantic starfish, it's amazing how unimaginative a movie about a mermaid can be, and it's sad how thoroughly its girl-power stylings devolve into a muddle of mixed messages.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Like its title heroine, it's sparkly, pretty and flirty--but often all wet.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Adapted (and significantly reshaped) from a young-adult book by novelist Alice Hoffman, Aquamarine has the tossed-off quality of an ABC Family TV movie. Its lessons come pre-digested.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
But for what it is, I think it's pretty okay. It's not going to win an Oscar or anything. But I liked how it was actually made for tween girls.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Gregg Rickman
The film's true focus is the friendship between the two girls, although this tends to get lost between Elizabeth Allen's jittery direction and the screenplay's contrivances.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
It would seem that Allen and screenwriters John Quaintance and Jessica Bendinger couldn't decide between making a movie about the summer that 'tweens become teens or "Scenes From a Mal"l for the MTV set.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 52 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Alona M. gave it a10:
This movie is really amazing and full of fun.. it shows how important the friendship is... i really really love it!!! you rock!!!
Prudence K. gave it a10:
An absolute masterpiece! Direction, writing, technicals... but the acting! Everyone was superb. But Sara Paxton in particular gave one of the best performances I have ever seen. Subtle, heartbreaking, raw, real, emotional... if she doesn't win the Oscar it will be a huge travesty. Easily the performance of the decade, but I would go further and say it is the best performance of all time.
Katherine gave it a3:
Please people who like this movie, forgive me, I am only giving me opinion. I did'nt like this movie. Emma Roberts and JoJo are not that pretty. Put them together and they just look even worst. I think Emma is just here because shes the niece of Julia Roberts, and JoJo , her parents just probably pushed her into singing. I think JoJo is a better singer then an actress, and I don't think her music is that good. This movie I thought was sort of an insult to mermaids. I mean there a fantasy. Leave them that way instead of putting them in Hollywood.
someobody gave it a7:
emma roberts acted the worst here.
Gavin M. gave it an8:
This is a great little movie - and of course it is derivative. But the performances are full of fun, and it is very well written. The two leads ooze a delicious geekiness and longing, the mermaid is initially unlikeable but wins you over in the end, and there is some great writing that makes the minor characters 3 dimensional and important even though they have very little screen time. I got dragged along to this with a 10 year old - it is not a movie I would ever choose to see in the theater, on DVD or on television. However, I found it totally captivating, and if this is the quality of tween movies, I would much rather spend my money on similar movies than on the often bitterly disappointing adult orientated movies that Hollywood has to offer.
Rol L. gave it a7:
To be fair, I went to see the movie with my 2 daughters ( 7 and 10 ) and they would have given this movie a 9... A good saturday afternoon / summer type tween movie, cute, no surprise, fluffy and with 2 girls that cant wait to see this movie again on DVD.
Joanie gave it a10:
I laughed, I cried and I had a very entertaining time.
