New York’s MiMO Studios is swimming with a new partner to produce its CG-animated film adaptation of The Pout-Pout Fish picture book series.

With Australia’s Like A Photon Creative (Sesame Street and Balloon Barnyard) on board, production is now underway on Pout Pout Fish: The Movie, which is being financed and executive produced by Macmillan Publishers. 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossing more than US$1.3 billion at the global box office recently offers up a clear signal that market demand for kids and family films is at an all time-high, says Cyma Zarghami, MiMO’s founder and CEO. The studio announced Pout Pout Fish: The Movie last year as its first preschool-skewing feature film in a slate of family-friendly live-action movies about sports. MiMO is currently looking for a distributor to sell Pout Pout Fish to both streamers and theaters. 

The movie’s storyline is about an unhappy fish whose face is stuck in a permanent frown. As he journeys through the ocean’s depths, Mr. Fish makes new friends, cleans up pollution and gets advice on how to improve his outlook on life from the many sea creatures he encounters. 

Since launching in 2008, Macmillan’s Pout-Pout Fish books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, according to a release. The franchise now boasts more than 40 titles penned by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Dan Hanna, with stories spanning everything from overcoming a fear of the dark, to bedtime routines, to holiday-themed adventures.