''Aquamarine'' is a 2006 American
teen
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Elizabeth Allen, loosely based on the 2001
young adult novel of the same name by
Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1995 novel ''Practical Magic'', which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the genre of ...
. It stars
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror film, horror and thriller (genre), thriller genres, she has received List of awar ...
,
Joanna "JoJo" Levesque, and
Sara Paxton
Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...
. The film was released in the United States on March 3, 2006, by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
.
Plot
Best friends Claire and Hailey are enjoying their last few days of summer vacation in their small beach town of Baybridge, near
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
, before Hailey moves to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
due to her mother's job as a
marine biologist
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...
. Hailey prays to the ocean god for a miracle to make her mother change her mind about moving; minutes later, a violent storm occurs.
The next night, the girls sneak into the local pool, where they discover a
mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
named Aquamarine, who was washed in by the storm. Aquamarine befriends the girls and explains that she ran away from home because she had been forced into an arranged marriage. To end the engagement, Aquamarine must to prove to her father that true love exists.
Aquamarine (who is able to change her tail into legs during the day as long as they do not get wet) has set her eyes on Raymond, the lifeguard Hailey and Claire have had a crush on for years. They are reluctant to help her woo Raymond, but when Aquamarine explains that anyone who helps a mermaid is granted a wish, they agree, hoping they can prevent Hailey from moving.
As Aquamarine is not human, she does not understand how love works and is rejected by Raymond when they first meet. The girls promise to make Raymond fall in love with her in the next three days, using strategies found in teen magazines. But a group of popular girls headed by Cecilia, the local meteorologist's spoiled daughter who is also interested in Raymond, gets in the way.
Aquamarine and Raymond bond at a local dance but she is forced to leave since her legs turn into a tail at sunset. Before departing, she kisses him and asks him to meet her on the pier in the morning. Cecilia follows the three girls to the water tower where Aquamarine is staying, and discovers her secret. She unhooks the ladder to prevent Aquamarine from getting down and calls the news so she can expose her on national television. But the town's mysterious handyman helps Aquamarine escape and she grants him a wish. Cecilia's father confiscates her car as punishment for embarrassing the family on national television.
The next morning, Aquamarine asks Raymond if he loves her. Raymond says he likes her but has not fallen in love with her yet, since they have been on only one date, and that he wants to get there with her slowly. Aquamarine is heartbroken. Cecilia interrupts and pushes her into the ocean, where Aquamarine turns back into a mermaid. Raymond is shocked but rushes to get his rescue board to save her, much to Cecilia's dismay.
Aquamarine's father summons a giant storm, dragging Aquamarine back homeward, but Hailey and Claire jump into the ocean to her aid. When Aquamarine asks why, they respond that they love her. The power of the girls' friendship finally convinces Aquamarine's father of true love's existence and the storm abates. The girls receive their wish but decide to not use it to keep Hailey from moving away, because her mother worked hard for the job in Australia. Instead, they save the wish and say goodbye to Aquamarine, who promises to visit. Raymond also asks her to visit him and they kiss. Back on shore, Raymond thanks the girls for their bravery and for introducing him to Aquamarine. Hailey and Claire tell each other they will miss each other and part ways.
In the stage booklet, it is revealed that Claire, Raymond, and Aquamarine meet up with Hailey in Australia a year later and explore the
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
together.
Cast
*
Sara Paxton
Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...
as Aquamarine
*
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror film, horror and thriller (genre), thriller genres, she has received List of awar ...
as Claire Brown
*
JoJo as Hailey Rogers
*
Jake McDorman
John Allen McDorman IV (born July 8, 1986) is an American actor. On television, he headlined the CBS comedy-drama ''Limitless (TV series), Limitless'' (2015–2016) and was the male lead of the sitcoms ''Are You There, Chelsea?'' (2012) and ''Man ...
as Raymond
*
Arielle Kebbel
Arielle Caroline Kebbel (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress and model. She has appeared in various television series, including ''Gilmore Girls'' (2003–2004), ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017), ''Life Unexpected'' (2010), ''90 ...
as Cecilia Banks
*
Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in ...
as Ginny Rogers
*
Bruce Spence
Bruce Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand–Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre.
Biography
Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1971 comedy ...
as Leonard
*
Tammin Sursok
Tammin Sursok (born 19 August 1983) is a South African-born Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles on television as Dani Sutherland on ''Home and Away'', Colleen Carlton on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Jenna Marshall ...
as Marjorie
*
Roy Billing
Roy Harwood Billing (born 1947) is a New Zealand television actor, now based on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. He was brought up in Ruawai, Northland, New Zealand. Billing spent almost three decades living and working in Australia. He became wid ...
as Bob Brown
*
Julia Blake
Julia Blake (born 1936) is an English–born Australian actress. She is known for her small screen role as Nancy McCormack on the Australian drama series ''Prisoner'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), for which she appeared during the final season ...
as Maggie Brown
*
Shaun Micallef
Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game sh ...
as Storm Banks
*
Lulu McClatchy
Lulu McClatchy is an Australian actress and comedian.
Career
McClatchy started to write and perform her own shows at the Edinburgh Festival. She created the comedy show ''Supergirly'' and went on to present a slot on ''Live & Kicking''. She a ...
as Bonnie
* Natasha Cunningham as Patty
*
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009� ...
as Beth
*
Lincoln Lewis
Lincoln Clay Lewis (born 24 October 1987) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles in the movie ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'' and in the television series ''Home and Away'' and ''Slide''.
Early life
Lewis was born in Brisbane, Qu ...
as Theo
* Alice Hunter as Beach Girl
* Benjamin Shields as Beach Boy
Voices
*
Sara Paxton
Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...
as Aquamarine's starfish earrings
*
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991 Additional on October 9, 2016) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television projects of the horror film, horror and thriller (genre), thriller genres, she has received List of awar ...
as Claire's starfish earrings
*
JoJo as Hailey's starfish earrings
Production
Principal photography for the movie began in Australia in February 2005, and wrapped up the following April.
Home media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on June 13, 2006, and on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on March 6, 2012.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend, ''Aquamarine'' grossed $7.5 million in 2,512 theaters, ranking #5 at the box office. By the end of its run, the film grossed $18.6 million domestically, and $4.4 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $23 million.
Critical response
On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on reviews from 88 critics, with an average rating of 5.44/10. The site's consensus states: "A lighthearted, gum-smacking, boy-crazy film with a hopeful message for young girls." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, ''Aquamarine'' has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade of "A−" on scale of A to F.
Michael Rechtshaffen of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' called ''Aquamarine'' 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."
''Variety'''s
Joe Leydon
Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...
praised the film, writing, "The high-concept premise ... has been fleshed out with inventive wit, unsticky warmth and more than a little wackiness. Result is an unusually likeable family-friendly comedy that could appeal far beyond its target
udience.
Numerous critics praised the film's themes and message. Grading the film a "B−", Chris Kaltenbach of ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' liked how "''Aquamarine'' exhibits a welcome empathy for adolescent girls and an understanding of how they interact" while teaching the difference between "what is important (friendship, self-confidence, altruism) and what seems important (puppy love, trendiness, running with the pack)." Describing ''Aquamarine'' as engendering a "vision of cherished sisterhood", Callie Ahlgrim of
''Insider'' wrote that the film "is a
rom-com
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
insofar as it tells a boy-meets-girl story—but the deeper, more honest love between its young female leads is the film's true emotional core." Wesley Morris of ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' wrote that ''Aquamarine'' "is unique because it's the rare movie that fiercely respects the altruistic loyalty that bonds girls to one another." Ruthe Stein of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' found that while the film "has a sweetness and innocence that makes it near perfect entertainment for its target audience", ''Aquamarine'' "avoids seeming coy and doesn't flinch from taking on serious issues that illustrate that life isn't all fluff even for the young."
Rating the film 3 out of 5 stars, Roger Moore of the ''
Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' wrote, "''Aquamarine'' really is just an adorable movie. And along the way, life lessons about love, friendship, adjusting to bad news and overcoming grief are passed along in a not-that-obvious fashion." Rating it 3 out of 4 stars, Todd Hertz of ''
Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...
'' wrote, "The movie scores a major victory in reaching its audience with the all-too-important message that they are fine just the way they are."
Other critics were less positive. Carrie Rickey of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' wrote, "Like its title character, Allen's choppy and inconsistent film has two speeds, ditsy or sentimental, and never gathers momentum." Reviewing ''Aquamarine'' for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Stella Papamichael rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing, "the worthy message about the value of friendship, central to Alice Hoffman’s novel, is drowned out by a sappy, magazine-style portrait of girlhood that’s all lip-gloss and giggles." Marrit Ingman of ''
'' also rated the film 2 out of 5 stars but enjoyed some aspects, like its making fun of the dating advice in teen magazines such as ''
''.
Critics praised the cast's performances. Calling Paxton's portrayal of Aquamarine "impish, anxious and ebullient", Leydon hailed her "impressive talent for physical comedy",
while Rechtshaffen wrote that Paxton "has an infectious, nutty energy".
praised Roberts and Levesque for their "unstudied charm", while Leydon lauded their "credible and compelling relationship with each other" as well as their "pitch-perfect reactions as
" to Paxton.
Stein highlighted Roberts's performance, particularly her portrayal of Claire's vulnerability.
. It has been ranked as one of the best "
''.
Two of the film's stars, Roberts and Paxton, were featured on the soundtrack. In 2008, La La Land Records and
's score (incorporating Paxton's voice) for the film.
# "Main Titles"
# "The Storm"
# "Washed Ashore"
# "Claire Falls In"
# "Meeting Aqua"
# "The Next Morning/Shell Phone Call"
# "Making the Deal"
# "Ray & Aqua/Magazines"
# "Paddleboat Date"
# "The Water Tower"
# "Hailey Rides the Dolphins"
# "Aqua's Decision"
# "First Kiss"
# "Cecilia Climbs the Tower"
# "Hailey and Claire Argue"
# "The Pier/Storm/The Buoy"
# "The Tear/Goodbyes"
# "Finale"
;Other songs featured in the film