Fishtales

This bright, fast-swimming fable is excellent family fare from its very first splash, highlighted by winning performances from topliner Billy Zane and sun-kissed Kelly Brook. The usually straight-laced Zane gets to play an absent-minded college professor who moves to a Greek island to finish translating ancient love spells. While there, his 12-year-old daughter (Amber Savva) strikes up a friendship with a gorgeous, lonely mermaid (Brook) who just happens to speak ancient Greek. The obvious fate is complicated, briefly, by a mischievous one-handed fisherman (director Alki David). The $14 million budget is all on the screen, the lively story is free of Disney smarm and the island and ocean are as photogenic as the shapely Ms. Brook. Happily, the underwater sequences and mermaid costume are not digital creations but the real McCoy. And guess what? They’re quite convincing.

Shelf Talk: Zane’s star is B-magnitude these days, but he’s a known quantity. Brook, Zane’s real-life paramour, is still looking for a breakout but will be remembered by fanboys from appearances on TV’s Smallville and in a zillion lad mags. Screen Media has wisely put a smiling Brook in her mermaid costume on the cover of the box, and that will attract attention. Expect video trade advertising and some consumer coverage near street date.