A Fish Tale is an original story I created and pitched to Aardman, inspired by the traditional practice of cormorant fishing on China's Li River. The idea grew from a digital painting of cormorants diving for fish and developed into a coming-of-age adventure centred on a young fisher boy and his loyal cormorant companion.

Working with Aardman, the project was developed as an immersive experience with the potential to become a 4D film or theme-park dark ride. I developed the characters, story and visual world, exploring how the relationship between the boy and his bird could drive both the emotional narrative and the physical experience of the attraction.

As it developed, Aardman partnered with P&P Projects, specialists in the design and development of theme-park and immersive attractions. Together we explored how the narrative, characters and environments could translate from screen into a physical experience, with P&P Projects helping to shape the attraction potential of the world.

The project was taken to the international theme-park market and presented at IAAPA Expo in Orlando, with the intention of finding development and production partners. The COVID-19 pandemic subsequently brought the attractions industry to an abrupt standstill, putting the project on hold. As the market recovered, Aardman ultimately chose to focus its development efforts on its established brands, and A Fish Tale did not progress into production, but I still love the essence of the story and hope to find a home for it eventually.