My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: Live and Let Swim

Frankie the hypnotic goldfish splashes down for a fifth time in this comedy adventure for young children. Frankie has previously shocked readers with his amazing ability to control people with his eyes, but this time he is not the only sub-aquatic creature with astounding powers. On a trip to the aquarium, Tom and Pradeep are looking forward to seeing the Amazing Antonio – a psychic octopus. The boys have brought their super fish, Frankie, along for the show, as well as their charming toddler sister, Sami.

Tom and Pradeep are not the only family visitors to the aquarium. Their evil older brothers have also come along for the ride, accompanied by their pet vampire kitten. As in previous episodes, the older siblings have nothing but trouble in mind and their fiendish scheme to get super-rich spells trouble for psychic octopuses and any other sea creature unfortunate enough to find themselves in the aquarium that day. It’s up to the young friends to save the aquarium’s creatures, though, fortunately, they have plenty of help from a strangely familiar caretaker, Oddjobz.  Oddjobz is not the only pun borrowed from the world of James Bond. Chapter titles like ‘Evil Kittens are Forever’ and ‘For Your Fins Only’ attempt to afford Frankie some stardom by-proxy but, in fact, it is the non-piscine characters in this story who are the key players.

The two sets of siblings battle for control of Antonio the psychic octopus, though Antonio’s abilities to wrestle hammer-heads and squeeze through filtration systems suggest he is more than capable of controlling himself. Frankie, on the other hand, spends an unfortunately large amount of the story in his jar, and fans of previous instalments may be disappointed by the lack of opportunities Frankie has to show off his hypnotic powers.  Though there is just enough humour and intrigue in the story to entertain younger fans, Live and Let Swim’s characters are given insufficient scope to impress or excite and this makes for a rather damp overall effect.