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ChaO

Play trailer Poster for ChaO Now Playing 1h 29m Drama Fantasy Romance Anime Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 19 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings
In a fantastical future, humans and mermaids share a troubled coexistence. Stephan, an anxious employee at a shipbuilding company, has big ideas to save the sea. But his life explodes into ecstatic chaos when bubbly mermaid princess Chao proposes marriage out of the blue. Between shopping sprees, giant robots, and actual fireworks, the unlikely pair flounder through their new romance and unlock their true feelings.

Critics Reviews

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William Bibbiani TheWrap 1d
Whether the love story completely works or not, 'ChaO' is such a visual wonder that it hardly matters. It’s a lush and emotional and, despite the sugar-addled intensity Yasuhiro Aoki crams into every scene, oddly inviting. Go to Full Review
Simon Abrams RogerEbert.com 1d
3.5/4
The most enchanting thing about 'ChaO’ isn’t necessarily its hyperpoptimism, but the many little ways in which its breezy and arresting style reflects its creators’ lightly held Utopianism. Go to Full Review
Eli Friedberg Slant Magazine 5d
2.5/4
The narrative is nonsense, but it’s at least an arch and sweet kind of nonsense as it jumps through its fairy-tale hoops on the way to the next splash of artful color and manically doodled creativity. Go to Full Review
Chris Sawin Giant Freakin Robot 12h
4/5
ChaO offers a vastly unique ambiance. Backgrounds are detailed, but messy. The outlines lack any real pattern, colors are splotchy, and characters look wobbly and wavy. It's like Home Movies meets Tekkonkinkreet. It's also hilarious. Go to Full Review
Sarah Musnicky But Why Tho? 14h
7/10
As a retelling of a classic mermaid love story, STUDIO4°C offers an incredibly unique spin on a familiar archetypal fairy tale. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) 22h
I thought it was cute, the animation is very pretty and I liked this idea of this couple and how they communicate Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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jesse v 6h As much as this film breaks your typical human design standards, there are many scenes that are just art eye candy from the studio. most characters except the main character fawns over the big fish being on land. there isn't much of a plot or narrative here except half way where a random supernatural mech gets inserted in the plot. Full of artsy surprises. See more Jason B 8h A funny, sweet, crazy adaption of Splash (sort of), this movie can’t be adequately explained in a review. You just have to go see it. And yes, you can take kids. See more Mycologist 1d This movie was magical. it is full of beauty, wonder, absurdity and emotion. The soundtrack is moving and fantastic. I'd rate this 6 stars if I could. See more Olga 1d Charming movie, fantastic everything - story (somewhere along Little Mermaid and Ghibli's Ponyo lines, with funny twists), visual art style (absolutely unique), animation. It's a pity that they don't show English-dubbed version in theaters - I coped fine with subtitles :) , but with animation you'd rather watch than have to be distracted for reading subtitles. So I'll go watch once again, now with whole family in tow. Absolutely beautiful and feel-good movie. See more Andrew 1d The story was kind of generic but the characters were still endearing and fun. The art style was great though with unique designs that emphasize individuality and highly detailed backgrounds with an artistic twist. Animation was also fantastic! See more Moody C @MoodyC 7h It’s a breezy love story with fantastical elements not to take literally. Some funny moments, too but story not groundbreaking. Animation quite beautiful especially those local city scenes. See more Read all reviews
ChaO

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a fantastical future, humans and mermaids share a troubled coexistence. Stephan, an anxious employee at a shipbuilding company, has big ideas to save the sea. But his life explodes into ecstatic chaos when bubbly mermaid princess Chao proposes marriage out of the blue. Between shopping sprees, giant robots, and actual fireworks, the unlikely pair flounder through their new romance and unlock their true feelings.
Director
Yasuhiro Aoki
Producer
Eiko Tanaka
Screenwriter
Saku Konohana
Distributor
GKIDS
Production Co
Studio 4°C
Genre
Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 10, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 29m