An Oscar-winning fantasy accused of plagiarism is released to stream

via Fox Searchlight

It may be a heartbreaking romantic fable that has won four Oscars from a whopping 13 nominations, but Guillermo del Toro, funnily enough, still managed to hit the nail on the head when referring to it The shape of the water as a “fish fuck film”.

As much as this undercuts the acclaimed fantasy that earned the filmmaker Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, it almost foreshadows the premise. However, how that premise was established by del Toro and co-writer Vanessa Taylor proved to be a major point of contention after the film’s release, following multiple allegations of plagiarism.

The estate of Paul Zindel sought legal action over his 1969 play let me hear you whisper, where a cleaning lady tries to rescue a dolphin from a shady black side of the government after forging a bond with the abused animal through experiments. 1962 Soviet-era creature feature amphibian man was also brought into the equation while Alien: Resurrection Director Jean-Pierre Jenuet even weighed in after claiming del Toro ripped several scenes from his back catalog.

Ultimately, nothing came of the repeated allegations, but it still tarnished the film’s reputation that it was berated for lack of originality by so many different sources. Not that it mattered in the long run, especially when The shape of the waterCurrent streaming performance only serves to emphasize its persistent nature.

According to FlixPatrol, the box office hit and awards season darling is one of the most watched features on the OSN platform right now, although mileage depends on how unique it actually is.