Writing about the metaphorical aspects of the film's setting-somewhere in the Mediterranean-film critic Elena Past says that the underwater scenes, because they are central to the storyline, make The Life Aquatic similar in some ways to Respiro. Though the characters were inspired by such American novels as The Great Gatsby and The Magnificent Ambersons, the plot has been compared to Moby-Dick. Matthew Gray Gubler as Niko The Intern (credited as Intern #1).Bud Cort as Bill Ubell, Bond Company Stooge.Cate Blanchett as Jane Winslett-Richardson.Owen Wilson as Edward 'Ned' Plimpton / Kingsley Zissou.The crew returns triumphantly to the ship the next day. At the premiere of the finished documentary (which is dedicated to Ned, who is acknowledged as Zissou's son), Zissou receives a standing ovation while waiting outside the theater for the premiere to finish. Zissou finally tracks down the shark in a submersible but decides not to kill it, both because of its beauty and being out of dynamite. Prior to Ned's death, Eleanor revealed to Jane that Zissou is sterile and therefore Ned could not have been his son. Ned dies from his injuries and is buried at sea. Ned and Zissou make one last search for the shark in the ship's helicopter, but the aircraft malfunctions and they crash. They track Bill to an abandoned hotel on a remote island, saving him along with Hennessey, whom the pirates have also kidnapped. Zissou persuades Eleanor to rejoin the Belafonte and then leads the crew on a rescue mission. Sakowitz, along with all but one of the interns, jumps ship once they reach port. They are then rescued by Hennessey and towed to Port-au-Patois. They then sail into unprotected waters and are attacked by Filipino pirates, who steal Ned's money and kidnap Bill Ubell, 'a bond company stooge' assigned to the project. On their mission to find the jaguar shark, the Belafonte steals tracking equipment from a remote station owned by currently more successful oceanographer (also Eleanor's ex-husband and Zissou's nemesis), Alistair Hennessey. Klaus becomes jealous of the attention Zissou pays to Ned. Both Ned and Zissou are attracted to Jane and a competition develops between them. Pregnant reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson comes to chronicle the voyage.

Eleanor feels her husband is exploiting Ned and leaves.

As Oseary Drakoulias, Zissou's producer, cannot find a financier for their latest documentary, Ned offers his inheritance. After they meet at Zissou's latest premiere, Ned takes annual leave from his job as an airline pilot in Kentucky to join his crew. Ned Plimpton, a longtime Zissou fan whose mother has recently died, believes that Zissou is his father. However, the 'Team Zissou' venture has hit a decline, having not released a successful documentary in nine years. Also included is a recent group of unpaid interns from the University of North Alaska. Minor crew members include Vikram Ray, cameraman Bobby Ogata, frogman Vladimir Wolodarsky, physicist and soundtrack composer Renzo Pietro, sound man and Anne-Marie Sakowitz, a script girl. The crew aboard Zissou's aging research vessel Belafonte includes his estranged wife Eleanor, chief strategist and financial backer Pelé dos Santos, a safety expert and Brazilian guitarist who sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese and Klaus Daimler, the German first mate who views Zissou and Esteban as father figures. For his next project, Zissou is determined to document the shark's destruction. While oceanographer Steve Zissou is working on his latest documentary at sea, his best friend and chief diver, Esteban du Plantier, is devoured by a 10-meter-long, luminescently spotted creature Zissou describes as a 'jaguar shark'. It was also since remastered and re-released by The Criterion Collection in 2014. In the decade following its release it has garnered a cult following, and is now viewed more positively by both critics and fans. The film was released to mixed reviews and was a box office flop. It was filmed in and around Naples, Ponza, and the Italian Riviera. Seu Jorge has a minor part, but contributes heavily to the film's soundtrack. The film also features Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston, and Bud Cort. Zissou is both a parody of and homage to French diving pioneer Jacques Cousteau, to whom the film is dedicated. The film stars Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an eccentric oceanographer who sets out to exact revenge on the 'jaguar shark' that ate his partner Esteban. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on December 25, 2004. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson.

Steve minecraft costume