Shark Tale

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By Todd Karella
October 1, 2004

Original Story Synopsis:

Dreamworks latest CGI animation about fish gangsters. When the son of the mobster shark Don Lino (Robert De Niro) is accidentally killed by an anchor, a young fish named Oscar (Will Smith) takes credit for the deed.

While branded a hero, Oscar finds it difficult to live up to his new reputation. That is if he can survive once Don Lino finds out.

Movie-Pix Best Guess:

It looks like another fun film for the family with the voices of A-list stars, Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellweger, and Jack Black..

With the popularity of CGI animated films it's sure to be another hit.

Best Guess Results:

Pretty close to what you'd expect from a Dreamworks production.

Family humor with enough jokes that the adults can understand to draw them into the theatres with their kids.

The most disturbing factor is the constant assault on your senses with blatant advertising. Sure, it's cute seeing modern society with it's fishy equivalents, but enough is enough.

Rated PG

~Chumming the waters in a marketing feeding frenzy~

While the new animated film was done by the creators of Shrek, it’s interesting why it resembles Finding Nemo instead. Granted they are both movies about fish, but Shark Tale seems to be taken from one of Nemo's

famous lines. “Fish are friends, not food.”
   What sets the two films apart is that the storyline for Shark Tale has a lot less emotion, uses many old jokes and has so many in-your-face product placements that it loses a lot of its charm.
   It may be cute to see Coca Cola changed to Coral Cola, but after you’ve seen it a dozen times and have seen other products such as Krispy Kreme and Preperation-H with cute little fishy names it starts to grate on your nerves.
   Oscar (Will Smith) is a young urban street fish that works at the local Whale Wash. Not only does Oscar look like Smith, but it’s the same character he plays in all of his roles.
   Oscar is a dreamer and wants to be living large in the big penthouses on the reef. Unfortunately, he’s got no money and it looks like he’ll be a tongue scraper for the rest of his life.
   This leads the young fish into trouble as he is always looking for some get-rich scheme. His troubles
get worse when he finds himself deeply in debt to his boss Sykes (Martin Scorsese).

debts he finds himself sleep-
another cute fish joke. Who

fish henchmen take him out
leaving him tied to a rock

brother Lenny find him.
refuses to eat another living
himself worthy of being a

brother. Just as Frankie is about to eat the tiny fish, a large anchor falls and crushes him. Lenny flees in fear of what his father might say, and Oscar is heralded as the Shark Slayer.
   Overcome with his new fame, Oscar lives up to the part. He stars in commercials and becomes the city’s protector. He has finally achieved his dream of wealth and success, but in his quest for fame he has left behind his friends and the one friend Angie (Renee Zellweger) who has always loved him even when he was a nobody.
   Along with his new title, he finds out there’s a problem. Don Lino is seeking revenge on the one who killed his son. Not knowing what to do, Oscar teams up with Lenny who is still hiding out from his father.
   The two give the reef a memorable show of strength as they pretend to battle and Oscar throws out witty and fresh jokes that we’ve heard a million times before such as “You can’t handle the truth,” and “You had me at hello.”
     As all animated movies do, it ends with a happy ending with the reuniting of father and son and Oscar and the fish of his dreams as he realizes how special he has always been.
Thankfully there are no big musical numbers and appeals to a more adult audience, but it does make you wonder what young kids will take out of it. The basic story deals with gambling, the Mafia, graffiti, and an ever so flamboyant shark.

Movie-Pix Hit or Miss

Sykes is in debt himself to Don Lino (Robert De Niro) a large great white shark who runs the mob with his two sons Frankie (Michael Imperioli) and

Lenny (Jack Black).
When Oscar can’t pay his
ing with the fishes. Yeah, it's
would have guessed?
That's when Sykes' two jelly-
to the deepest part of the ocean
where the sharks can eat him.
That’s where Frankie and his
Lenny is a vegetarian and he
creature. In order to prove

shark his brother has been sent to teach him how to be a killer
Lenny refuses to eat Oscar which enrages his