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Gang de requins (2004) HD online

Language: English
Category: Movie / Animation / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
Original Title: Shark Tale
Director: Bibo Bergeron,Vicky Jenson
Writers: Michael J. Wilson,Rob Letterman
Released: 2004
Budget: $75,000,000
Duration: 1h 30min
Video type: Movie

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The sea underworld is shaken up when the son of the shark mob boss is found dead and a young fish named Oscar is found at the scene. Being a bottom feeder, Oscar takes advantage of the situation and makes himself look like he killed the finned mobster. Oscar soon comes to realize that his claim may have serious consequences.

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Cast overview, first billed only:
	Will Smith	-	Oscar (voice)
	Robert De Niro	-	Don Lino (voice)
	Renée Zellweger	-	Angie (voice)
	Jack Black	-	Lenny (voice)
	Angelina Jolie	-	Lola (voice)
	Martin Scorsese	-	Sykes (voice)
	Ziggy Marley	-	Ernie (voice)
	Doug E. Doug	-	Bernie (voice)
	Michael Imperioli	-	Frankie (voice)
	Vincent Pastore	-	Luca (voice)
	Peter Falk	-	Don Feinberg (voice)
	Katie Couric	-	Katie Current (voice)
	David Soren	-	Shrimp / Worm / Starfish #1 / Killer Whale #2 (voice)
	David P. Smith	-	Crazy Joe (voice)
	Bobb'e J. Thompson	-	Shortie #1 (voice)

When Don Lino is clearly seen for the first time (when he looks up from the aquarium), a mole can be seen near his right eye, a distinct facial feature of Lino's voice actor, Robert De Niro.

The original title for the movie was "Sharkslayer," but it was changed to "Shark Tale" about a year before release, because Jeffrey Katzenberg thought the title might scare families away (the title still appears in some early promotional material). The change is clear in the movie, as in the song before the credits, the singers interlock between calling the movie "Sharkslayer" and "Shark Tale."

According to Hans Zimmer, he told Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg that he could not deal with any more epic films, but wanted to do a fun animated movie instead, and so he got the chance to compose for this film.

A sequel had been discussed, but it was never produced.

When Oscar (Will Smith) goes to the time clock, there is a note on the wall saying, "If you don't come in Saturday, don't bother..." This is a reference to a famous memo Jeffrey Katzenberg sent to executives while he was with Disney.

In the scene where Sykes is fired, he is thrown against the drawing of Rose that Jack drew in Titanic (1997).

Some of the "fishified" products are: "Coral Cola" (Coca-Cola), "Gup" (GAP), "Fish King" (Burger King), "Old Wavy" (Old Navy), and "Newsreef" (Newsweek).

During the end credits, Crazy Joe, the hermit crab, taps on Head of Artistic Development Frank Gladstone's name and yells out, "What! You see this guy? He hardly worked on the movie at all! Always on the phone yakking yakking yakking."

Ernie the Jellyfish (Ziggy Marley) sings the song "Three Little Birds", a song written by Ziggy's father, Bob, with the small difference of Ziggy changing "birds" to "fishes" in keeping with the film's aquatic theme.

LOGO GIMMICK: The fisher boy in the moon throws his line (worm attached) into the ocean, where the worm encounters Lenny (Jack Black).

There are nods throughout the movie that sharks' den is the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic. However, the outside and interiors of the shipwreck are based on the S.S. Normandie, a French ocean liner of the 1930s. Particular examples are, the scenes at the bar, when Don Lino (Robert De Niro) and Sykes (Martin Scorsese) meet for the first time, and the dining room, where the sitting is set.

Some of the cast members, most notably Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, Will Smith and Jack Black, and Will Smith and Renée Zellweger, recorded their lines together.

This was the ninth highest-grossing film of 2004.

In the racetrack sequence, there are more than sixteen thousand computer animated 3-D characters in the stands.

Anthony Anderson was cast as a sperm whale, but the role's suggestive dialogue got his character cut down. Anderson had only a few non-risqué lines, when the whale meets Angie, and when Oscar cleans the whale's eye.

The American Family Association, a Christian conservative organization, raised concerns about this movie, suggesting that it was designed to promote the acceptance of gay rights by children. Primarily, by having Lenny, who is a vegetarian shark, and his struggles, as an allegory for the struggles gay men go through with their homosexuality.

Classifying the characters in terms of species, Oscar (Will Smith) is a bluestreak cleaner wrasse ((which explains his whale-cleaning status) despite looking more like a dolphinfish), Angie (Renée Zellweger) is a marine angelfish, Sykes (Martin Scorsese) is a porcupinefish, Lola (Angelina Jolie) is a lionfish, Don Feinberg (Peter Falk) is a leopard shark, Don Lino (Robert De Niro), Frankie (Michael Imperioli) and Lenny (Jack Black) are great white sharks, Giuseppe (Lenny Ventino) is a scalloped hammerhead shark and Crazy Joe (David P. Smith) is a hermit crab.

The Castilian Spanish dubbing of this movie is considered by the Spanish audience to be one of the worst dubbing ever made in Spain. At that time, the Spanish television show Aquí no hay quien viva (2003), was a big hit. So, the distributors decided to used some of the actors and actresses from that show (some of them with no dubbing experience) to do the voices of some of the characters. Fernando Tejero dubbed Oscar, María Adánez dubbed Angie, and Santiago Ramos dubbed Sykes. Also, actor and actress (not from the original show) José Sancho and Natalia Verbeke, were in the cast as Don Lino and Lola, and also television journalist and host Mercedes Milá as Katie Current. The audience criticized Tejero's performance as Oscar the most. This happened again a couple of years later with Over the Hedge (2006).

Don Lino (Robert De Niro) tells Sykes (Martin Scorsese) that they have worked together for a long time. In real-life, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro have worked together multiple times since the 1970s, most notably in Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995)

Don Feinberg (Peter Falk) was originally called Don Brizzi. Bowing to pressure from the Italic Institute of America, an organization protesting Hollywood's stereotyping of Italians as mobsters and gangsters, DreamWorks agreed to change the name of the character to Don Feinberg just before release.

This is Will Smith's first animated film and the only animated film for Will Smith until Spies in Disguise (2019) which will be released 15 years later.

In the film's early stages of production, James Gandolfini was considered for the voice of Don Lino, Christopher Walken was considered for the voice of Luca the Octopus, and Sacha Baron Cohen was considered for Bernie the Jellyfish. Cohen voiced King Julian in the Madagascar film franchise, also from DreamWorks Animation.

The plot has some resemblance to "The Reluctant Dragon," a short story from 1897 written by Kenneth Grahame.

The first Dreamworks film to feature no humans (not counting Antz (1998) where humans are seen only briefly and without their faces shown).

The Anti-Italian Defamation League protested the film's release, and even after the changes to appeal to them, disowned the film.

After Oscar (Will Smith) "defeats" Lenny (Jack Black) in their staged fight, the crowd starts chanting, "Oscar, boma ye!" Smith was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001). The climax of the film depicts the legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" match against George Foreman, including the crowd's famous chant of "Ali, boma ye."

For Australian audiences, Katie Current is voiced by renowned Australian channel 9 news anchor Tracy Grimshaw.

Only DreamWorks Animation film where the cast names of major characters in the film are listed at the start and the end outside of the credit crawl (though the end features six other cast members than at the start). Other DreamWorks Animation films either have it being shown the latter way or the former way.

Jack Black's second animated film, The first being Ice Age ((2002) which also had a character named Oscar and a character named Lenny).

During the staged fight scene between Oscar and Lenny, Lenny accidentally catches Oscar in his mouth. Oscar slowly opens Lenny's mouth to demonstrate his strength. After doing so, he spouts off a few famous movie lines, one being, "You had me at hello." This line is a reference to Jerry Maguire (1996), and it was spoken by Renèe Zellweger, who was the voice of Angie in this movie. In the film, Angie has a very subtle reaction to this line in particular, a small nod to her former role.

The reporting newsfish is named Katie Current, whose name is a nod to U.S. newscaster Katie Couric, who voiced the character. (You don't say!)

Originally, Luca the octopus was going to be the character who died in the film but DreamWorks abandoned the idea as it was considered too dark and risky for a family film so it was replaced with Frankie's death because Frankie's death was more interesting.

Oscar is voiced by Will Smith. His wife Jada Pinkett Smith voiced Gloria in DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar film franchise.

Vincent Pastore (who voiced Luca the Octopus) were a deleted role of Gigi the Killer Whale.

When the hermit crab retreats into his shell to watch his show, the theme song for The Benny Hill show starts up.

Chris Tucker were deleted a role of Sweetness.

Christopher Walken were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

John Leguizamo were considered the role of Lenny.

Ben Stiller were considered the role of Sykes.

Jay Leno were considered the role of Crazy Joe.

Don Rickles were considered the role of Frankie.

Steven Van Zandt were considered for the role of Frankie.

Tom Hanks were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Chris Rock were considered for the role of Ernie the Jellyfish.

Tony Sirico were considered for the role of Bernie the Jellyfish.

Liam Neeson were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Will Smith and Jack Black previously co-starred in Enemy of the State (1998).

Richard Pryor were considered for the role of Bernie the Jellyfish.

Will.i.am were considered for the role of Ernie the Jellyfish

The fifth computer-animated film to be rated PG by the MPAA after Antz (1998), Dinosaur (2000), Shrek (2001) and Ice Age (2002).

DreamWorks' first film to have Hans Zimmer compose the score solely since he previously teamed up with John Powell in The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), and Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron (2002).

Joe Pytka were considered to direct this film, but replaced Rob Letterman.

Joel Schumacher were considered to direct this film, but replaced Rob Letterman.

Martin Lawrence were considered for the role of Oscar.

Jennifer Aniston were considered for the role of Angie.

Kevin Michael Richardson were a deleted role of Earl.

Jack Angel were a deleted role of Bob the Great White Shark.

John Cygan were a deleted role of Percy the Killer Whale.

Joseph Bologna were a deleted role of Kevin the Leopard Shark.

David L. Lander were a deleted role of Sammy the Swordfish.

John DiMaggio were a deleted role of Hammy the Hammerhead Shark.

Bob Bergen were a deleted role of Steve the Swordfish.

Jan Rabson were a deleted role of Harold the Hammerhead Shark.

Michael McShane were a deleted role of Toby the Tiger Shark.

Jeffrey Garcia were a deleted role of Miles the Mako Shark.

Ray Winstone were a deleted role of Louis the Killer Whale.

Corey Burton were a deleted role of Randall the Swordfish.

Rodger Bumpass were a deleted role of Fred the Swordfish.

Dee Bradley Baker were a deleted role of Billy the Hammerhead Shark.

Jim Ward were a deleted role of George the Great White Shark.

Paul Eiding were a deleted role of Snapper the Great White Shark.

Phil Proctor were a deleted role of Blade the Swordfish.

Patrick Pinney were a deleted role of Barry the Leopard Shark.

Ernie Sabella were a deleted role of Miguel the Killer Whale.

Nathan Lane were a deleted role of Fins the Hammerhead Shark.

Steve Buscemi were a deleted role of Edge the Swordfish.

Crispin Glover were a deleted role of Fists the Great White Shark.

Steve Schirripa were a deleted role of Rob the Killer Whale.

Fred Stoller were a deleted role of Ken the Hammerhead Shark.

Sean Mullen were a deleted role of Dab the Swordfish.

Diedrich Bader were a deleted role of Stanley the Great White Shark.

Alan Tudyk were a deleted role of Jimmy the Hammerhead Shark.

Kevin Pollak were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Bryan Cranston were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Brittany Murphy were considered for the role of Lola.

John Cleese were considered for the role of Sykes.

Christopher Lee were considered for the role of Don Feinberg.

Djimon Hounsou were considered for the role of Oscar.

Drew Barrymore were considered for the role of Angie.

Michael J. Fox were considered for the role of Lenny.

Rowan Atkinson were considered for the role of Sykes.

Thomas Ian Nicholas were considered for the role of Frankie.

Stellan Skarsgård were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Vincent Pastore (the role of Luca the Octopus) were considered for the role of Ernie the Jellyfish.

Sacha Baron Cohen were considered the role of Bernie the Jellyfish.

Philip Seymour Hoffman were considered for the role of Frankie.

Woody Harrelson were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Rachael Leigh Cook were considered for the role of Lola.

Anna Paquin were considered for the role of Angie.

Eric Stoltz were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Bill Nighy were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Sally Field were considered for the role of Angie.

Cheech Marin were considered for the role of Lenny.

Ving Rhames were considered for the role of Oscar.

Jeff Daniels were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Melanie Griffith were considered for the role of Angie.

Bette Midler were considered for the role of Lola.

Simon Callow were considered for the role of Sykes.

Jonathan Banks were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Scott Bakula were considered for the role of Lenny.

John Malkovich were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Brad Pitt were considered for the role of Lenny.

Johnny Knoxville were considered for the role of Frankie.

Stacy Keach were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Dave Foley were considered for the role of Lenny.

Rene Russo were considered for the role of Angie.

Mimi Rogers were considered for the role of Lola.

Anna Friel were considered for the role of Lola.

Julian McMahon were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Scott Speedman were considered for the role of Frankie.

Timothy Hutton were considered for the role of Lenny.

Anthony Hopkins were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Michael Gambon were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Red Buttons were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Nathan Lane were considered for the role of Ernie the Jellyfish.

Ernie Sabella were considered for the role of Bernie the Jellyfish.

Amanda Detmer were considered for the role of Lola.

Michael Imperioli (the role of Frankie) were considered for the role of Luca the Octopus.

Kirk Douglas were considered for the role of Don Lino.

Tom Wilkinson were considered for the role of Sykes.

Bokeem Woodbine were considered for the role of Oscar.

Frankie and Lenniy's mother is mentioned, but she's never seen in this movie, but the only time Frankie and Lenny's grandmother's seen is when she's sobbing silently on Frankie and Lenny's grandfather's left shoulder during Frankie's funeral ceremony, but Frankie and Lenny's grandmother was never seen again.

This was the first DreamWorks Animation movie with a new logo to have a logo gimmick.

The behind-the-scenes revealed Don Lino's first name as Edward.

The behind-the-scenes revealed Lenny's full name to be Leonardo Lino and Frankie's full name to be Franklin Lino.

The second DreamWorks Animation film to have the main antagonist redeem himself towards the end, the first film like that being Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003).

With Lola forming an alliance with the sharks during the climax to get revenge for being dumped, as part of her tougher side, this makes her the first character in a DreamWorks Animation film to be a hidden secondary antagonist.

While Lenny is a self-confessed vegetarian, he eats his best friends, Oscar and Angie (although temporarily).

Movie / Animation / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Fantasy2004 Will Smith Robert De Niro Renée Zellweger Bibo Bergeron Vicky Jenson

Reviews: [25]

dermeco

I did like Shark Tale, but there is a lot wrong with it. I did think the animation was very nicely done, and I liked the references to Jaws and Godfather. But I do think that Finding Nemo was much better than this. Shark Tale could have been a great film, had it not been devoid of humour and heart. My first problem with the film was Will Smith. He tries to be funny, but as the film progresses, he gets tiresome, and at times you feel like you want to reach into the screen and put a hand over his mouth. There were times when the script was funny, and there were some nice ideas, but the pace of the whole film was uneven. The characters could have been developed a lot more, particularly Lenny(a nice surprise from Jack Black), and whereas there were a number of nice visual jokes, there is some very over-familiar material in the script. Kids may find the sharks a bit frightening, and adults won't find much to enjoy, with the exception of the talented voice cast, such as Angelina Jolie, whose Lola(a very beautiful fish) was one of the better characters, Rennee Zellwegger, who deserved better than she was given and Robert DeNiro, whose shark was just a caricature of the Godfather. Though it is Martin Scorsesse who gives the most entertaining vocal contribution. And I did like the music score. All in all, it is nice to look at, but there are some parts of the film that aren't as interesting as intended. I did like the film, but I was kind of confused at who it was aimed at. 6/10 Bethany Cox.

Kikora

Shark Tale is doubtlessly going to be endlessly compared to Pixar's "Finding Nemo". It is unfortunate that Shark Tale comes out the lesser of the two movies, but truly comparing the two is generally a fruitless exercise.

Opening with a detailed dive into the city of the fish Shark Tale presents a world of sight gags and moderate puns. From the star fish walk of fame through the dolphin police, through to the shots of "the top of the reef", the sequence is a bustling hive of activity. At this point I would make one valid comparison with Nemo - the graphics. Shark Tale fails to really seem as if anything is happening underwater. Yes, there are fish in the shot and yes everything intellectually should be under the sea, but where Nemo oozed and flowed in a very fluid vista Shark Tale shows colour and spectacle, but without that organic ocean feeling. This is not to say Shark Tale's graphic work is bad, simply that it does not feel waterborne.

With that aside, the cartoon images in Shark Tale are well presented, with the anthropomorphic fish taking on the facial characteristics of their voice actors. Never has (or will) a fish ever look more like Wil Smith , or acted like him. This is Wil Smith in full Fresh Prince wise-cracking mode made piscine in Oscar. Renee Zellwegger is instantly recognisable in her fish counterpart Angie, as is the vampy Angela Jolie (Lola).

The story itself revolves around Oscar's passage from an unhappy, dreaming, nobody to a famous, unhappy, somebody to a happy nobody. It's a generic, oft-repeated tale, albeit set in a world full of mafioso sharks, vengeful shrimp, and whales with poor personal hygiene.

As such, the story itself is both predictable and can be safely ignored. You can feel each step of the way long before it hits the screen. It has no surprises, and so the movie resorts to banter and set pieces to amuse.

It doesn't often succeed with these. Of the set pieces the shark funeral is by far the best part of the movie. It is hilarious and somehow moving at the same time. Lenny (Jack Black) and Don Lino (Robert De Niro) make an amusing scene in a restaurant debating with the food. The remainder, including Oscar's big fight scene, are generally uninvolving unless you have an interest in keeping an ear and eye out for the multitude of pop references - many of which are simply thrown in for no reason other than that somebody thought they should be there. Oscar's non sequiturs at the end of the great shark fight are particularly pointless and unfunny.

Some in jokes and references do work - having Ziggy Marley solemnly tell Oscar (Smith) that he's singing reggae wrong is clever. Some gags also work - the pizza ordering Octopus is a gem.

But despite playing heavily on racial stereotypes the movie as a whole feels rather bland - as if it was designed by marketers and a committee rather than by people who had a funny tale they wanted to tell.

The actors supplying the voices vary in effectiveness. Wil Smith is effectively Wil Smith, love it or hate it. Zellwegger gives a decent, if shallow, performance as the love interest, and Jolie's Lola is barely on screen long enough for her to make an impact. De Niro makes the movie as Don Lino, shark godfather, and without his presence it would be fair to say that the movie would simply be too weak to sustain interest.

The music is very MTV, and the end song sequence is atrocious - though kids will probably love it, parents should bring ear plugs for the time when Oscar releases "Missy and Christina" until you leave the cinema.

Shark Tale offers an amusing hour and a half for the children but a rather predictable and only occasionally amusing time for adults. It lacks the magic, sparkle, and dare I say bite, that was so desperately needed.

Six starfish out of a possible 10.

virus

Round two of the Pixar/Dreamworks choose-a-theme competition scores once again for Pixar.

Remember when a few years ago there were two animated ant movies to choose from? I think they even came at the same time in the theaters in my country. One was AntZ, the other was A Bug's Life. The first one was rumoured to be more suited to adults, the other a kiddie movie. While that statement had some merit, at the end it turned out that A Bug's Life was a far better movie entertainment-wise, despite cuter characters and simpler story and all that kiddie-like appearance. AntZ were just plain dull.

Pixar seems to like choosing a simple story, one that a kid can understand, and than building upon it creating a wonderful movie for all ages. Dreamworks builds his scripts on pop-culture references and more adult themes, and while it works sometimes (Shrek was fantastic), at other times it just falls flat.

Some say it's unfair to compare Finding Nemo and Shark Tale, them being totally different movies with the only matching characteristic being antropomorphic fish, but it seems that the comparison is inevitable. It's the ants thing all over again. Finding Nemo was simply wonderful, great movie with a perfect sense of humour and memorable characters. Sure, they were cute and cuddly, but they had a soul.

Shark Tale, again, tries to appeal to the adults, but this time the results are even worse. The characters are not so important as the cast is, even so much that we are being sledgehammered on the head in who's playing who. A word to the wise - I don't care how big the names doing the voicework are, I want to immerse in the movie's story. When I saw Shrek, I didn't see Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy there, I saw Shrek and Donkey. Here I see De Niro, Smith, Scorsese and so on. At one point I even caught myself wondering why the other fish keep calling Will Smith "Oscar".

As for the story, it kind of drags along. I couldn't really sympathize with the lead character - he is at the same time stupid and so full of himself that I didn't care about his motivations or the messes he got himself into. Also, somehow the story didn't map so well in the underwater world. What is the Shark mafia exactly ? Are they supposed to be predators or criminals? Basically the mafia thing is here only to serve as a playground for mob-movie references, but it serves no purpose story-wise. Also, the entire world seems very unbelievable. Flahing electrical neon signs? Fire hydrants? It actually backfires, since instead of getting a kick out of fishes living like humans, mostly you feel like you're watching an alien movie, with the aliens resembling our world's fishes in some ways.

All in all, I did enjoy the movie, but only in the sense that I didn't feel cheated out of my money. A couple of the jokes worked, some pop-culture references were funny, the movie was not too boring. But when I remember that after Nemo or Incredibles I was smiling even a few hours after the movie, then I see that Shark Tale ain't what it possibly could be. It's just a popcorn movie, easily forgettable. And rightfully so.

Stick

I have to confess my shock at seeing the 5.9/10 average rating for this movie and overall mediocre reviews. This movie is great! And I'm not a kid, either...I'm 26 years old and thoroughly enjoyed this movie at the age of 25. The soundtrack is unbelievable and fits in seamlessly with the action and comedy of the movie. You really have to hear Mary J. Blige's rendition of Cheryl Lynn's classic disco anthem, "Got to Be Real." Anyway, besides the fantastic soundtrack, every character in this movie matches beautifully with his or her celebrity voice. I particularly enjoyed Will Smith's and Martin Scorcese's characters; brilliantly done. Really, if you're looking for a fun, enjoyable movie that you can laugh and even dance along to, this is the movie for you. Young and old alike should enjoy this. I've seen it 3 times, and always have a good time watching it. Watch it!

Gardataur

I can't explain why I didn't like Shark Tale too much. Visually there is a creative backdrop which is absolutely beautiful. I wonder if they just took pictures of New York, doused it underwater and worked around the scenery. Because with the exception of that imagery, Shark Tale has a very loud, very brash, in-your-face mentality that takes away from the movie. Other features like The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo invite you to the paradise of being under the sea. Shark Tale throws you in the middle of the loudest club and tells you to get down on it. I don't buy it and with the exception of some visual gags, nobody else could neither. This is also another movie where Will Smith can get back into his Fresh Prince gear and get away with it and Jack Black could play a gender confused shark and be accepted for it as well. I wanted to enjoy the scenery and the sight of an underground New York. Shark Tale offered it but instead beat us silly with all the hoopla we see everyday on the television set. What a disappointment. Enjoy the humor and expect nothing more.

Nilador

Had "Shark Tale" had even an iota of the wit and charm that seems to have little trouble finding its way into Pixar's creations, the movie might have been more enjoyable. At the least the filmmakers could have snuck in some funny social commentary through the veil of animation.

What we have instead is an urban, glib, lifeless product that is market-tested and ready for consumption. An empty ghetto-fabulous morality tale loaded with pop culture references and plenty of bling-bling but no heart.

Under the ocean, Oscar (voice of Will Smith) is a tongue-scrubber at a "whale-wash" and part-time hustler. He wishes for a better life, hoping to swim his way to the top of the fish social ladder, though his coworker Angie (voice of Renee Zellweger) thinks he should be happy with who he is, and tries to subtly drop hints that she's quite taken with him.

Meanwhile, great white shark and local crime boss Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is planning to turn his family business over to his two sons, Frankie and Lenny. But Lenny (voice of Jack Black) is harboring some serious issues concerning eating other fish, and the godfather is worried his weak son with reflect poorly on him.

Oscar has problems. In debt to his boss Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese), he soon ends up in hot water. However, fate runs him smack into Frankie and Lenny. During the scuffle, an anchor accidentally kills Frankie and Oscar is mistakenly given credit for the kill. Now a media celebrity for being a "shark slayer," Oscar rides his status all the way to the top, with Sykes managing his interests and the sharks fuming that their top spot in the food chain is quickly losing its power.

Situations soon escalate and Oscar and Lenny reach an agreement: if they fake a battle and Oscar emerges triumphant, he can keep his credibility as a shark slayer and Lenny can start a new life.

"Shark Tale" openly references "The Godfather" and "Jaws" at every opportunity, which in and of itself isn't too bad except that so little is made of the main plot itself that the whole move feels like a patchwork of other, better movies, just with a meaningless hip-hop attitude. The special effects are up to par but there's nothing really special about them. The audience needs a story and characters, not just choreographed dance sequences and goofy product placements.

All this might have been negligible had the movie actually been funny. This, sadly, is not the case. I only recorded one good laugh during the screening I attended, and that involved a shark voiced by Peter Falk whose flatulence had the expected effect on a henchmen. When a fart joke is the best you have to offer, then you've got serious problems.

The story also steals shamelessly from the 1942 Disney cartoon "The Reluctant Dragon," which featured a fixed battle between a loudmouth braggart knight and a pacifist dragon to keep the locals off both their backs. That story was at least short and cute, neither of which can be said about this debacle.

Along with the plot, voice acting is pretty lifeless as well. Smith gets to indulge his ego, playing his own persona on screen once again, this time in fish form. De Niro and Scorsese seem to be having fun spoofing their own tough guy roles, but that's about it from them. The biggest surprise is how much of a laid-back performance Black gives. His trademark manic desperation is nowhere to be seen, playing instead a shockingly normal character. Had he cut loose, the scenes he's in might have been more enjoyable. What's stranger is his hiding of his vegetarian leanings from his dad is handled like an allegory for a gay person coming out to his parents.

When is Hollywood going to realize it doesn't matter how many famous actors you get to do voices for your characters; if the story sucks, then no amount of acting talent is going to save it? There are three Academy Award winners in this cast, just don't use that as a benchmark for excellence.

This all amounts to another animated project from DreamWorks high on energy and low on inspiration. After "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmarron," "Road to El Dorado" and "Sinbad" all tanked, it's clear that the "Shrek" series is the only good thing the studio has going for it right now.

Of course, there's no escaping comparison to that other computer animated fish movie, either, and that's when this film looks most wanting. Where Pixar's "Finding Nemo" swam the full depths of the ocean, "Shark Tale" seems content to just tread water in the wading pool.

4 out of 10 stars. Pretty to look at, but any movie that tries to push this much "coolness" down your throat is just asking to be despised.

Flas

with big and well-known names such as will smith, Robert De Nero, Renee zellwegger, Angelina Jolie, Ziggy Marley, and Katie couric involved in this animated film, i felt that this movie was going to at least come close to finding nemo, a masterpiece that is and always will be the leader of the "under-the-sea" type animation. shark tale was somewhat disappointing and i did not notice anything hilariously funny about it. in this film, a fish (voice of will smith that wants to make a name for himself in society believing that he is a loser.. coincidentally, while trying to escape a shark, he ends up "killing" it (it was really just an accident). however, the other fish believe that he actually killed the shark and he receives fame and glory as the "shark slayer." anxious for the chance to be somebody, this fish plays along and uses it to his advantage. the most ridiculous part is the fact that these sharks are actually afraid of this puny fish. however, this is nothing compared to will smith's role at the end of this moving in mending the relationship between a father shark and his son who chose a vegetarian lifestyle instead of being like the other sharks. the only "funny" parts in this movie involve the shrimp who appear a few times (at least in think they are shrimp). after seeing finding nemo, this movie was definitely a disappointment.

Zut

It could be just me but I thought that the humor in this movie was perfect. I laughed lot's of times throughout the movie and was very entertained by it. I however think that this movie will not be loved by young children, they simply will not be able to understand most of the jokes and the movie also lacks some 'likeable Disney type of characters' for them.

I never was really interested to go and watch this movie since it got lot's of bad reviews and I thought that the trailer looked horrible and very unfunny. I however decided to pick up this movie nevertheless because I was interested in how the famous voice cast would pull off, Martin Scorsese in particular. I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the movie. the humor was spot on and I was entertained the whole time. I know lot's of people probably are going to hate me for this but I thought this movie was even better and more entertaining than any of the two Shrek movies.

The movie doesn't have a whole lot of story and is pretty average in every way. I however feel that this is one of this movies were the story really is secondary. The movie has your average love story, in which Angelina Jolie's character is really unnecessary and adds absolutely nothing, in my opinion but watching Robert De Niro's character scream and shout and giving orders to Martin Scorsese's character on the other hand was absolutely priceless.

Will Smith was a great main character and just as entertaining as Eddie Murphy in an animated movie.

I predict that the music in this movie will be absolutely hated in 20 years by now, just as much as I hate '80's music in movies now. No, I really didn't liked the songs in this movie mainly because in unlike the Shrek movies, they aren't any evergreens.

If you plan to buy this movie for your kids, think twice, you're probably better of watching "Finding Nemo" with them. If you're a adult or young adult that likes animated movies, this movie might be worth your time and money, although the humor in this movie is really a matter of taste.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

ME

"Shark Tale" is the latest animated feature from DreamWorks, the same studio that gave us "Antz" and "Shrek." This new story can be called a cross between "Finding Nemo" and "The Godfather." It's no "Shrek," but it's still enjoyable. The voice talent was well cast, with Will Smith as Oscar, the ambitious "small fish in a big pond" who finds himself an instant celebrity; Jack Black as Lenny, a peaceful vegetarian shark; Robert DeNiro as Don Lino, Lenny's father, the head of a shark mob, etc. The animation looks good, and a lot of movie references are clever. Sometimes, though, the producers of the movie seem to be trying too hard. But even if it doesn't always hit the mark, "Shark Tale" is worth a look.

Fearlessrunner

The star power in this movie really made the difference...u can see really see Robert De Niro in the way the shark moves and talks. Martin Scorcese as Skyes is pretty cool...and Will Smith isn't too bad either. The only part that I would be critical about is that the story isn't very original.At times its even predictable. But all in all the movie is funny...Jack black as Lenny is great. Those who liked Finding Nemo would probably like this movie too..(Although it isn't as good as Finding Nemo) Worth a watch...for kids as well as for adults.Angelie Jolie was a great choice to play the part of Lola.The animation in this film is brilliant...buts thats something v have come to expect of animated films..isn't it!!

KiddenDan

I have to admit going into this review that I didn't at all have the slightest hopes of liking "Shark Tale." From the previews last fall, it reminded me a little too much of Pixar's "Finding Nemo." Not so, as I would later find out. "Shark Tale" draws much of its inspirations, as noted by critic Roger Ebert, from "Casablanca," "Jaws," and "The Godfather" - all movies that are considered to be modern American classics.

"Shark Tale" plays out like an amalgam of all three classic films, and has a plot that shares uncanny parallels to the current events debate about morality and homosexuality in America. The film is set in and around a coral reef that is controlled by a "Godfather"-like mob family of great white sharks. Don Lino (Robert De Niro) is as ruthless as they come, and his two sons Frankie (Michael Imperioli) and Lenny (Jack Black) both have their eyes set on controlling the family and the reef when Lino retires.

The sharks, who run their business out of a spruced-up version of the sunken Titanic, have a reputation for routinely shaking down clients and otherwise being pretty hard on the reef, but Lenny doesn't have that killer instinct in him - he's a vegetarian - and at dinner one night, he sets a shrimp free. This comes as a shock for Don Lino, as Lenny's behavior suddenly becomes a huge embarrassment for him.

On the reef, a hustling fish named Oscar (Will Smith) is aspiring to rise out of his lowly existence working at a whale wash. He's thought up a number of schemes in the past that have all failed and his closest friend is his boss's secretary Angie (Renee Zellweger), who also has a crush on him.

Things become complicated for all the characters when Frankie is accidentally killed by a fisherman's anchor being dropped on his head while he was trying to convince Lenny to be a killer shark by feasting on Oscar, who's indebted to Don Lino for a failed horse-betting scheme. Oscar, who bore witness to the whole incident, seizes the opportunity and using his boss Sykes (Martin Scorsese) as a shameless fight promoter, becomes a hero around the reef as a shark slayer, and Lenny is forced to go into hiding as a result.

"Shark Tale" is entertaining to say the least, with enough in-jokes and gags to certainly reel in unsuspecting viewers. Even though this is a children's film, there is a lot of thematic material that is just too serious to not go at all unnoticed.

The animation is beautiful (though not as good as anything done by Pixar in the last 10 years) and it really gives the deep blue that admirable quality. The voice-acting is pretty impressive too, with all of the actors doing their best, including Angelina Jolie as the gold-digging Lola.

7/10

SadLendy

I just can't understand why "Shark Tale" is so underrated. I have watched this movie about 3 times and yet, I still can't get enough of it. The fact is that the characters were very entertaining, the animation was brilliant, and the story was great and was sending messages along with it, such as accept your destiny, be happy with who you are, accept others for who they are, and you don't have to live "on top of the reef" to be a "somebody." This movie also exposes us to the pop culture. What more does this movie need to to make it a good one? I mean this movie has it all: laughs and everything. Then why is it so underrated? I really don't know. I do know though, that "Shark Tale" is one of the best movie I have ever watched.

Mushicage

We had high hopes of this movie (My wife our four year old girl and I) but sadly it did not grip any of us. Technically brilliant animation but the leaden script badly let the movie down. The sharks had the best lines but one "Jaws" gag was enough. The likes of Toy Story or even Finding Nemo have much wittier scripts and more interesting stories. Even my daughter was bored during the middle reels when nothing much was happening. Somehow the fishes having humanesque faces was slightly disturbing and a little unpleasant. I longed for Dory or Nemo; not just because of how they looked but because of their comparative naivety. Still, I'm sure someone will now use the colour techniques developed for this film to make something better.

3/10

Mohn

When I first saw the trailer for SHARK TALE, I thought it looked like a rip-off of FINDING NEMO that didn't look particularly humorous. However... I went into the cinema with an open mind, armed with an eight year old (who was pretty ambivalent towards seeing it) and battled the hoads of kids present on it's third day of release.

I would love to be able to say that SHARK TALE ended up being better than expected, as I really didn't have high expectations.... but it truly is one of the few films I have seen that actually managed to live down to my expectations.

It reeks of being made by committee meeting film-making to simply cash in on the CGI boom. Technically it looks good, but it is just plain dull, unfunny and downright annoying... particularly Will Smith. Someone should tell Smith that he is incredibly annoying when playing himself (like he did in I, ROBOT), and that he should use some of the acting skills that he's proved in the past that he has.

I think the best thing Dreamworks can possibly do is to poach the entire staff of Pixar, then their next CGI film might have some heart and an actual story that is engaging on all levels... and for all ages.

I am now looking forward to seeing OPEN WATER, as I'm sure it will have a lot more laughs than SHARK TALE.

Acrobat
(This review contains spoilers)

Could somebody please tell Dreamworks Animation that if they want to be

respected on the same level as Pixar, they need to stop being so insecure about whether their films will sell, and give their artists more breathing room? I'm not talking about PDI, the guys that produced Shrek, I'm talking about the Dreamworks Animation guys who made that Sinbad movie with Brad Pitt, then (like Disney) permanently switched to 3-D animation and are now releasing Shark Tale.

Many will compare Shark Tale to Finding Nemo, a rather unfair comparison since aside from both being CG-animated underwater stories involving sharks somehow, the films have very little in common, in terms of both plot and aesthetic decisions. In fact, Shark Tale has the demeanor of a Pretty Good film that's been taken away from the artists, repackaged by marketing and forced down the public's throat by too many damn movie stars.

Every aspect of this film feels forced, from the voice casting to the character design to the corporate "it's hot cause we tell you it is" music to the excessive fish puns (all of which are of the "I get it, but I ain't laughing" variety) to the fact that the film's title was changed in post-production from the perfectly appropriate "Sharkslayer" to the safer, dumbed-down "Shark Tale". With the exception of Lenny (Jack Black), the face of every major character, and a few of the minor ones too, is made to look exactly like its voice actor's face strapped to a fish, which is about three steps away from selling your soul and freedom to imagine entirely. Even Shrek didn't stoop so low as to put Eddie Murphy's face on a donkey. Donkey just looks like a donkey, end of story! The characters in Shark Tale, meanwhile, look like 3-D caricatures blown up to the big screen. Jack Black, usually a comic force to be reckoned with, feels wasted here, as he jettisons his usual persona for a dumb Horshack imitation. Hey, why not actually hire Ron Palillo, the guy who PLAYED Horshack? He's still alive, and could probably use the work...but oh yeah, the kids have never heard of him, and we need stars, so screw that.

You see, back in the days of Pinocchio and Snow White, with occasional exceptions (like Ukelele Ike as Jiminy Crickett) nobody knew or cared who did these characters' voices, because they were attracted to the characters themselves, not the actors behind them. None of the voice actors in Shark Tale do less-than-adequate jobs, but with the exception of Robert DeNiro (who's just a Really Great Actor, period) none of them really contributed anything truly endearing to their characters, that a lesser-known actor wouldn't have. I certainly can't say the same for Finding Nemo, in which the voices, if not perfect, were damn close.

Uh-oh, Will Smith's character just realized that even though he gained wealth and fame, he lost the thing in his life that REALLY mattered! Cue Alicia Keys! (or the biggest Alicia Keys clone we can get to record a new song for the soundtrack).

I admit, the film does contain a few funny moments, enough to make it worth renting (on half-price Tuesday of course) when the DVD comes out. But just when the film is starting to get good (the climactic showdown/chase scene is surprisingly well done) the movie ends by pulling the worst blow of them all: Not only is there a Christina Aguilera/Missy Elliot duet over the end credits, THEY ACTUALLY DESIGNED FISH THAT LOOKED LIKE THOSE TWO TO SING IT IN THE FILM, LIKE A LIVE PERFORMANCE! IT'S NOT A LIVE PERFORMANCE, YOU JERKS - IT'S ANIMATED, NO ONE WITH ANY BRAINS AT ALL WILL BUY IT! Think about it for a second - Christina Aguilera comes in to record her vocals for MAYBE an hour, on a song that she didn't write and isn't producing, and then some poor unseen animator is told "Oh yeah, you have to design and animate a Christina Aguilera fish. Do it or you're fired." The sequence causes dumb kids to buy more Christina albums under the premise that she's magical enough to turn into a fish or something, and that animator is left nameless, and pondering just why and how his life got to that sad, sad, SAD point.

Keep in mind that Pixar, for their lead roles, have cast the likes of Dave Foley, Albert Brooks and Craig T. Nelson, three good comedic actors without a single live-action megahit to their names. While Shark Tale fills every available moment with lame corporate music (gotta sell the soundtrack, and kids won't listen to instrumental scores, right?) Finding Nemo contained only one song, and it was a slightly-redone version of the lounge classic "Beyond the Sea." Is it cool? Pixa doesn't worry about not being cool, be cause Pixar just IS cool.

Dreamworks Animation tries too hard to be cool, and thus fails miserably.

One and a half stars.
- Tony Goldmark
My two cents, keep the change.

Faugami

SPOILERS Ever since the original "Toy Story" (1995), we've had some truly wonderful animations. With films like "Shrek" (2001) and "Finding Nemo" (2004), we've had some amazing stories for the whole family which are equally funny and impressively animated. By the law of averages therefore, it is perhaps not surprising we would end up with one or two truly woeful stories. That is what we have here with "Shark Tale". This is a film which is short on humour, devoid of originality and a mechanism for Will Smith's ego.

Smith plays Oscar, a down on his luck fish who works as a tongue scraper at a Whale Wash. With dreams of making it big and moving up in the world, Oscar is a no-hoper who constantly bleeds his heart out to loyal friend Angie (Renee Zellwenger). When things take a turn for the worse however, Oscar inadvertently kills a shark and a media icon. Now with a Vegetarian shark (Jack Black) for company, Oscar must survive popularity, and the growing threat of Shark Godfather Don Lino (Robert DeNiro).

On paper, any film which involves a Shark spoof of all Italian mafia films, should be hilarious. Truthfully, at times it shows signs of reaching this peak, but all too often it drifts away to leave us feeling bitter disappointment.

DeNiro and friend Martin Scorsese appear to enjoy poking fun at a genre which they are culturally renowned, but with one or two jokes which are either stolen from elsewhere (a scene involving Smith's character at a Mafia meeting is a replica of a scene from 1999's "Analyze This") or based on seemingly personal stories, the story never clicks. Still, DeNiro and Scorsese are more tolerable compared with Will Smith's role.

As Oscar the fish, Will Smith simply plays himself. It is like watching the Freshwater Prince of Bel-Air or something equally pointless. Smith walks around making irritating comments, wearing "bling" and generally making a fool of himself. Will Smith has proved in the past that whether comedy or drama, he CAN act, but the man is fast loosing any support with performances like this where he plays an old character in new surroundings. Perhaps it's time his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith convinced him to actually lay this Fresh Prince character to bed and actually do more challenging work. Sadly, this probably won't happen.

Aside from Smith, DeNiro and Scorsese, "Shark Tale" also features vocal performances by Jack Black, Renee Zellwenger and Angelina Jolie. These three actors are famous for different styles of work, and they are worth mentioning for their performances in "Shark Tale" purely for the fact that they aren't awful. They're not particularly superb, with even Black seeming subdued, but they don't stand out as awful. They're simply mediocre.

Another flaw with "Shark Tale" is a problem faced also by "Shrek 2" (also 2004). Whilst the later film was at times hilarious, it did possess a lot of jokes about current television series which might not be remembered in the future. The same is true in "Shark Tale". At first appearance, Smith's character appears in a fantastic apartment and is showing the furniture off. Blatantly joking about a modern MTV programme called "Cribs" the jokes are not only unfunny, but they won't last beyond a few years, if even that.

All in all, there is little praise that can be given to "Shark Tale". A woeful story with little going for it, it fails on all levels and whilst it is harsh to say it should never have been made, it most definitely needed more rethinking. Should be avoided at all costs.

Togar

After seeing the opening today I have to admit...Shark's Tale was one of the corniest movie I've seen in my life...CORNY to the bone. The plot was awesome, and I had laughs, but the writers really tried too hard to make this movie too funny, and they're going to lose international credibility for it...a whole lot.

Let me give you a Jamaican perspective. I'm not taking anything from Ziggy Marley (Ernie) & Doug E. Doug (Bernie); they both couldn't have done the 'Jellyfish Rastas Duo' roles better. But seriously now, both roles were controversially laced with cuss words taken from the Jamaican dialect (thankfully that most Americans don't understand). And so, I felt quite embarrassed listening to the context in how it was done. I'm proud of my Jamaican culture and dialect and that many people would love to learn & experience it. But the writers just can't incorporate cuss words into a kid's movie like that.

It might be funny to some, but it also sends a negative message to the younger audience about different cultures. I wouldn't be surprised if, people walk out on this one when this comes out in the Caribbean.

Zorve

Our son loves all of the recent quality CGI movies and I have to say I also like some of them. Toy Story is simply the best film I have ever seem for children and I've watched it nearly 100 times! (With my son).

Others like Nemo, Monsters and other films such as Shrek, Tarzan etc had a quality story if the animation or CGI was not the very best.

Shark Tale had quite good CGI but that was all. The characters were so dull my son asked me to switch off after 20 minutes!. I later watched the whole movie on my own and I have to say it was the worst movie for kids I have seem in a long time. So was it made for kids or teens/adults?. I think the key problems were - 1) Everything. If I could score below 1/10 I would have.

Whitegrove

In the sea world, we have as the main character a little fish called Oscar, who has a humble job as a whale washer.In the same job, we have his best friend Angie, who works as secretary and has a secret crush in Oscar for a long time. Don Lino is a powerful shark and the boss in the big shark's mafia.He has two sons: lenny and Frankie. Frankie is Lino's big pride, but Lenny refuses to eat fish(he is vegetarian)is sweet and hates to fight. Lino is worried with Lenny, and he asks Frankie to help his brother to become a big and strong predator.One day, when Frankie was suppose to teach Lenny about how to hunt( he almost ate Oscar)an anchor kills him. Oscar is found at the scene of the crime. At the same time Oscar takes advantage of the situation to be famous and rich (his big dreams), Don Lino is informed that Oscar killed his son and decides to hunt Oscar with the other sharks. Oscar sees that he is going to be in a bigger problem than he imagined....

Ps: I loved to see the famous voices and the looks of famous actors/actresses/directors in this film! Will Smith Robert De Niro Renée Zellweger Jack Black Angelina Jolie Martin Scorsese and Christina Aguilera was some of them!:)

Zulkigis

Someone asked why the bad posts and ratings? Because this is an animated film that is supposed to be something to take kids to and instead is a tongue in cheek animated version of a mafia film like the "R" rated "Godfather" series. The language, sexuality, etc. is not appropriate for kids. Adults who may be a fan of this type of movie might find it a funny satire, but it is definitely not for kids and quite frankly, though not the worst in animation I've seen (that goes to "The Last Unicorn"), message and content wise, it was one of the worst. The only reason we are even having this conversation is that some very talented actors lent their voice to it and thus caught ADULTS attention. Young kids don't even know Robert DeNiro was in Godfather or know that Peter Falk used to make movies with the Rat Pack. So it's not geared to kids, but it's marketed to them and THAT'S why people rated it low.

Bu

This movie truly is one of the greats, alongside the works of Da Vinci and Confucius, however it's magnificence has truly been overlooked by the moronic masses that make up our society.

Will Smith takes the role of Oscar, a yellow fish living in the ghetto. His home was taken from him by the Government for the sake of gentrification and since then he has lived a life of poverty. Despite his poor living conditions he is still willing to stand up to the man and defend his rights as an African American.

In the movie he desperately craves fame and wealth, and is willing to betray his fellow hood-members to do so. This eventually comes back to hurt him, however, when his lies are discovered by the masses and he learns his lesson that black fish have to stick up for one another.

In the opening sequence a Japanese fish is seen opening his sushi restaurant, only to be disappointed at the lack of customers, showing the hatred of immigrants in modern America.

Zeks Horde

This was one of my childhood movies. Watching it again I'm just as entertained as I was when I was 6. It's just great. Sad that Dreamworks is not making movies like this and Shrek anymore.

Xar

I personally think this is a good movie, yes there are better animated movies out there but i still think this movie deserves more than a 6.0 as an overall rating. It is a great family movie.

I enjoyed this movie years ago and still enjoy watching it now, i think it is very funny for an animated movie, and i am sure many people will think the same. It has some great actors / actresses doing the voices for the characters. I would recommend this movie if you are a big animation fan. It has good music too. I also like the story line, sweet...

Well worth a 7 / 10... maybe even more.

Made-with-Love

This movie is by no means perfect, but it is a good one that I have watched many times. I think I even saw it in theaters more than once. The all star cast really helps it out too. I still enjoy this movie and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys animated movies.

It's about Oscar the fish (Will Smith) who works at the Whale Wash is tired of living like a commoner and dreams about the lifestyle of the rich and famous. He works for a puffer fish named Sykes (sp?) whose business is controlled by the Shark mafia headed by Don Lino (obviously Robert Di Niro). Oscar owes Sykes a lot of money and is given one last chance to get it back for him. He tries to do so and fails and is about to be killed by the mafia's jellyfish henchman (Ziggy Marley and Doug E. Doug) and Don Lino's "vegetarian" son Lenny (Jack Black) and his brother who is trying to teach him how to be a killer. The brother is killed by an anchor dropping on him and a distraught Lenny flees. The jellyfish return to find Oscar standing over the body and think that he killed him. Oscar decides to go along with this story and is instantly famous for being the Shark Slayer. He ends up befriending and teaming up with Lenny in an attempt to keep up this appearance.

This movie has some hilarious scenes and some really funny and sneaky references to other movies and things. It is very entertaining for people of all ages and even though it is almost 10 years old, still has bright vivid colors and the animation does a great job of capturing life under the sea.

Sagda

With an all star cast including Smith (bad boys) De Niro (Taxi Driver) Zellweger (Bridget Jones) and director Scoursese (Goodfellas) this 2004 was lined up to be a smash and despite its criticism I enjoyed watching the amazing effects, cheesy jokes and acceptable plot.

The cast lend their voices to the spirited sea creatures. The beginning of the story is really amazing. A typical animation move, taking audiences around the scenery. With many jokes as 'play on words' e.g. Coral Cola the audience are awarded cheap laughs and wonder how the producers come up with these ideas, its conventional but I believe its a technique that all audiences appreciate.

Its an inconsistent plot with many engaging scenes but many questionable scenes. After the beginning you wondered is Smith's cool character Oscar was being given too much camera time. Once Zellweger's conventional boy-fish wanting fish came into the story did a sense of predictability arise.

However its one of those films you know is awful but you enjoy it anyway. It is engaging because you wonder how the characters are going to fare with each other. The relationship between the under sea creatures is healthy and believable but always enjoyable to observe, despite maybe some people saying its predictable, clichéd etc.

It's a slow moving story with typical human like ideologies put forth by director Bergerson. Money, family loyalty, betrayal, friendship and trust are all encoded so audience's can appreciate the film.

There are a few twists used, perhaps in the wrong way but are still interesting to observe. The ending is atrocious. Never in my life have I seen a film end so badly. I was shaking my head and couldn't believe it. The soundtrack to the film is amazing. Upbeat energetic pop and reggae music are used for a variety of uses, mainly to encourage the scene to be enjoyable.

There is never doubting the effects which are stunning. If you want any proof then observe De Niro's shark character which looks exactly like him.

a film for the whole family - not the best animation but still enjoyable for cheap laughs and funny characters