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Movie Review - Shark Tale (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Bibo Bergeron and Vicky Jenson |
| Starring: |
The voice of Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, and Angelina Jolie |
| Rated: |
PG (for some mild language and crude humor) |
| Length: |
91 minutes |
| Genre: |
Animation/Comedy |
| Tagline: |
In fall, a new school will rule. |
| Studio: |
DreamWorks |
| Website: |
Shark Tale |
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PLOT
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Oscar the fish (voice of Will Smith) is found at the scene of a dead shark. It's automatically assumed that
Oscar is a great shark slayer. Rather than tell the truth, Oscar decides to revel in the glory. Meanwhile,
Lenny the shark (the voice of Jack Black) is afraid to admit that he's a vegetarian and he just doesn't have
what it takes to replace his father (the voice of De Niro) as the mafia shark boss.
Throw in some romantic tension involving fish voiced by Jolie and Zellweger, and a less-than-impressive
CGI-animated movie ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Well. That was quite unimpressive. To be honest, I didn't really expect much from the movie, but I
certainly expected more than this, especially when you look at the talent they had to work with. The
movie *looks* pretty good, and it's technically sound, but it's just boring. Seriously, I nodded off at
least twice. After a while I was just ready to head to my truck because, unlike with the movie, I knew I'd
actually be headed somewhere of interest.
I guess I just don't find all the hip-hop music and hip-hop jokes as entertaining as some might. Maybe I'm
just jaded since I've seen those jokes used in about 32 different movies. They lose their shine after a while.
I'd like to chalk it all up to the humor being directed at kids more than adults, but there were a lot of
kids at the screening I attended, and they didn't seem to be laughing that much. How many 10-year-olds
are gonna laugh at MC Hammer references? I mean really. When did they start production on this, 1990?
You're in luck if you love bad puns though. For names we've got: Jessica Shrimpson, Cod Stewart, and
Mussel Crowe. Then you've got some punny product placement such as, The Gup, Coral Cola, Kelpy Kreme,
and Old Wavy. Then there are the expected pop-culture puns like, shell phones, scallop polls, and raise
the reef. There are plenty others, so keep your eyes and ears open. If you can. Otherwise, just
bring a pillow if your kid forces you to go.
The most clever thing about the movie is how most of the characters have physical similarities to the
actors voicing them - De Niro's shark has a mole, Martin Scorsese's blowfish has huge eyebrows, Jolie's
fish has big lips, and Will Smith's Oscar actually looks like Will Smith. However, portraying Christina
Aguilera as a hooker fish seemed a tad inappropriate.
There are some funny jokes scattered throughout, but mostly this movie only managed to elicit polite
chuckles from me. I can't remember a single guffaw-inducing moment. It's not a horrible movie, but it
just didn't do anything for me. The pace gets surprisingly slow at times, and the attempts at a little
relationship drama aren't the best ways to keep the kids' interest.
Oh, and I had a bit of a scare at one point in the movie. I thought the theater ceiling was falling on
me, but it turns out the movie was just beating me over the head with its "accept people for who they are"
and "being loved is more important than being famous" messages. Yeah, yeah, pass out pamphlets if you're so
desperate to get that message across. That way I can just throw it away on my way out of the theater and
not worry about it.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Hundreds of thousands of fish inhabit the world in Shark Tale, which were intentionally designed
with specific color markings to remind us of ordinary objects seen in the city. Yellow and black-checkered
fish give the illusion of taxicabs, while solid colored blue fish serve as business commuters on their way
to work.
- If stretched out from end to end, the actual film would be 1.4 miles long.
- There are 143 character models seen in the film. A character model refers to the variety of sea life
seen in the movie, i.e.: fish, sharks, whales, etc.
- The Shark Tale production used more than 30TB of disk space. You would need 54,000 CD-ROM discs
to burn the whole movie.
- Will Smith was in Enemy of the State with Stuart Wilson who was in Slow Burn with Josh
Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Nothing really offensive here unless you're so politically correct that you'll complain about particular
stereotypes, in which case you should probably loosen your collar a bit.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer didn't really impress me. I thought the movie would be better than it was but not because of
anything the trailer led me to believe.
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THE GIST
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I usually enjoy CGI-animation, but Shark Tale isn't in the same league as Toy Story,
Shrek, or Finding Nemo. If you're looking for outdated jokes and an uninspired storyline,
then this will be right up your alley. As far as entertainment value goes, it's about on par with
Garfield, except it doesn't have the benefit of Jennifer Love Hewitt in a cute
skirt.
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