When I was growing up, there really weren’t that many animated movies being made. Disney was the only studio that regularly released animated movies. One made by another studio would turn up every once in a while, but it wasn’t that often. It is very different today. There are several animated movies released each year, and there are other studios making them now. There seemed to be a rivalry between Disney and DreamWorks in recent years. Both studios have released some amazing computer animated movies, and some of them were very similar and released close together. I have enjoyed the movies from both studios. I just saw Shark Tale, the newest animated movie made by DreamWorks.
Oscar had dreams of striking it rich and moving to upper level of the reef where the wealthy and famous fish lived. Oscar worked at a whale wash, but he was always trying to come up with a way to make a lot of money. He owed his boss, Sykes, a lot of money. Sykes had let Oscar slide on repaying, but he was finally demanding that Oscar pay up or else. Angie, one of Oscar’s friends that worked in the office of the Whale Wash, came up with a way to help Oscar get the money to pay back Sykes. Angie loved Oscar and was always doing things to cover for him. Oscar only saw her as a friend. Oscar was on his way to pay off Sykes when he got the bright idea to use the money to bet on a sea horse race. Sykes found out and wouldn’t give Oscar another chance to pay him back. Sykes had Ernie and Bernie, two jellyfish, to take Oscar off to take care of him.
Sharks lived outside the reef in the wreckage of a large ship. The fish on the reef were terrified of the sharks and did what they could to avoid them. Don Lino was the shark in charge. He was wanting to retire and turn the business over to his two sons, Frankie and Lenny, but he wasn’t sure they could handle it. Lenny was different from other sharks and that upset his father. Don couldn’t accept that Lenny was a vegetarian. Don wanted Frankie to teach Lenny how to be a shark. The two brothers encountered Oscar. There was an accident that killed Frankie. Lenny took off, leaving Oscar with the body. Oscar saw an opportunity to become famous and he claimed that he killed the shark. Oscar became famous like he’d always wanted. Lola, a very attractive fish, turned up and was interested in Oscar. Lenny turned up wanting Oscar’s help with something. Lenny used the fact that he knew what really happened to get Oscar to help. Don heard that Oscar was responsible for Frankie’s death and wanted revenge.
Shark Tale had a fairly complicated plot for an animated movie. The plot may not keep the interest of children. There was a lot going on in the movie with Oscar’s money troubles, Lenny’s troubles with his family, Oscar becoming the shark slayer, and there was even a love triangle featuring Oscar, Angie, and Lola. That part of the movie was all very innocent and there wasn’t anything offensive in the relationships. There were just a lot of things going on. A few scenes did bore me a bit, but I still enjoyed the movie overall. I have liked animated movies since I was a child. There are very few animated movies that I haven’t liked. I was disappointed with a few things in the movie. I think my expectations were too high.
There were things in Shark Tale that reminded me of other movies. The most obvious thing is the fact that the movie took place in the ocean and the characters were fish of some kind, just like the movie Finding Nemo that came out in the summer of 2003. Lenny being a vegetarian reminded me of the sharks from Finding Nemo that decided to stop eating fish. I didn’t think that Shark Tale was as good as Finding Nemo. Something about Lola seemed familiar to me when I was watching the movie, but I wasn’t sure what it was at first. Now I realize that she reminds me of the character Jessica Rabbit from the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Lola had the same sultry look that Jessica had. I’m not sure what kind of fish Lola was, but she had red coloring. Her one fin moved and waved around her head much like Jessica’s hair did. I think that the ship the sharks were living in was the Titanic. There was a life preserver that had the name Titanic on it. In another scene, the picture that Jack drew of Rose in the movie Titanic was shown hanging on a wall. The shark characters all acted like they were in the mob. There were lines used in the movie from several other movies, like, Jerry Maguire. There were several other lines from other movies used, including one from Scarface. It did get a little old for all those other lines to be used. It was almost like the writer ran out of ideas and decided to pepper the movie with famous lines from other movies.
Shark Tale was made with computer animation. It was very well done. The colors that were used were bright and vibrant. The movie did look beautiful. People who don’t like computer animation shouldn’t bother with this movie. I do like computer animated movies. I also like traditional animated movies as well. I think both types of animated movies could be done, but it seems like all studios are moving to only using computer animation. That does make me sad because I think hand drawn animation is an art form. It is a shame that it is being pushed aside and completly replaced. Hand drawn animation is beautiful as well. I wasn’t disappointed with the animation in this movie at all. The fish were given some human features, like having fingers on their fins, that was a little different. They also moved more like humans than fish at times. Oscar stood and danced on his tail. The fins on the female fish moved around their heads like they were hair instead of fins. The story was what disappointed me. There was something missing that kept the movie from being as great as it could have been. I felt like there wasn’t any heart in the movie.
Will Smith provided the voice for Oscar. He was the main character in the movie, so he was around for most of the scenes. Oscar was cute most of the time, but he did annoy me other times. I think it was because the way Will Smith did the voice for him. He was obnoxious at times and arrogant. Smith did seem to go over board in places. Oscar did resemble Smith. His performance was all right, but I think I enjoyed him more in other movies. Renee Zellweger fit for Angie, the cute fish that had loved Oscar all along. I think she was an angelfish. Angelina Jolie’s voice fit perfectly for Lola. Jolie can sound very sexy and sultry, and she did for this character. Lola also had Jolie’s lips. Robert De Niro was fine as Don. The character was a lot like others he has played. Don was just like a mob boss. Jack Black was fine as Lenny, the shark that didn’t want to eat fish. Martin Scorsese provided the voice for Sykes. His voice went well with the fish. Sykes had eyebrows like Scorsese. Katie Couric did the voice for a reporter fish named Katie Current.
CHARACTERS
Oscar - Fish that had dreams of being wealthy and famous. He wanted lots of money, but he didn’t want to actually work to earn it. He got himself in a lot of trouble by trying to take the easy way.
Angie - She worked with Oscar and was his friend. She was in love with him, but he didn’t notice her that way. She was kind, but she got very fed up with Oscar and the things he did.
Lenny - Shark that didn’t fit in with his family. He was friendly and didn’t want to eat any fish. He felt out of place with his family.
Frankie - Lenny’s brother. He was just like their father and enjoyed being mean and eating fish.
Don Lino - Lenny and Frankie’s father. Don was upset because Lenny was different. Don in charge of the sharks and ran the business. Don wasn’t nice.
Sykes - Oscar’s boss. Sykes was mixed up with Don Lino at one time. Sykes was always looking for ways to make more money.
Lola - Sexy female fish that went after Oscar once he was famous.
Ernie and Bernie - Jellyfish that worked for Sykes. They did the dirty work for Sykes.
Katie Current - Reporter that turned up whenever there was a shark sighting. She interviewed Oscar at one point. She seemed to be cute and nice, but she could be pushy.
Shark Tale was released in October of 2004. The movie was 90 minutes long. It was rated PG. There was a little bit of swearing in the movie, but nothing extreme. I do think there is a chance that younger children may loose interest in the movie.
Voice Talent
Jack Black - Lenny
Katie Couric - Katie Current
Robert De Niro - Don Lino
Doug E. Doug - Bernie
Michael Imperioli - Frankie
Angelina Jolie - Lola
Ziggy Marley - Ernie
Martin Scorsese - Sykes
Will Smith - Oscar
Renee Zellweger - Angie
Shark Tale wasn’t as good as some other animated movies in my opinion, but I still enjoyed it. It is a good, fun family friendly movie. People who like animated movies will probably enjoy it. I am glad I went to see it.
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