Forgive me if this review is a little dry, but it will fit clearly the epitome and the mood A Shark's Tale.

We start with a series of coral reefs that are closely shaped like Times Square. And that's only the start of the real-cartoonish nature of this flick. It's filled with all kinds of sea creatures going around like land-based pedestrians, the loudest of which is a blabbermouth based on Katie Couric. When a large group of sharks goes by, everything goes quiet... duh...

The Great White Mafia is run by Don Lino (Robert DeNiro) who's teaching his two sons, Lenny and Franky, how to be sharks. The Mafia has connections to a whole smattering of businesses, one of which is a whale-washing business run by Sykes the Pufferfish (Martin Scorcesee). Among Sykes' employees are Oscar the Blenny (Will Smith), Angie the Angelfish (Renee Zellweger), and two Rastafarian jellyfish named Ernie and Bernie. When they lose a bet on a seahorse race, Oscar gets blamed for it and they tie him up and leave him to be eaten by the Sharks, and ti is Franky, the elder son, who goes after Oscar, but he never gets there...

Oscar is now a hero for his role in the death of the shark, and he quickly uses this reputation to build his popularity and try to get the girl. That reputation is sorely tested, however, when he learns that Don Lino, mourning over his dead son, is even more determined than ever to find his other son and fight the "Shark Slayer". Furthermore, a love triangle quickly develops between The Angelfish and a Dragonfish named Lola (who has the straight hair and big smooches of Angelie Joile)

I fully exxpected both the story and the animation to be cartoonish and a little too clean, and I wasn't disappointed. This is supposed to be a kids' movie after all, complete with cliches that are clearly not intended to impress the highly experienced movie critic. In fact everything and everyone in the movie is a cliche, from the jealous girl fishes to the big boss and his henchmen, namely the Puffer and the Jellyfish.

Since Dreamworks etched the faces of the actual actors and actresses on the aquatic creatures to which they gave life and speech, it's not hard to find out who's who simply by looking at the faces. Angie the Angelfish has the classic ponytailed fin... wait, is that Renee Zellweger's hair? Angelina Jolie's big lips, found on Lola the Dragonfish, are big enough to smooch you from 100 feet away. The Rastarian jellyfish have the faces of Ziggy Marley (the intrepid son of Bob Marley) and some other anonymous wacko I've never heard of. Jack Black and Robert DeNiro are the two most prominent great whites with the classic Brooklyn accents and arrogant atitudes to match. Oh, and I didin't forget about Martin Scorcese, who appears as the wisecracking pufferfish.

If there was a series of flaws in this film, the biggest would be the portrayal of sharks as mafioso with New York accents. This isn't supposed to be the Sopranos folks, and at least it's nowhere as violent. Everything about them is right out of the Sopranos, from the Mafia-like funeral, to the seafood restaurant discussion, and the Big Don encouraging his sons to go eat food, even though Lenny is clearly a Vegan...

And as always, there is Will Smith, shot in all his glory as Oscar the Blenny. As always, he tends to talk too much and never shuts up. It was a trait he's used in all kinds of movies with mixed results. It worked for him in the Men in Black series and Independence Day, although it didn't work as well on I- Robot or Wild Wild West. And I'm not too sure if it really worked well in this flick. Oh well...

Conclusion: This is a basic review, but then again, a lot of things about this movie are basic and cliched, so the best thing to do is to turn off your brain when watching it and just enjoying it.

Will Smith- Oscar the Blenny
Robert DeNiro- Don Lino the Great White Shark
Jack Black - Lenny the G.W.S.
Renee Zellweger- Angie the Angelfish
Angelina Jolie- Lola the Dragonfish
Martin Scorcesee- Sykes the Pufferfish
Doug E.Doug & Ziggy Marley- Ernie & Bernie the Jellyfish

Directed by Bilbo Bergeron, Vicky Jensen, and Rob Letterman

Recommended:
No

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8