Shark
Tale
Behind every little fish is a great white lie.
Specs:
1 Hrs. 30 Mins.
Color, Dual Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
English and French/Spanish Subtitles
Rated: G
In a way one has to feel sorry for the new film "Shark Tale." The problem is that since the animated story deals with a fish tackling large odds, it will inevitably be compared to "Finding Nemo." This isn't too surprising, as DreamWorks Animation has been competing with Pixar since it released "Ants" to battle Pixar's "A Bug's Life." One may think this is an unfair comparison, but when tow animation studios began release that are sometimes equal in quality it's hard to get around it. In the end, though, DreamWorks does not win out in this match. "Shark Tale" is not bad but decently entertaining. It's just that a movie like "Finding Nemo" is a far more superior film.
The voices in this film is a who's who of A-list stars. Will Smith voices Oscar, a fish with big dreams. When the film starts, he is working at a whale wash, a car wash for whales. He works along side Angie (Renee Zellweger), a co-worker who is actually in love with him. Of course, he doesn't realize that. For his entire life Oscar has dreamed of being somebody and living in the rich section of the neighborhood. Much like "Nemo," the residential neighborhood is the coral reef.
He gets his chance when he meets Lenny (Jack Black). Lenny is a great white shark and the son of Don Lino (Robert De Niro). Don wants Lenny to be a real shark and join the family. The problem is Lenny is a vegetarian. Lenny and Oscar secretly join up to solve each other's problem, but of course, things don't really go as planned.
This is not to say that "Shark Tale" isn't entertaining. Taken for what it is, this is an extremely funny film. In the tradition of DreamWorks Animation almost all the jokes are pop-culture references that fly at you every other second. In fact, parents may get more out of the film then their kids as some of the best jokes reference old films. There are numerous references to "Godfather" with Don Lino's family. There are also many jokes centering on "Jaws," specifically the theme song. I am not sure how many 5-year-olds will get those jokes. After all, there is the very subtle reference of Lenny being different. He is described as a vegetarian, but one can easily assume that means something else. A joke like this is subtle and witty but would fly right over a child's head. Also, keep your eye on the background, as there are countless jokes built into things such as the billboard ads in the coral reef city.
But for all the genuinely funny soon-to-be-dated jokes, this is a primarily shallow film. Sadly we do not see here the genuine heart and substance "Shrek" had. What makes Pixar films great is that they are more than just funny films. "Finding Nemo" has some great laughs, but it also has heart and character. One comes to care about the many characters like Dory. The characters in "Shark Tale" are entertaining for the time but easily forgettable once having left the theater. This is a superficial film at best.
Same thing can be said for the voice actors. Once again "Nemo" and "Shrek" trumps them here. While nobody is terrible, nobody is particularly memorable in "Shark Tale." Smith just does a more spastic version of what he usually does and everybody else just plays into their caricatures. Jack Black probably has the most memorable role just because he completely changes his voice for the movie. In the end, the characters aren't characters but rather walking jokes. There is nobody here that particularly captures the magic of Albert Brooks and Ellen Degeneres in "Nemo."
One may think this review is unfair in which "Shark Tale" is faulted for not being as good as "Finding Nemo." But it's not unfair. DreamWorks is competing with Pixar, therefore, they shouldn't be surprised when something like this happens. When two studios are competing in the same product there will always be comparisons. "Shark Tale" is a shallow but funny and enjoyable film. If you want to see something far superior just pick up a Pixar film.
Special Features
Commentary With Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, Rob Letterman
Much like the "Shrek" commentary this is pretty entertaining. DreamWorks always does a good job of putting energetic and bright people on their commentaries. Much like "Shrek" they divulge a lot of behind-the scenes stuff. We get to hear about earlier versions of the script and different things like that. Also, they spend a considerable amount of time on describing how different this was in a technical to other animated films the group has done.
Sadly, this isn't as perfect as the "Shrek" commentary. There are a surprising amount of dead spots. Also, they occasionally go on for a little too long on the technical detail making it all a tad bit boring. The biggest problem though is that one of the speakers has a thick accent making most of what he says very hard to hear. This is a good commentary, it's just not as energetic as other DreamWorks animated film commentaries.
Rough Waters
Occasionally funny. These are early animation goofs. Since it is early animation it's odd to look at.
Star Fish
This basically a making-of-featurette focusing on the stars. All the stars come on and explain their roles. Then the viewers see footage of them recording their audio. Short but interesting.
The Music Of Shark Tale
If you were curious about the music of "Shark Tale", specifically the car wash sequence then this would be for you. Again short but semi-interesting.
A Fishified World
Another making-of-featurette. This one focuses on the atmosphere of the movies, specifically how the makers came up with the visions of the world around Oscar. Much like the other featurette it is interesting.
Gigi The Whale
This is a weird extra. It's an animated short with a talking killer whale in the recording booth talking about random things. Odd and not that funny.
Kids Special Features
There is a lot of stuff on the DVD that is actually really only for kids. There is Club Oscar in which kids can actually learn different dace seen performed by the fish in the movies. There is also a series of games that kids can play: Place Your Bets, Fish Eat Fish, Disguise Lenny. They are simple, educational, and I'm sure fun for kids. Also, for kids who liked the music there is Rock The Reef, a place where different songs are played including the Car Wash music video. Finally, there is Fin-Filled Scenes, which allows kids to pick between different scenes to watch.
Final Diagnosis
While a lo t of the special features tend to be short the movie is entertaining although not great. It should though be a thoroughly enjoyable movie for a Saturday afternoon.
Stars **1/2 out of ****
Review by Blake Hinton
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