Shark Tale

Shark Tale
Cast: Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger
Studio: Dreamworks
Rating: 4/10

CORPORATE LINE: Oscar (Will Smith) is a fast-talking little fish who dreams big. But his big dreams land him in hot water when a great white lie turns him into an unlikely hero. At first, his fellow fish swallow Oscar’s story hook, line and sinker and he is showered with fame and fortune. It’s all going along swimmingly, until it starts to become clear that Oscar’s tale about being the defender of the Reef is all wet. Oscar is finding out that being a hero comes at a Market Price when his lie threatens to make him the Catch of the Day. Now he has to tread water until he can get the scales to tip back in his favor again.

“Shark Tale” stars the voices of Will Smith as Oscar, a hustler, who has always been able to fin-agle his way out of trouble, until now; two-time Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull,” “The Godfather, Part II”) as Don Lino, a great white shark at the top of the Reef’s food chain; two-time Oscar® nominee Renée Zellweger (“Chicago,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary”) as Angie, a beautiful angel fish who harbors a secret crush on Oscar; Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie (“Girl, Interrupted”) as Lola, the femme fatale, a dragon fish who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants; Jack Black (“School of Rock”) as Don Lino’s son Lenny, a great white shark who is a closet vegetarian; and multiple Oscar®-nominated director Martin Scorsese (“Gangs of New York,” “Goodfellas”) as Sykes, a puffer fish who is full of hot air and never misses an opportunity to make a few extra clams.

Rounding out the main cast are: veteran actor Peter Falk (“Columbo”) as Don Brizzi, a shark who is long in the tooth, but still has plenty of bite left; Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”) as Don Lino’s oldest son Frankie, a chip off the old shark; Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”) as Luca, an oily octopus, which makes him the perfect right-hand man; and Doug E. Doug and Ziggy Marley as Bernie and Ernie, two Rastafarian jelly fish with a stinging sense of humor.

THE GOOD: I won’t have to see it again.

THE BAD: “Shark Tale” is everything wrong with animated films. It’s full of every ethnic and racial stereotype one can imagine. The sharks are mobsters (i.e. Italian). Oscar only cares about the money and comes off as little more than a con man who barely talks in coherent English as he spits a mouthful of slang. And then there is Lenny the shark—who is obviously being portrayed as gay. Which apparently means he likes to dress up and talk in a voice that furthers the homosexual stereotype.

Although the jokes roll like a boulder down a hill every one of them miss their target. The only laughs come at the expense of a few tried-and-true sight gags. The problem is nothing about the story, the jokes, or gags are funny.

FRANKLY: “Shark Tale” is hugely disappointing. Considering the significant voice talent involved. “Shark Tale” is a who’s-who of Hollywood and yet all those voices do little but try to sell bad material. What “Shark Tale” misses most is the lack of connecting with the characters. Why should we like Oscar? He’s arrogant, heartless, and a liar. Worse yet, he never becomes a hero—he only tells the truth after a lie and then he is celebrated. That’s it? If that is what “Shark Tale” is selling than I’m not buying.

+ Charlie Craine


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