All we know is that if you decide to see Shark Tale, go to a mall where there are other movies playing. Leave the kids. Take the cannolis.
Shark Tale (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:169
Fresh:58
Rotten:111
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Derivative and full of pop culture in-jokes.
Theatrical Release:15-10-2004
Synopsis: 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 (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. "Shark Tale" is directed by Eric "Bibo" Bergeron and Vicky Jenson, with Rob Letterman serving as co-director. Bill Damaschke, Janet Healy and Allison Segan are producing. [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese
Starring: Will Smith, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Ziggy Marley, Peter Falk, Vincent Pastore, Michael Imperioli
Director: Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron
Director: Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron
Screenwriter: Mark Swift, Damian Shannon
Producer: Allison Lyon Segan, Bill Damaschke
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
Reviews for Shark Tale
The shallowness of the story and the washed-out characters leave Shark Tale swimming upstream.
What Shark Tale lacks in originality it makes up for with sassy humor, bright, effective animation and terrific vocal work.
The characters are underdeveloped even for 2-D players. And the moral -- that being loved and unfamous is more important than being a big shot -- is so fatuous as to be condescending.
Despite its well-crafted look and its urban verve, the picture falters in its second half. The storyline just isn't there.
The plot is nothing special, but the visuals are, with eye-popping color and wonderfully expressive fish faces, hilariously funny and surprisingly touching.
...its commercial pimping puts a NASCAR rig to shame, but Shark Tale is pretty, fun and smart.
Not even the eye candy animation is all that great. The film has a flat look that matches it comedic tone.
Shark Tale feels like a modest step backwards [for CGI films], a regression not visually but conceptually.
An ocean story without much depth. The fun shark tale is secondary to little fish story that won't make any waves. Expressive animation though and Ziggy Marley.
As funny as it may have seemed at the time, Martin Scorsese should never, ever try to talk hip-hop. Ever.
By this time next year Shark Tale will be on a sale rack at Wal-Mart for $5.99, probably as part of a bargain double-pack with Ice Age.
The kind of flashy and colorful but insultingly trite Hollywood regurgitation that far too often gets a pass under the excuse that 'it's just a kid's movie.'
Evokes “The Sopranos” under water, its lack of innovation akin to a boulder tied around its feet: “Shark Take” sinks to the bottom and quietly drowns.
charming, if suffering a surfeit of cutesy pop-culture references, it lacks both . . . originality and the ineffable something that can best be described as zing
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