“Shark Tale” surfaces with a splash Sharon Cao Staff Reporter 10/13/04 Published on Entertainment page, (page 8), October issue of InFlight, 2004

“Shark-slayer” Oscar proves that one small fish can make a difference – photo courtesy of themoviebox.net

When I bought tickets to Dreamworks’ Shark Tale, I had my doubts about the movie. After all, how could it possibly compare to predecessors, like Shrek and Finding Nemo? Surprisingly, though, I found it to be an impressive film. With a spectacular cast of some of Hollywood’s biggest names, Shark Tale is solid entertainment.

This swift adventure follows the lives of several characters, including a fish named Oscar (Will Smith) who desires to become a “somebody” by moving up on the ladder of society, and his "best friend" (Renée Zellweger), who yearns for Oscar's attention. On the other side of the reef, the ocean’s shark godfather (Robert De Niro) is trying to transform his vegetarian son Lenny (Jack Black) into a vicious carnivore. Things go wrong when Oscar cannot pay debts to his employer (Martin Scorsese) and has an unfortunate run-in with a shark. By sheer luck, the shark is killed and Oscar escapes, becoming celebrated as the "shark slayer" of the reef. Eventually, he teams up with Lenny to help solidify his new fame as well as to help Lenny escape from his father.

With a plot that’s a mix of comedy, romance, and action, catchy soundtrack, and peculiar underdog hero, Shark Tale follows the basic formula of a successful digitally animated movie. Like previous animated movies from companies like Pixar and Dreamworks, Shark Tale promises to appeal to all audiences. Older audiences will enjoy the plot and the outstanding animation, and children can’t resist the wacky jokes. No matter how many times we have seen movies like these, animation studios keep us entertained with stunning visual presentations and hilarious characters.

While it is enjoyable in its own way, Shark Tale cannot be expected to be the same as Finding Nemo. The two may share similar settings and animation, but the plots couldn’t be more different. Though Shark Tale does not match Finding Nemo in soulful sincerity, it more than makes up for it in charm. What’s not to like about a wacky animated flick?

In the masses of digitally animated films, Shark Tale falls somewhere in the middle: not quite as appealing as Shrek and Finding Nemo, but with a better plot than Ice Age and Monsters Inc. A word of advice: don’t go into this movie expecting to see Finding Nemo 2. However, if you’re looking for an entertaining comedy, don’t look any further than Shark Tale.