Shark Tale
Ah yes, everyone remembers this Dreamworks movie that got a very bad reputation as one of Dreamworks' worst films. Who could forget about the story about a douchebag who takes credit for the death of a shark all in the name of fame? Critics and audiences were completely put off by the movie when it first came out, with some elements of this including a pathetic excuse of a main character, a shark that basically acts like a gay guy, stereotyping Italian-Americans, being unfavorable compared to other animated movies set underwater and who knows what else? But, that is not to say that this movie doesn't have some fans who actually like it and actually call this movie underrated. This review shall determine what my feelings for the film are. So, now that we're diving underwater to look at Dreamworks's most controversial movie, will every little thing be alright or will this movie make me want to get eaten by a shark? Let's find out.
The Story: Okay, stop me if you heard this story, a fame-hungry guy lies to be popular and now he is put into a position where he has to face a very big threat at the risk of revealing his lie. Yep, that's Shark Tale in a nutshell! The movie basically follows the whole liar story beat-for-beat that you can automatically guess that at the end of the movie, Oscar's secret gets revealed. Even what the movies offers in-between is just barely tolerable at best like only a select few of the characters are likeable, but I'll talk about that a little later, and some of the humor the movie dishes out is genuinely amusing. Other than that though, we still have to suffer through characters that can rub you the wrong way, a basic mafia story involving the film's villains, a pointlessly thrown-in love triangle plot-point between Oscar, Angie, and Lola, and a lot of gags that are just plain annoying! It just leaves you feeling indifferent to the movie as a whole because it has so many problems that you'll be glad once the movie is over. What hurts the story even more is that it goes for a completely unrealistic tone, like when Oscar's lies are revealed at the end, surprisingly, he doesn't face any legal repercussions. No, he just gets a slap on the wrist and becomes the manager of his job, essentially getting the fame that he craved for. One last thing I would like to complain about is the fact that the whole movie is set underwater. I know that the movie is called 'Shark Tale' and thus would make sense to be underwater, but the problem with this is that this movie could've also been utilized if it was on dry land and the fact that the characters are sea creatures kind of feels like an afterthought for the movie. It just gets to the point where the movie is considered to be too mean, annoying and anger-inducing that there is only so much good that can come from it.
The Animation: The story may be in a cold ocean, but when it comes to the characters, well I want to say that it is more in the 'lukewarm' category. Where do I even begin with this one? How about I start with the character design, which I will describe by looking at them as they close-up to the screen. (Lola's face) Ugh! (Angie's face) Eeh! (Lenny's face) Oh my God! (Sykes' face) Yeesh! (Oscar's face) AAAH! Okay, you get my point. The character animation is unbelievably hideous! It was stated that the animators were trying to capture the look of the actors who were playing the characters, but it would seem that decision ended up for the worst! If there is anything good to say about the character animation, it's the characters movements because since this is set underwater, the animation plays around with how the fish swim from place to place. Another factor that I must give credit for is that honestly, some of the character designs aren't all that bad, like Luca and Crazy Joe. As for the background animation, I will say that it is quite impressive with such notable locations like the Whale Wash, Don Lino's lair and even the Top of the Reef. It is also rather amazing with the attention to detail on the buildings and alleyways. In a way, it sort of makes you think these characters aren't in the ocean and are in an actual city. Speaking of which, the animation on the water and every detail that come with it is really grandiose. You can tell the animators went all out when making the ocean as it seems like the biggest accomplishment from this movie. As I said, the animation here is lukewarm as a lot of the character designs are just plain awful, but everything else is rather decent when compared to it.
The Characters: Oh, boy! I bet a lot of you guys were waiting for me to really talk about these characters and how they drag this movie's reputation down with them. Well, let me just grab my fishing hook and reel in these fish so that I can express what I feel about them. Starting off with the Sharkslayer himself Oscar, I just have to say that this guy makes Bender from Futurama look like Jesus! Throughout the movie, he is just completely self-serving, strokes his ego to ridiculous extremes, talks in cringey slang, takes advantage of his friends like when he used the money he got from Angie to gamble rather than pay back a debt he got himself into and even acts like a pretentious douchebag just moments after realizing his mistakes! Honestly, the fact that we are suppose to root for Oscar is about as realistic as us rooting for Adam Sandler in Eight Crazy Nights. There is also Lenny, the youngest son of the shark mafia don who is also a vegetarian but is afraid of how his family will take it. While he is more likeable than Oscar, especially since Jack Black gives out a decent performance with Lenny's nasal voice, he feels more like a walking allegory of coming out as gay rather than an actual character, to the point where a lot of people who've seen the film have said that he is gay. Not just that, but a lot of Lenny's dialogue can get rather annoying which is a great disservice to the movie since Lenny is suppose to be the comic relief. You also have Angie, Oscar's co-worker who is in love with him, but is stuck in the friend zone. I just need to say that she is quite a confusing character as at one moment she is annoyed with Oscar's selfishness, but helps him out of a situation. When she finds out about his lie, she tries to get him to reveal the truth, but acts jealous of Oscar kissing Lola more so than the fact that he is continuing his lie, then worries for him when he is being chased by Don Lino. Seriously, the most she does is flip-flop between being mad at Oscar and instantly forgiving him of his misdeeds, no matter how heinous they are and that sort of makes her just as unlikeable as Oscar. There's also the villain of the film, Don Lino nd I just want to point out that there's a million things wrong with your movie when the villain is more likeable than the main character! Seriously, throughout the movie, Don Lino is more sympathetic than Oscar because despite how rough he is with Lenny, it is shown that deep down, he loves the with all his heart while Oscar goes around reveling in his undeserved fame and acting like a total douchebag. I actually cheered for the villain when he began chasing after Oscar in the climax! As for the other characters in the movie, they can be a mixed bag. Some like Sykes, Frankie and Luca are enjoyable in their own right while others like Ernie and Bernie and Lola are rather annoying or someone you love to despise. But to perfectly sum up the characters, some are fine while others you just want to see, as Ursula from The Little Mermaid puts it, (cut to Ursula from The Little Mermaid saying "wiggle like a worm on a hook! Cue the worm on the hook seen at the beginning and the end of Shark Tale.) No offense to you, dude.
I know some people out there like this movie and if you are one of those people watching, I mean no disrespect when I say that I don't feel the same way. Shark Tae is an utterly mean-spirited movie with barely anything redeemable, heck I'd even say Disney's Chicken Little is a better movie than this movie, no-no-no scratch that, I'd say that The Nut Job is a better movie because I think that movie has the decency to at least be straightforward with how mean-spirited it is! This movie pretty much tells you that the hero is a person worth rotting for in spite of how much of a despicable punk he is. Top that off with how intolerable the other main characters are and a villain who's more worth caring about than the protagonist and hideous looking character designs, all of the movie's good qualities feel like they pale in comparison with the negative ones. And because, I have no other alternative than to award this movie with the AniMat Seal of Garbage. I swear, Madagascar was such a breath of fresh air when it appeared as the Dreamworks film that came after this.
Story: 2/10
Animation: 6/10
Characters: 3/10
Score: 3/10