"This watered down Nemo still has enough flava to quench your thirst if just given a chance. "
If scientists want to see the ramifications of cloning they need look no further than the local box office. When a hit movie comes out, it's invariably followed by a string of knock offs whose only reason for being is to ride the coattails of its successful counterpart. Sometimes the results are like trading in Sprite for Spite, and then sometimes they are surprisingly impressive.
'Shark Tale' is unabashedly Dreamworks Studios' attempt to cash in on Pixar's 'Finding Nemo' juggernaut. I mean, why come up with your own movie when there's a perfectly good one already out? Luckily for us, this watered down 'Nemo' has enough flavor to at least temporarily quench our thirst.
Just like when someone saw Jet Li for the first time and said, 'You know, this would be great with rappers!', producer Jeffrey Katzenberg probably realized that nothing spells fun under the sea like a feel good R&B soundtrack. The outcome is an hour and a half music video that manages to slip in some halfway decent story-telling while pimping itself to the target audience.
Originally titled 'Shark Slayer', its kinda obvious that when you're making a movie for kids, touting the idea of a little fish slaughtering a blood-thirsty shark might give youngsters the midnight willies. While 'Shark Tale' is considerably tamer, the adult themes and situations still overshadow the child-friendly humor. Yes, a shark does get killed in the beginning, and our hero juggles two lovelies while lying to the world to claim the fame and fortune that all kids must yearn for. I know kids are a little more sophisticated nowadays, but I think the film's downfall is in its overestimation of what a kid can truly comprehend. All this puts the film in the "fence sitter" category, with adults enjoying the mature themes and the kids reveling in Will Smith's snappy witticisms amidst a visual amusement park.
Truly, the former 'Fresh Prince' is the star here in every sense of the word. Not only is he obvious choice for hipping-up an urban animated feature, but his natural charm, humor and flair permeate even through the guise of a cartoon fish (which, funnily enough does actually look just like him, right down to the hairline). He gets almost all the memorable lines and keeps the contemporary tone on track while offering sizable moments of personality and emotion. In actuality, he's about the only thing keeping this movie afloat (pun intended).
On another note, funnyman Jack Black does such a good job bringing Great White Vegan 'Lenny' to life that we actually forget he's one of the stars. With a unique voice and a playful, almost 'Rain Man'-ish innocence, Black gives the film its purpose while ally-ooping the ball to Smith for the slam. As for the ladies, Renne Zellweger and Angelina Jolie are plenty adequate in their roles as the token Mary-Anne and Ginger. They do their job but don't exactly steal the show.
The rest of the cast is also probably the movie's biggest quandary. Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese provide both the film's backdrop and its antagonists. Working sometimes together, sometimes apart, the two serve better as the in-joke for parents looking for their inevitable nod, but otherwise sink into the a sort of stereotypical malaise of mediocre wiseguy clichés. I mean, what kid knows enough about mobsters and their movie history to really understand all this? The only thing missing is Joe Pesci as a clown fish who claims he's nobody's clown. Scorsese, in fact, one-ups his longtime friend here by going furthest against the grain, adding humor and originality to what would normally amount to an annoying site gag.
As far as the visuals are concerned, it falls far short of both 'Nemo' and the studio's own 'Shrek' franchise. I don't think it even reaches the sophistication of 'Toy Story' from about 10 years ago. Now that being said, it's not like the animation is awful. Far from it! There is definitely a crispness and colorful vitality that permeates the screen and the textures on some of the characters (namely the sharks) is fairly impressive. But after you've seen Fiona's hair shine in the sun and seen pores on Shrek the size of tiny canyons, you tend to expect them to at least reach for the bar. This actually seemed like an experiment that didn't quite gel - a blending of traditional animation with computer generated images.
Overall, 'Shark Tale' falls short of its predecessors but has enough humor, story and originality to sail on its own. The visuals are engrossing, if not enthralling and the plot is engaging, if not astounding. Where 'Finding Nemo' tugged a little harder on the old heart-strings, 'Shark Tale' keeps things light and fun. It pumps you full of vicarious energy like 'Rocky' but maintains a constant wink at the audience like 'Shrek.' If your looking for good time with the family you could do far worse than 'Shark Tale.' My suggestion: Leave your 'Nemo' baggage at the door and enjoy the dip.
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