Histoire de requins

This CG animated feature can't boast a truly great story, but it does go far enough on the abilities of its very well chosen cast. It stars Will Smith as the voice of Oscar, a tongue scrubber at a "whale wash" in an undersea kingdom. Oscar talks big and dreams big, and is tired of being a "nobody". So when one of the sons of great white godfather Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) perishes, Oscar takes credit for killing the shark, and becomes the toast of the town. He also becomes friends with Lenny (voice of Jack Black), Don Linos' wimpy, vegetarian son.

"Shark Tale" is good entertainment overall, with plenty of amusing character design, and a respectable amount of energy. The filmmakers do come up with a lot of chuckle-inducing jokes, both verbal and visual. But the real hook is in hearing various actors play animated sharks as mobsters. On one level, the movie is okay viewing for younger viewers (although it might be somewhat intense for the youngest of them), and on another level, it's savvy comedy for grownups, with references to well known mob movies of the past.

Smith is a real live wire as the fast talking Oscar, De Niro is a pleasure, and Renee Zellweger is appealing as Angie, Oscars' co-worker who's really in love with him. Angelina Jolie is just right as the self-serving, seductive fish who only attaches herself to Oscar when she thinks he's going places. Various other familiar voices here, too: Peter Falk, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, and Ziggy Marley and Doug E. Doug as a pair of Rastafarian jellyfish. It's a particular treat to hear the master filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who lends his voice to Sykes, a frequently flustered puffer fish.

The hip, catchy soundtrack also helps to make this an agreeable 90 minute long outing.

Seven out of 10.

I have to confess my shock at seeing the 5.9/10 average rating for this movie and overall mediocre reviews. This movie is great! And I'm not a kid, either...I'm 26 years old and thoroughly enjoyed this movie at the age of 25. The soundtrack is unbelievable and fits in seamlessly with the action and comedy of the movie. You really have to hear Mary J. Blige's rendition of Cheryl Lynn's classic disco anthem, "Got to Be Real." Anyway, besides the fantastic soundtrack, every character in this movie matches beautifully with his or her celebrity voice. I particularly enjoyed Will Smith's and Martin Scorcese's characters; brilliantly done. Really, if you're looking for a fun, enjoyable movie that you can laugh and even dance along to, this is the movie for you. Young and old alike should enjoy this. I've seen it 3 times, and always have a good time watching it. Watch it!

After seeing the opening today I have to admit...Shark's Tale was one of the corniest movie I've seen in my life...CORNY to the bone. The plot was awesome, and I had laughs, but the writers really tried too hard to make this movie too funny, and they're going to lose international credibility for it...a whole lot.

Let me give you a Jamaican perspective. I'm not taking anything from Ziggy Marley (Ernie) & Doug E. Doug (Bernie); they both couldn't have done the 'Jellyfish Rastas Duo' roles better. But seriously now, both roles were controversially laced with cuss words taken from the Jamaican dialect (thankfully that most Americans don't understand). And so, I felt quite embarrassed listening to the context in how it was done. I'm proud of my Jamaican culture and dialect and that many people would love to learn & experience it. But the writers just can't incorporate cuss words into a kid's movie like that.

It might be funny to some, but it also sends a negative message to the younger audience about different cultures. I wouldn't be surprised if, people walk out on this one when this comes out in the Caribbean.

Had "Shark Tale" had even an iota of the wit and charm that seems to have little trouble finding its way into Pixar's creations, the movie might have been more enjoyable. At the least the filmmakers could have snuck in some funny social commentary through the veil of animation.

What we have instead is an urban, glib, lifeless product that is market-tested and ready for consumption. An empty ghetto-fabulous morality tale loaded with pop culture references and plenty of bling-bling but no heart.

Under the ocean, Oscar (voice of Will Smith) is a tongue-scrubber at a "whale-wash" and part-time hustler. He wishes for a better life, hoping to swim his way to the top of the fish social ladder, though his coworker Angie (voice of Renee Zellweger) thinks he should be happy with who he is, and tries to subtly drop hints that she's quite taken with him.

Meanwhile, great white shark and local crime boss Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is planning to turn his family business over to his two sons, Frankie and Lenny. But Lenny (voice of Jack Black) is harboring some serious issues concerning eating other fish, and the godfather is worried his weak son with reflect poorly on him.

Oscar has problems. In debt to his boss Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese), he soon ends up in hot water. However, fate runs him smack into Frankie and Lenny. During the scuffle, an anchor accidentally kills Frankie and Oscar is mistakenly given credit for the kill. Now a media celebrity for being a "shark slayer," Oscar rides his status all the way to the top, with Sykes managing his interests and the sharks fuming that their top spot in the food chain is quickly losing its power.

Situations soon escalate and Oscar and Lenny reach an agreement: if they fake a battle and Oscar emerges triumphant, he can keep his credibility as a shark slayer and Lenny can start a new life.

"Shark Tale" openly references "The Godfather" and "Jaws" at every opportunity, which in and of itself isn't too bad except that so little is made of the main plot itself that the whole move feels like a patchwork of other, better movies, just with a meaningless hip-hop attitude. The special effects are up to par but there's nothing really special about them. The audience needs a story and characters, not just choreographed dance sequences and goofy product placements.

All this might have been negligible had the movie actually been funny. This, sadly, is not the case. I only recorded one good laugh during the screening I attended, and that involved a shark voiced by Peter Falk whose flatulence had the expected effect on a henchmen. When a fart joke is the best you have to offer, then you've got serious problems.

The story also steals shamelessly from the 1942 Disney cartoon "The Reluctant Dragon," which featured a fixed battle between a loudmouth braggart knight and a pacifist dragon to keep the locals off both their backs. That story was at least short and cute, neither of which can be said about this debacle.

Along with the plot, voice acting is pretty lifeless as well. Smith gets to indulge his ego, playing his own persona on screen once again, this time in fish form. De Niro and Scorsese seem to be having fun spoofing their own tough guy roles, but that's about it from them. The biggest surprise is how much of a laid-back performance Black gives. His trademark manic desperation is nowhere to be seen, playing instead a shockingly normal character. Had he cut loose, the scenes he's in might have been more enjoyable. What's stranger is his hiding of his vegetarian leanings from his dad is handled like an allegory for a gay person coming out to his parents.

When is Hollywood going to realize it doesn't matter how many famous actors you get to do voices for your characters; if the story sucks, then no amount of acting talent is going to save it? There are three Academy Award winners in this cast, just don't use that as a benchmark for excellence.

This all amounts to another animated project from DreamWorks high on energy and low on inspiration. After "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmarron," "Road to El Dorado" and "Sinbad" all tanked, it's clear that the "Shrek" series is the only good thing the studio has going for it right now.

Of course, there's no escaping comparison to that other computer animated fish movie, either, and that's when this film looks most wanting. Where Pixar's "Finding Nemo" swam the full depths of the ocean, "Shark Tale" seems content to just tread water in the wading pool.

4 out of 10 stars. Pretty to look at, but any movie that tries to push this much "coolness" down your throat is just asking to be despised.

The star power in this movie really made the difference...u can see really see Robert De Niro in the way the shark moves and talks. Martin Scorcese as Skyes is pretty cool...and Will Smith isn't too bad either. The only part that I would be critical about is that the story isn't very original.At times its even predictable. But all in all the movie is funny...Jack black as Lenny is great. Those who liked Finding Nemo would probably like this movie too..(Although it isn't as good as Finding Nemo) Worth a watch...for kids as well as for adults.Angelie Jolie was a great choice to play the part of Lola.The animation in this film is brilliant...buts thats something v have come to expect of animated films..isn't it!!