Shark Tale (2004)
Behind every little fish is a great white lie.
Starring: Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, Ziggy Marley, Doug E. Doug, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Peter Falk, Fiona Phillips, David Soren, David P. Smith
Director: Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, Rob Letterman
Running Time: 86 minutes
US MPAA rating: PGUK BBFC rating: U
Animation, Comedy, Family
On DVD See if you can spot the odd one out from the following three scenes: a masked gang rapes a woman and savagely beats her bound husband to the rhythm of their leader crooning 'Singin' in the Rain'; an armed robber shuffles along to the tune of 'Stuck in the Middle with You' before slicing off the ears of a bound policeman; a pair of henchman clown around singing the lyrics "Don't worry, be happy, 'cos every little thing is gonna be alright" from Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds' before administering electric shocks to their bound victim. Well, all three are troublesome, decidedly adult sequences which bring into direct confrontation the connection between popular entertainment and casual violence - but while the first two appear in very adult movies (Stanley Kubrick's
DVD Extras: Scene selection; optional English subtitles; Dreamworks trailers ('Madagascar', 'Wallace & Gromit', 'Shrek 2'); 'Rough Waters' (2min) blooper reel of early technical glitches; 'Starfish' (11min) interviews with stars Will Smith, Jack Black, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, writer/director Rob Letterman, directors Bibo Bergeron and Vicky Jenson, executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberger, producer Allison Lyon Segan; 'The Music of Shark Tale' (4min) interviews with Missy Elliot, Christina Aguilera, Ziggy Marley, Sean Paul, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris; 'A Fishified World' (6min) interviews with Katzenberger, Jenson, producer Janet Healy, CG supervisor Kevin Rafferty, art directors Sam Michlap and Seth Engstrom, production designer Dan St Pierre, visual effects supervisor Doug Cooper, Jolie, Bergeron, Smith, Black, lead character technical director Kevin Ochs, surfacing supervisor Wes Burian, Marley; 'Gigi the Whale' (1min) hilarious animated whale in studio telling an anecdote about 'real person' Gigi the whale; 'A Tour You Can't Refuse', extensive set of design stills, artwork and visual development blueprints; full audio commentary by the three directors, who explain that whales do not really pooh, and that "the movie was a bit darker in the early days".
Separate children's sections include 'Play Club Oscar' (4min) animated characters dance in a clash of styles + 'Get Your Groove On!' (non-animated) instructions in the different dance moves; CD-Rom printable activities; colour script stills; special menus which take the viewer directly to selected scenes + music video for 'Car Wash' by Missy Elliot and Christina Aguilera; two interactive 'Must Sea Games'; DVD-Rom activities.
It's Got: A vegetarian shark named Lenny (Jack Black) who cross-dresses as a dolphin; a shrimp out for revenge; an old fart Tiger Shark (Peter Falk) who farts.
It Needs: More evenness of tone, more coherence of plot, to be funny rather than just clever, and to decide whether it wants to be for children or their parents.
Alternatives: Finding Nemo, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
Summary: This underwater gangster-meets-gangsta CG animated feature may well have you sleeping with the fishes.
Review Date: 7th February 2005
External Links
Official Web Site
Shark Tale at the IMDB
