Shark Tale (2004)

36% of critics liked it
(174 reviews)
59% of users liked it
(609,522 ratings)

Oceanic wise guys meet up with a small fish who has a big attitude in this computer-animated comedy. Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is the patriarch of a family of sharks who lord over a bustling aquatic community based along a massive underwater reef. Don Lino has two sons, Frankie (voice of… More Oceanic wise guys meet up with a small fish who has a big attitude in this computer-animated comedy. Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is the patriarch of a family of sharks who lord over a bustling aquatic community based along a massive underwater reef. Don Lino has two sons, Frankie (voice of Michael Imperioli) and Lenny (voice of Jack Black); Frankie is a carnivorous tough guy who takes after his father, but Lenny is, at heart, a kind soul who has earned the ire of his dad by becoming a vegetarian. One of Don Lino's cronies is Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese), who runs a "whale wash" where Oscar (voice of Will Smith) scrubs aquatic mammals for a living. Oscar is a small but ambitious fish who dreams of making something of himself, and when a dropped anchor accidentally kills Frankie, Oscar is suddenly (if mistakenly) celebrated as "the shark killer." Oscar's overnight fame attracts the attentions of Lola (voice of Angelina Jolie), a slinky dragon fish who woos Oscar away from his steady date, Angie (voice of Renée Zellweger); however, Oscar strikes up a friendship with Lenny and has to decide what to do when Don Lino and Sykes decides it's time to "take care" of the "different" shark. Also popping up in Shark Tale's all-star voice cast are Peter Falk, Vincent Pastore, Ziggy Marley, and Katie Couric. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Rob Letterman, Bibo Bergeron
Written By: Mark Swift, Damian Shannon
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 1, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Feb 8, 2005
Studio: DreamWorks SKG

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It is not in the same level of Finding Nemo but I still think it is worth seeing.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Story is everything and Shark's is rather thin and soupy, despite the winning improvisational skills of stars Will Smith and Jack Black.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
An uneasy cross between rival studio Pixar's Finding Nemo and DreamWorks' own Shrek franchise.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
An entertaining 90 minutes.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
A happy, fizzy film, splashed in brilliant colors.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Inside this dazzling animation is a dim plot that imagines Goodfellas living in the land of Jaws and being serviced by the dudes at the Car Wash.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Fast, fresh, funny action comedy set undersea.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Fast, fun and fabulous.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
The script is a long string of awful verbal and visual puns, and the animation, while colorful, is a big step back from the Shrek films (and nowhere near Pixar's league).
Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons
Quite simply the most middle of the road CG movie I think you'll ever see.
Mary Lasse, Christianity Today
Want a good fish story? Watch Finding Nemo again instead
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
full review in Greek
Rob Blackwelder, Combustible Celluloid
The kind of flashy and colorful but insultingly trite Hollywood regurgitation that far too often gets a pass under the excuse that "it's just a kids' movie."
, Empire Magazine
Although the vocal performances often amuse and delight, the overall design is charmless.
Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat
Katzenberg and company still haven't figured out that was makes Pixar's features so much better isn't just the quality of the art but the way they manage to generate actual emotion without coming across as superficial or cloying.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
Shark Tale is no disaster, but despite the efforts of three directors, two screenwriters and phalanxes of technicians, it seems to be treading water.
Bill Clark, FromTheBalcony
The movie is clearly written and produced around the persona of Will Smith, which is either glorious news or cringe-inducing, depending upon who you are.
Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
Nine years after Toy Story, the novelty of computer animation has worn off. Story and character need to capture our imagination.
Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
A solid film with a fair share of chuckles.
Jorge Avila Andrade, Moviola
'Es divertida, colorida y musical. Una buena cinta de animación que injustamente ha sido menospreciada quizá por los valores que la hacen importante'

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Directors C

Even with an all star cast, and good enthusiasm that brings the characters to life, the pop culture references and predictable plot are to big a distraction.
Alexander D

OK+
Dead A

This isn't that great sadly. I watched this only because of Will Smith. Not terrible though. Watchable.
Bethany M

A classic! A must see!
Brad W

This movie will be fun for kids, but will all the gangster references and confusing moments, they will not get the big picture, and some adults will not either.
Michael E

dont you just love it when they make a gangster movie for childeren
Richard C

C-
Michael G

How in the hell is it possible for Will Smith to be 10 times more obnoxious when you don't even see him onscreen? Shark Tale is a horrible kids movie with a weak story and characters who look like their celebrity voiced counterparts. Its a Finding Nemo gyp that tries to have a… More
How in the hell is it possible for Will Smith to be 10 times more obnoxious when you don't even see him onscreen? Shark Tale is a horrible kids movie with a weak story and characters who look like their celebrity voiced counterparts. Its a Finding Nemo gyp that tries to have a slight mob movie influence and look--its just a really bad movie. But for as weak as the story is and as abysmal as the characters were, none of them were as horrible as Martin Scorsese playing a blowfish that tries to be hip hop. From what I gather its the second most embarrassing thing he's ever done right behind Shutter Island. I was actually embarrassed and ashamed for him.
KJ P

I thought the adventure was well thought out, but when it comes down to it! It's barely rememberable!
Conner R

It was a poor attempt at cashing in on Finding Nemo, but it's actually a better film. It has such a talented voice cast that you can almost forget what is going on in the story. It is far less corny than one would expect and not the worst thing to be forced to watch with your… More
It was a poor attempt at cashing in on Finding Nemo, but it's actually a better film. It has such a talented voice cast that you can almost forget what is going on in the story. It is far less corny than one would expect and not the worst thing to be forced to watch with your kids.
Film C

well this is a big disappontment compared to the big list of voice casts! i just didnt find this movie entertaing or funny or interesting apart from the jellyfish admittedly they were the best part of the whole movie!
Morgan S

just plain weird
danny d

this movie obviously piggybacked off of nemo's success, which made me not want to like it, but it was a darn good film. i enjoyed it alot, even more than my 2 and a half year old that got bored about half way through. worth watching.
Dean !

I was worried this might be aimed more at the very young than some recent animation films but I can say this has something for everyone, no matter their age! With an all star voice cast that includes Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie amongst many other well known actors,… More
I was worried this might be aimed more at the very young than some recent animation films but I can say this has something for everyone, no matter their age! With an all star voice cast that includes Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie amongst many other well known actors, there is plenty of talent to be heard. It's very good how they manage to include characteristics of the actors in their animated characters. Oscar is clearly Will Smith just by looking at the face!The animation is great, with strong bright colours and plenty of detail. The sound track is very strong to with Chrisitina Aguilera's Car Wash the main theme song. For the youngsters there are plenty of funny scenes, and characters. For the older generation their are some great in jokes as De Niro's Great White Shark has a Godfather like role! If you liked Finding Nemo, Flushed Away, Toy Story you will have a Whale of a time here to!
Jens S

I skipped this at the cinema because I already suspected that it wouldn't even remotely hold up to Finding Nemo. I saw my suspicion confirmed now that it was on TV. While the original version might be somewhat funnier, the movie doesn't contain a whole lot of laughs. It has… More
I skipped this at the cinema because I already suspected that it wouldn't even remotely hold up to Finding Nemo. I saw my suspicion confirmed now that it was on TV. While the original version might be somewhat funnier, the movie doesn't contain a whole lot of laughs. It has a few really fun ideas, movie quotes and decent ideas of how human life could be transfered to deep sea fishes. But here also lies the problem: There is absolutely no point in this story taking place among fishes, they act entirely like humans, mostly really annoying humans. Especially the supposedly "cool" hip hop references are way over the top, trying to reach a rather small part of the audience. However, the effects were well done and it's still an entertaining movie. Nemo easily swallows it in one piece, though.
Candy R

Cute cartoon. Love the music.
Jennifer X

stupid stupid stupid.
Rachel F

Not as good as I thought it might be with Angelina Jolie and Jack Black voicing some characters.
Mike S

Feels like a rip-off of Finding Nemo.
Sophie B

hehe this was great!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Will Smith as Oscar

            Robert De Niro as Don Lino

            Renée Zellweger as Angie

            Jack Black as Lenny

            Angelina Jolie as Lola

            Martin Scorsese as Sykes

            Ziggy Marley as Ernie

            Doug E. Doug as Bernie

            Michael Imperioli as Frankie

            Vincent Pastore as Luca

            Peter Falk as Ira Feinberg

            David Soren as Killer Whale #2

            Katie Couric as Katie Current

            David P. Smith as Crazy Joe

            Bobb'e J. Thompson as Shortie #1

            Kamali Minter as Shortie #2

            Emily Lyon Segan as Shortie #3

            Lenny Venito as Giuseppe

            Saverio Guerra as Pontrelli

            Shelley Morrison as Mrs. Sanchez

            Mark Swift as Announcer

            James Madio as Great White #2

            Frank Vincent as Great White #3

            Joseph Siravo as Great White #5

            Steve Alterman as Messenger Fish

            Phil LaMarr as Prawn Shop Owner

            Jenifer Lewis as Motown Turtle

            Sean Bishop as Great White #4

            James Ryan as Cashier

            Latifa Ouaou as Whale Wash Co-Worker

            David Yanover as Taxi Fish

            Seana Kofoed as Shorty 3

            Tracey Grimshaw
            
See full cast