DailyView: Day 277, Movie 391

DreamWorks has had some great animated films over the years, from Shrek to How to Train Your Dragon, but the company has never reached the levels of Pixar or Disney. Still, they have had their successes. 2004’s Shark Tale is passable, but not one that will stick with you.

According to IMDB: “The sea underworld is shaken up when the son of shark mob boss Don Lino (Robert De Niro) is found dead, and a young fish named Oscar (Will Smith) is found at the scene. Being a bottom feeder, Oscar takes advantage of the situation and makes himself look like he killed the finned mobster. Oscar soon comes to realize that his claim may have serious consequences.”

Will Smith and Robert DeNiro stand out among the voices, but, honestly, Smith feels as if he is trying too hard. Jack Black voices Lenny and does not stand out at all. The animation is solid and looks good. Bright colors are interesting and stand out on the screen.

The story is simple and the characters are average at best. There are some clever jokes scattered throughout the film, but not enough to be sustainable.

There are a ton of pop culture references, way too many. Most of them stand out as not working. With all the quotes, are we to understand that these fish watch movies and TV from the surface? The music is okay, but I can not recall anything from the film.

Shark Tale is just an average, unremarkable animated feature that you can pass time with, but won’t fill you up.