Many spoofs does not a funny film make...

Rating: 4/10 (19 September 2004)

After seeing Shark Tale today, I am quite lukewarm about the movie as a whole. Being a big fan of the Pixar films, and, to a slightly lesser extent, the Dreamworks PDI films, I was quite eager to enjoy this new film (and went in without looking to compare it to Nemo). However what I found was that Dreamworks have taken their intertextuality license and worked it for all it's worth (and then some).
The story is quite unremarkable, and the worst element is the main character - Oscar, who is incredibly annoying. The character is far too willing to wise-crack every second of the film, obviously because Dreamworks is desperately afraid that the audience may get bored. This has a very adverse affect however, and it is very easy to grow tired of what would otherwise be a "sidekick" character who will.not.shut.up. Empathy is hard to muster with a character like this, and does not compare to a character like Shrek, Woody, Z or Flik. Even Mike from Monsters, Inc. knew when to be silent and let the story carry itself. Other characters are really just filler, and are either boring (Angie) or unnecessary (Lola).
A lot has been said about the racial stereotypes within this film, and although they are all in good fun, they do tend to grate. The sharks are an exception however, and really do steal the show whenever they are present. In fact, it's the references to Goodfellas, Jaws, the Godfather and other mobster movies which are the only ones which actually do generate some laughs. The rest of the film spoofs/nods really seem to be tossed into the sea hap-hazardly, or "for the sake of it". Many moviegoers may get some kind of kick out of hearing a fish say "You had me at hello", but I for one think there is a clear difference between using other films to be truly witty and clever (think Nemo's nods to Psycho, The Birds and Fight Club) and throwing in movie quotes for cheap laughs, which is what we see here.
Other gags often fall flat due to being either too cliché, or not really relevant or humorous within the context: "Don't worry, a lot of white fish can't do it."
Don't get me wrong, Shark Tale is not all bad. There are some redeeming qualities in the film. As I said, the sharks, particularly Don Lino and the "extended family" are really enjoyable, as is much of the animation (particularly when we really get to see the reef city). The film opens really well, with a number of great sight gags - which really set up the world nicely. It's just a shame that the characters and the story were not as well-rounded and formed enough to make use of this world. Even Lenny is not as enjoyable as he could be, until towards the end of the film.
We have definitely been spoiled with the quality of previous computer-animated films, and a lot of love and attention has gone into their construction. This is obviously a back-burner project that falls behind Dreamwork's most important franchise, Shrek, and it is obvious that it hasn't received this care. It definitely is worth a watch, but high hopes may leave viewers disappointed, like me. Truly an example of how a cinematic format is only as good as its story and characters. Companies cannot ride the "3D success wave" forever...