A film from DreamWorks Animation with some things to like, but it's still a bit bland

Rating: 6/10 (16 September 2008)

After Pixar had a hit with their 2003 underwater adventure, "Finding Nemo", another film featuring anthropomorphic sea creatures was released in 2004, this time from DreamWorks Animation, called "Shark Tale". When I heard about this film, I guess it was shortly before it came into theatres, it looked like something I would want to see, and it wasn't long before I did (it was shown in my English class during my last year of high school for some reason). I'm not sure how I would have rated it at the time, but I remember my verdict was that it was definitely inferior to Pixar's anthropomorphic fish story, but not bad. I've seen it twice since then, but I believe I think less of it now than I did when I first saw it.
Oscar is a bottom-feeder fish in the ocean who feels like a nobody, and dreams of becoming rich and famous. Lenny is the son of shark mob boss Don Lino, and the brother of a shark named Frankie. However, Lenny is an outcast amongst the rest of the shark community, as he is a vegetarian and does not want to kill. Determined to make him a killer like the rest of them, the shark mob boss sends his two sons out, so Frankie can teach Lenny how to be one. However, while they are out, an anchor comes down, hits Frankie, and kills him, leaving Lenny feeling guilty! Oscar, the one Frankie tried to get Lenny to eat, has just witnessed the incident, and apart from Lenny, who has left, nobody else witnessed it. Being seen with the shark's body, the bottom-feeder fish claims he killed him, and soon gets a reputation around his part of the ocean as the "Sharkslayer"! So, he gets the fame and fortune he's been dreaming of, but the fact remains, he didn't really slay a shark, and after the false news about the "Sharkslayer" gets to Don Lino, it appears Oscar is in a lot of trouble!
One thing that makes this film suffer is the Oscar character - so dimwitted, so naive, and not too likable. He tends to get himself into so much trouble, and I'm sure he would be able to stay out of this trouble if he actually thought before he acted! Also, the things he does that get him into trouble are things he does for his own personal gain (before the shark incident, he bets money on a seahorse race instead of using it to pay off his debt)! As a comedy, the movie has its moments, but often fails with its humour, such as the part where they use a typical unfunny fart joke. The whale mouth cleaning part involves gross-out gags involving the filth from the whale's mouth. Although I've definitely seen much worse than that, this part is another example of failed attempts at humour in the film. Another problem I can't forget is that the quality of the writing isn't really that good, and it seems the writers may have been thinking a little too much about pop culture, and perhaps not quite enough about the quality of the writing.
Some may call "Shark Tale" a ripoff of "Finding Nemo", but I tend to disagree. Yes, they are both CGI animated films involving anthropomorphic ocean fish, but they have a totally different plot, and not exactly the same type of characters. However, that one thing they have in common, and the fact that one came out the year after the other, makes it hard not to compare them, and in my opinion, Pixar's underwater adventure is far superior to that of DreamWorks Animation. I'm sure many would agree, since "Finding Nemo" has received a lot more praise. "Shark Tale" does have some good parts, sometimes because of humour, and sometimes maybe because of excitement, enough to earn it a slightly above average rating from me. The animation is nice and colourful, so I can't complain much about that, either, and the story might get a bit better as it goes along. However, due to its flaws, this DreamWorks Animation effort is a bit bland (overall, I would say Pixar is the superior CGI animation company), and not one I desire to watch again any time soon.