Predictable but funny and engaging animation for the family

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2006)

With an all star cast including Smith (bad boys) De Niro (Taxi Driver) Zellweger (Bridget Jones) and director Scoursese (Goodfellas) this 2004 was lined up to be a smash and despite its criticism I enjoyed watching the amazing effects, cheesy jokes and acceptable plot.
The cast lend their voices to the spirited sea creatures. The beginning of the story is really amazing. A typical animation move, taking audiences around the scenery. With many jokes as 'play on words' e.g. Coral Cola the audience are awarded cheap laughs and wonder how the producers come up with these ideas, its conventional but I believe its a technique that all audiences appreciate.
Its an inconsistent plot with many engaging scenes but many questionable scenes. After the beginning you wondered is Smith's cool character Oscar was being given too much camera time. Once Zellweger's conventional boy-fish wanting fish came into the story did a sense of predictability arise.
However its one of those films you know is awful but you enjoy it anyway. It is engaging because you wonder how the characters are going to fare with each other. The relationship between the under sea creatures is healthy and believable but always enjoyable to observe, despite maybe some people saying its predictable, clichéd etc.
It's a slow moving story with typical human like ideologies put forth by director Bergerson. Money, family loyalty, betrayal, friendship and trust are all encoded so audience's can appreciate the film.
There are a few twists used, perhaps in the wrong way but are still interesting to observe. The ending is atrocious. Never in my life have I seen a film end so badly. I was shaking my head and couldn't believe it. The soundtrack to the film is amazing. Upbeat energetic pop and reggae music are used for a variety of uses, mainly to encourage the scene to be enjoyable.
There is never doubting the effects which are stunning. If you want any proof then observe De Niro's shark character which looks exactly like him.
a film for the whole family - not the best animation but still enjoyable for cheap laughs and funny characters