Animated tale of one fish with higher aspirations!

Rating: Null/10 (1 October 2004)

Being perhaps the only person I know of who HASN'T seen Finding Nemo, I was able to relax and enjoy watching this CG animated tale of a fish named Oscar (Will Smith) who dreams of being "on the top of the reef" without subconsciously making comparisons of the two films. The ensemble of famous voices and characterizations that accompany these voices are first-rate. For those who enjoy mob classics such as Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II, Casino, etc. they will be pleased to hear the voice of Robert Di Niro (who elso can set the "standard"?) , as well newly made "familia" such as Vincent Pastore and Michael Imperioli (from the Grammy-laden HBO Hit - The Sopranos) as well as what I found as a unexpected surprise - Peter Falk voicing the character Don Brizzi. This is not the only fast running fun-pun going on in this film, the voices of Jack Black, Rene Zellweger and Angelina Jolie complete what I feel is a "killer" cast. Martin Scorcese making a rare on-screen appearance, even if only in voice, adds a lot of subtle humor, especially when you consider it so ironic that he a Robert Di Niro worked together 28 years ago to make a great movie classic - Taxi Driver. What made this especially enjoyable is that not only have the creators of this film used an eclectic mix of popular familiar voices, but the CG graphics have so well captured the "essence" of many of this fine actors, especially Rene Zellweger who steals her share of scenes. There are a lot of "supporting voices" lending to some instantly memorable secondary characters, such as Ziggy Marley as one of the two "Rasta" jellyfish bodyguards for Martin Scorceses' character "Sykes". One only needs to sit back and with a minimal amount of imagination be swept under the sea to witness a Shark Tale.