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Shark Tale Reviews

Shark's (s)tale : strictly for kids
Apr 08, 2008 03:39 PM 1597 Views

This one is meant for kids and not so much for kidults(those grown ups like me who enjoy video games and watch cartoons meant for kids). In fact for a long time the animation industry has tweaked its offerings to have somrething for both the segments like Finding Nemo, Lion King, Ice Age, Dinosaur etc etc. Shark Tale depsite the impressive cast is unable to rise to that level. **You may find it just about a nice timepass but your kid would love it.


*This is the story of Oscar who dreams big, Angie who loves him even if he is a'nobody'. They both work at the Whalewash. Sykes is Oscar's boss and Don Lino is the The Boss;). When Sykes demands his 5000 Clams(currency of the underwater) that he had lent to Oscar, it throws Oscar's life out of gear and he gets entangled with the Coral reef mafia. He becomes Sharkslayer by mistake and the usual hullabaloo follows making him a darling of the media and enemy no 1 of the mafia boss.


The most delightful characters in the movie are not the hero- Oscar(will Smith) or heroine Angie(Renee Zellwegger) but their boss -Sykes(Martin Scorsese) and Lenny(Jack Black). You love the speed at which Sykes changes loyalties. Lenny is throroughly entertaining as the vegetarian son of the mafia Don. The Rastafarian Jelly fish flunkies of Sykes are fun as well.



It seems that Disney in 2004 realized that the audience was favoring digital animation over the traditional what with *Finding Nemo *and *Incredibles *of Pixar as hits. Pixar specilaised in digital animation.So Disney hired the rival Dreamworks, hired the best cast possible from Will Smith to Angeline Jolie and then put together a story. *


As expected critics panned the film when it was released. It got a paltry 34% rating on the rottentomatoes. Despite all the panning from critics teh movie had a blockbuster


openings. Shark Tale made$160 million in US and$206 million overseas


with$367 million worldwide.


In order to provide some depth to the thin plotline lots of cultural touchstonesare thrown in. From jokes to posters references to Jaws *and *Godfather abound  The Oceanic Times Square, Gup, Coral Cola. Whalewash on the theme of a car wash, Rose's potrait hangs in the Don's office. In the true Disney mould the movie puts forward two messages:




  1. Its ok to be nobody than a fake somebody(Oscar)




  2. Its ok to be different(Lenny)(at times you would feel as if Oscar is talking about Lenny being gay;)






Tip: Meant for kids, they will like it. Make your own arrangements this would never be more than a timepass for you.


Trivia:




  1. The film was previously called Sharkslayer but then it was felt that the title might be misunderstood and kids and family audience might stay away.




  2. The shark mob's hangout is the R.M.S. Titanic. We even see a clothed version of the famous sketch of the character Rose from Titanic(1997) hanging on the wall(complete with the Heart of the Ocean diamond), during one scene.




  3. When Lenny coughs up the objects on the table, one of them is a license






plate with the registration "007 981." This is the same plate found


inside the tiger shark in Jaws(1975)




  1. Lenny tells his brother that he's cold because he's cold blooded. In fact,




Great White Sharks are one of four types of shark that are warm blooded.


Zinnia's Debut
Nov 30, 2004 06:36 PM 2399 Views

In the good old days of 70's and 80's, all we had was the DD staple diet of Magic Lamp and then the Disney hour. fcourse the cable bought in more like Giant Robot, Famous Five, I dream of Jeannie etc but there were not much cartoons beyond Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck's till the last decade or so.


Thanks to Hollywood I am reliving my childhood thru cartoons. Those crazy and zany toons, full of mischief & colour, bring out that certain madness and that hidden urge of being naughty and not so sane in oneself.


Off late there has been a plethora of cartoons and real good ones - from Lion King, Prince of Egypt, Monsters Inc to Finding Nemo, Powerpuff girls, Shrek and even a cartoon sequel in Shrek 2 (Ofcourse Toy Story 2 was first here).


The Cast of Cartoons ☺


Oscar (Will Smith) a smooth fast-talking small fish (fish even resembles Will Smith) who thinks he is a nobody and wants to make it big. Oscar works in a Whale wash service (Ha ha like a car wash) - with a load of assistants they provide complete solutions for Whale cleaning (NGC are u listening !!).


Wide eyed, Angie (Renee Zellweger) who works as a receptionist at the whale washers, madly loves Oscar but is often referred to as a friend by him.


The Don (Robert De Niro) the big shark who wants his 2 sons to control his mob empire (move aside Godfather).


Lenny (Jack Black), the younger son of the Don having a very big soft heart which cannot even hurt a worm. OK OK he is a vegetarian - he lacks the killer attitude of Sharks unlike his elder brother.


Lola ( Angeline Jolie), the sexy seductress always present at the right place wooing ''big somebodies''. Oscar drools over this beautiful fish.


The Cartoon Plot


Set in an ocean reef reminiscent of Shanghai at night with huge Billboards and electronic signs. Coca Cola is in full glow and must have sponsored this movie - btw I am curious which fish wants to drink underwater. ♫♫ Hey buddy its a cartoon and no one minds such things, so stop being a rationalist ♫♫.


Oscar hates his amusing job of cleaning Whales and their tongues and always curses himself of being a nobody. He dreams of having his own penthouse and making it very big someday.


Meanwhile he has a debt of 5000 CLAMS to be paid to the owner of his whalewash service. Angie brings her grandmothers pink pearl for Oscar which he can pawn and repay his debt (Poora filmy oops cartoon). But our hero bets the whole money on a horse which loses and he lands in a soup.


On the other side of reef Frank, Lenny's brother wants him to develop the killer instinct and be ferocious. Circumstances lead Frank to chase Oscar and during such a chase an anchor strikes Frank and leaves him dead. This scene actually is hilarious especially the last words.


Frank (dying): I am feeling cold.


Lenny: We are supposed to after all we are cold blooded creatures !!


Frank dies and Lenny feeling guilty runs away. Oscar makes it big and becomes THE SHARK SLAYER of the reef. He becomes a huge hero, a somebody and Lola is besides him. Meanwhile The Don is looking for his sons's killer and searching for Lenny. For more watch the cartoooon ◄►


♣ Will Angie ever get her true love or Lola will play foul ?


♠ Will Lenny ever return back to his father ?


♦ What will be the fate of reef when the mob attacks ?


♥ What about Oscar - can he escape the wrath of the Don ?


The Cartoon Analysis


The movie and the frames are good to the extent required but what the film lacks is a soul, an emotion like Lion King or Shrek. The plot when compared to Finding Nemo lacks the depth and imagination. The music is passe and some characters like Lola are just a burden.


The underwater caricatures could have been better presented though there are flashes of brilliance. The children will still adore the cute Shark Lenny and also the funny Oscar. There are some hilarious sequences which will have u in splits. There is reference to Titanic and that nude painting of Kate Winslet figures in Don's office which itself is possibly in Titanic!!


All in all Kids will enjoy it in theatres but on the other hand The Incredibles is coming in a week or two. Shark Tale can be viewed in VCD/DVD.


PS - Zinnia Debut's refers to my daughter who is almost 2 years old and it was her 1st movie in theatre Fame Adlabs


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