Animated films finally hit their stride after the year 2000, sure we still had films such as Toy Story and Lion King even before that, but 2000 is when everyone started making them. We got films such as Shrek, Monsters, Inc., Madagascar, Spirited Away, Atlantis, The Incredibles, Bee Movie, Beowulf, The Polar Express and so many more that added a brand-new twist to the wonderful genre. One of such super weird and out of nowhere films was Shark Tale, no one expected this to be a film that would be so incredibly fun to watch. Yet it turned out to be one of the best-animated films of the mid-2000s that you can still go back to and appreciate.
How to Stream or Download Shark Tale
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of this review,
The Movie Review
I’m not sure what they were thinking about the absolutely absurd plot of this film, but it was an engaging and exciting experience at the end of the day. The film is set underwater in the world of the fish, however, these fish are way more advanced than we’ve ever seen them with their own hierarchical society that functions in a weird way.
Oscar is our protagonist who is basically a loser in the world of underwater crime. However, one day he gets the opportunity to make a false claim, and he takes it, telling everyone that he killed the son of a Shark Mob Boss named Don Lino.
He teams up with Don’s other son Lenny to increase his street cred and become the ultimate gangster. Together, Oscar and Lenny will now be caught in a controversial and hostile environment, struggling to survive.
Okay, so it felt like this film was trying to do multiple things at once. At first glance, it feels like a weird version of The Sopranos, on the other hand, it also has moments where you think this is more akin to Finding Nemo with its underwater exploration in the world of fish.
However, the one and only thing that it manages to be is a buddy comedy film that is highly entertaining to watch, not because of its crude dialogue and sexual undertones, but rather the fact that it keeps you engaged in its absurd world.
There are underwater casinos and underwater cars, there are buildings and nightlife and the film is constantly introducing new characters to you and they’re all fun to watch because they have got some stereotypical Italian accents.
It doesn’t feature the most exciting plot, but the main character is entertaining enough on his own and the arc he goes through during the film is fun enough to be appreciable.
The characters are the true weight of this film, they are what make this film so much fun to watch. It’s not that they’re particularly well written, it is actually the fact that they are voiced by some of the best actors in Hollywood.
You have actors such as Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Jack Black, and Angelina Jolie in KEY roles within this film. Robert Deniro is playing the main bad guy, Don Lino with a menacing tone to his voice. Whereas you have, Will Smith as Oscar who is as energetic as he always is. Jack Black is absolutely fantastic as Lenny, the comic relief character in this film and he adds a TON of actually well-acted humor to the film.
Then you have Angie, Oscar’s best friend who is played by Renee Zellwegger, and Lola who is a seductive gal with who Oscar develops a romantic interest, played by Angelina Jolie. The cast here is just absolutely stacked.
Unfortunately, the cast cannot save the film’s highly mediocre storytelling from failing, and the writing itself does bring the quality down a lot. If it weren’t for the film’s fantastic art style, this would have been a weird movie to like. Even so, Shark Tail is not the greatest animated film of the 2000s, it’s not even close.
However, it is an entertaining film and one that would make you laugh constantly as you go through it. It has a charismatic cast, a couple of some really funny characters, and a story so absurd and over the top that it just cannot be helped that this film is funny. There is a certain charm to this broken film, and I can’t help but like it.
