Shark Tale Review | DreamWorks’ Fishy Nightmare 

"Shark Tale is a 2004 North Korean computer animated cautionary tale about the rise of totalitarian dictators produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Mung Daal."

On the positive side, 2004 had a better animated movie with talking fish: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie!

Its very sad that Will Smith and Jack Black had more chemistry in the recording rehears than in the whole movie

Not to mention that It’s obviously a big ripoff of Pixar’s Finding Nemo

I remember I honestly was horrified by the design of Oscar as a child, knocking it a knockoff of Finding Nemo. 😨 But yet I still saw the movie in cinemas and thought it was nice, though I wasn't focusing on the plot so much, because I don't pay too much attention with my autism. Even when I got the video game for the PlayStation 2, I didn't realise what a mess the plot was. But rediscovering the movie many years later, I can say I was not satisfied with it at all. I mean, Lenny and Angie are good characters, but the rest of it I did not find good. 🤨 The animation is unpleasant (God, those fish's faces look creepy!), the story is so predictable and unbearable, and Oscar is not even relatable! I mean, how can I relate to a fish voiced by Will Smith who wants to be a somebody, places his friend Angie's pearl on a bet, and lies about being a sharkslayer? 😠 This movie is terrible on so many levels. In fact, one of the worst animated movies of all time, but definitely the worst movie from DreamWorks Animation. Definitely not something I would not wanna watch again, and I would not recommend it, though I get the cult following. But still, I give it a thumbs-down, for being the start of a series of good and bad DreamWorks movies over the years. 👎

The existence of this movie is why I hate it whenever Martin Scorsese does his "Old man yells at cloud" routine when he rants about Marvel. He starred in *_THIS_*

I’ve been waiting for a long time for you to review this movie

If I were to point a finger at what movie was responsible for Dreamwork's gradual decline in quality standards, it would be this. Most of the previous films were timeless, and even though I'm not a fan of Shrek, I could see the earnesty with the first two entries. Yet despite the company continuing to produce masterpieces like Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon, you could tell the execs thought, thanks to its financial and commercial success, Shark Tale's model was what Dreamworks should follow. Consider this: for the past 20 years, over half of the studio's library has been composed of trend-pandering, badly aged mediocrity.

By the way, I knew This was going to get the animat seal of garbage. (just like I predicted)

Funny how Jack Black later voices another Dreamworks character in a more beloved movie

I'm just glad Jack Black and Angelina Jolie got a second chance on the DreamWorks stage as Po and Tigress in Kung Fu Panda. And *_BOY_* did *_THAT_* one work out for them! 😎👍

I will never understand how this movie got nominated for Best Animated Feature, while the SpongeBob Movie was so much better. (I’m deadly serious about this)

Having Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro of all people in a Dreamworks is the equivalent of having Quentin Tarantino in a Illumination film

Oscar: Don Lino, sir, listen. It's not Lenny's fault, this is between you and me. Don Lino: What did I ever do to you? Tamatoa: *YOU* *EAT* *PEOPLE!!!!!*

Rango, httyd and ice age are the only movies with liar reveals that I actually love.

Shark tales is one of those bad movies that is so entertaining that I never get bored of it.

0:41 The Oscar hitting Marty joke got me off guard 😅

Again, what made Rango a better Liar Revealed Story is his charisma. It's a good showcase of Johnny Depp's range as an actor, you can feel the talent in his voice. The character himself is pretty charming and relatable too. His tall tales may stem from wanting to make a name for himself like Oscar does, but Rango is a lot more relatable in it. Though he's not as skilled as he boasts, he genuinely comes to care about the people he acts to, and proves to be a surprisingly good leader. And it helps that the setting is more immersive and fun. It's a satire of western films, and satire or no, I am down for a nice western.

17:25 I am Italian-American, and I remember that controversy. I can assure you that no actual Italians were offended by it, that was a total manufactured “controversy”! The shark mafia is a Godfather reference, a movie made and starring Italians, that’s absolutely beloved in the community, especially by older members who were around when the mafia was more prominent. Yes it’s a stereotype, but was and still is true to some extent, back in the day, if you were an American of Italian descent, you either knew someone who was in or you yourself was! It was and still is a fact of life to some extent! Thanh you for coming to my Ted Talk!

Shark Tale turns 20 on October 1, 2024.

Basically DreamWorks' equivalent of Morbius

I honestly wonder if Martin Scorsese thinks this is cinema

It deserves an *Oscar* for DreamWorks's scariest movie, tbh. 😂

Thank goodness Madagascar came out after this. In my opinion I like this movie and I personally grew up with it. Yes It's not Shrek or Madagascar level good but it's still pretty enjoyable. I personally love the colors and visuals the artists chose for the fish and the backgrounds but yeah the animation is pretty unfinished compared to Shrek 2 which came out the same year. Also I love the song choices they chose for the film like "Got To Be Real" Or "Sweet Kind Of Life"

Oh my god, Oscar is worse than Johnny in the Hotel Transylvania sequels. At least Johnny cares about his family.

Shark Tale’s original title was gonna be just Sharkslayer, when it’s production begin in April of 2002 when it was announced, but however, by September of 2003, the title had to be changed, largely the word ‘slayer’ meaning violence for a children’s animated film, and to be changed as the name we know today to make it more family-friendlier, when it was suggested by the writer, Michael J. Wilson (the guy who was involved with Ice Age), but you can’t argue that it is the first DreamWorks film to be CG-Animated at the Glendale-facility (who did most of the films, which includes Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, Bee Movie, and any other DreamWorks films they animated at the Glendale-facility), but also the first to not be made at the now defunct subsidiary, PDI (Pacific Data Images). Your opinion has been respected, but I’ve grown up watching it, and liking it.

Fun fact, the son of Bob Marley voiced one of the jellyfishes. He also voiced Lenny in Across the Spider Verse

Good to see that this review released during Tuna History Month.

Sykes being a meme just for that one scene is by far the best thing about this movie. It’s definitely a so bad it’s good kind of film in my eyes.

A film that will forever be the low point for DreamWorks quality wise. Also, I still despise Oscar because of just how hatable he is. At least Sykes gave Schaffrillas plenty of material to use.

He gives this movie a 3/10, which means he thinks it’s worse that both The Boss Baby and Trolls Band Together

“Are you kidding me?! Are you out of yo mind?!”

Here's another thing that Finding Nemo did something right, they did not put too many human characteristics into their fish, they kind of just make them look like real fish. Seeing human characteristics like this on computer animated characters is just downright creppy, it's uncanny valley levels of creepiness.

It’s funny cause Jack Black and Angelina Jolie would be in a much better Dreamworks film four years later with Kung Fu Panda.

Can you do a classic review of the First Kung Fu Panda since the fourth film is fixing to come out.

How in the world did they get Robert De Nero and Martin Scorsese in this movie?

Fun fact, this was the first DreamWorks film to not have any association from the former PDI campus in Redwood City, CA. Instead, the animation was crafted at the main DreamWorks facility in Glendale and proved to be a tough experience for the hand drawn team to become CGI animators in the modern era. The catch, uhhhh yeah it shows that the technology they got was low almost the same way as what happened to the Disney animation team when making Chicken Little a year later. Thankfully, the main studio improved their craft!!

This is definitely a movie that makes you go “WHY THE HELL IS SCORSESE IN THIS?!”

Well at least the thumbnail was hilarious 🥴

That final song is catchy, I’m not going to lie.

Shark Tale is one of my favourite guilty pleasures.

I’m glad that there is someone else out there that doesn’t hate the designs of the sharks. At least the movie lets the sharks look like actual sharks and not like some horrifying fish-celeb hybrid. Also, if we can all agree on one thing, it’s that the score by Hans Zimmer is amazing. It goes to show that if you have someone like Hans Zimmer doing the music for your film, even if it’s a movie that’s as bad as Shark Tale, then you will come out with something nice to say about the movie at least. Even the licensed songs are pretty good. The licensed songs aren’t objectively bad, it’s just the way that the movie used them that makes them feel cringy, and on their own, they can be pretty fun to listen to. Admittedly, I am more on Schaffrillas’s side when it comes to Shrek The Third being the worst Dreamworks movie because to me, Shark Tale is definitely one of those so bad it’s good movies. If you want to talk about Grade A garbage, Shark Tale is undeniably Grade A garbage.

Wow! Will Smith is in this film! While Chris Rock and Jada Smith is in Madagascar! What a coincidence!

Seal of Garbage is Shark Tale Trolls Band Together Boss Baby

First and foremost, Shark Tale was just riding the coattails of Finding Nemo's success.

The movie came out the same year Shrek 2 came out

I’m gonna be honest here while I do agree that Shark Tale is a bad movie and among DreamWorks worst, I don’t hate it. In actuality, I consider this film in the category of so bad that it is actually entertaining.

I knew he was going to give to this the “AniMat Seal of Garbage”.

OH MY GOD, I F****** HATE SHARK TALE!!!🦈 (How this got a Best Animated Feature nomination over films like The SpongeBob SqaurePants Movie, Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, The Polar Express and Teacher’s Pet, I WILL NEVER KNOW!!!🤷‍♀) The story is a complete train-wreck filled with cliches and bad jokes! I still think the Finding Nemo similarities are more suspicious than just simple coincidence, since they were produced around the same time and this was released only one year after Finding Nemo!🤨 The animation and designs look absolutely atrocious, and it’s frustrating because I know the animators are better than this!😖 The characters are just unbearable to watch, and the voice cast’s talent is completely wasted here! (Well, except for Will Smith. I’ve never been a fan of him as an actor, but ever since the Oscars slap I’ve lost my respect for him as a person…🙄) THIS IS THE WORST FILM DREAMWORKS ANIMATION HAS EVER MADE AND IT GETS A 1/10 FROM ME!!!😾 Whew! I feel better now!😹 As for the next Classic Review, the song at the end sounded like it came from a Makoto Shinkai film, and you did say it's one of the most popular anime films. So I'm guessing it's either Your Name, Weathering With You or Suzume?🤔

Shark Tale was a guilty pleasure of mine growing up. I like will smith performance and their are moments where the humor was could bring out a laugh at times. But rewatching these days, yeah it really isn’t a good movie. The characters feel more like stereotypes and are pretty flat, the animation is really didn’t age well compared to finding Nemo, and the story is unoriginal and boring. So I agree that this is one Dreamworks’ inferior movies. Also, I still kinda find it strange how they got Martin Scorsese to voice a character in this movie. But then again Dreamworks got woody Allen to voice the main character in their first movie Antz. Obviously, anything possible when you use have Steven Spielberg on your team at the time.

Boy, AniMat sure gave Shark Tale the AniMat Seal of Garbage. He should watch Finding Nemo instead.

Screw the shark tale designs I like tho That Jim carry Fish is abomination against all tech and humanity

When it comes to "Shark Tale", I used to watch this on DVD and I did enjoy it, but looking back on it now, I can say with confidence that this film has not aged well. I mean, granted there are still some parts that I do find pretty funny, mostly with Luca the Octopus' clueless nature (especially the scene where he accidentally calls Don Lino while he's talking to Oscar), and some characters I do find decent and likable, like Lenny, Sykes, Luca, and Don Lino (the last of whom I find myself sympathizing with since while he is the head of a mafia, he's also a father who loves his kids and has every legit right to want to get back at Oscar), but everything else doesn't hold up much, if at all, to me. The main character, Oscar, or Will Smith Fish, is especially despicable, since he's trying to selfishly boost his social standing, uses the death of one of Don Lino's kids to get there, and makes some dumb decisions while doing so, such as betting the pearl that Angie gave him to get him out of Sykes' debt problems on a seahorse race (that especially was completely idiotic). Also, the fact that he didn't receive any karma for his lying makes the climax fall flat. As for Angie, I try to feel sorry for her because of Oscar's actions such as lying to her and ignoring her advice, but I can't because the movie forgot to establish WHY she has a crush on Oscar and why she's so supportive of him in the first place. Like, were they childhood friends? Did Oscar do something back then that made her fall for him? Is there something about Angie that we don't know that we should know?! In any case, the fact that we don't know why Angie loves Oscar causes me to not feel bad for her when Oscar takes his lies too far. At least with Lenny, he has a reason to make me feel sorry for him since his father initially doesn't approve of his dietary habits, and Jack Black does a great job in voicing him and making him sound emotionally vulnerable (heck, Jack Black is one of my favorite actors thanks to his roles in films like the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, "School of Rock", and "The Super Mario Bros Movie" to name a few). With all these problems, along with the cringey pop-culture references, Dreamworks' trope of using big celebrities to voice the characters not working well this time, and of course, the uncanny facial expressions on many of the characters, "Shark Tale" easily ranks as one of Dreamworks Animation's worst films. Without a doubt, I'll take "The Little Mermaid", "Finding Nemo" and "The Spongebob SquarePants Movie" over this one any day. I have no idea what's coming up next, but if it's said to be a better film than "Shark Tale", then I'll take it. And as for you, Will Smith Fish, in the words of Mr. Krabs, I have one last thing to say: "SO LONG, SHRIMP!"

If I had a nickel for every time dreamworks made an underwater movie that ended up failing I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice right

DreamWorks' worst movie as proclaimed by many.

Ugh, I wish you had reviewed The Little Mermaid (the original 1989 animated movie) instead of this crap.

Shark tale is one of the animated movie of all time.

Holy crab AniMat that reminded me of the time we almost got a movie with Jim Carrey being turned into a fish

It doesn’t help either that this came out 4 years after DreamWorks already did the liar revealed trope masterfully with The Road to El Dorado

Shark Tale didn't deserved all the hate that it got. I mean yeah it's far from perfect but some people act like this movie didn't have an audience, Well it did and even though this film wasn't "the must see movie of the year" when it came out a lot of people at least found it to be entertaining which is good enough.

14 year old me thought it was okay.😑 Early 30 year old me criged thinking why i thought this was okay. 🙄 It kinda shows how as they say, "The do grow wiser when you age." Hell, this movie is 20 years old, when ya think about it. 😅

It's a guilty pleasure of mine! Maybe it has something to do with nostalgia, but I still think it's hilarious! 8/10

9:02 One example DreamWorks did with that was with Reese Witherspoon in Monsters vs. Aliens.

Wow, I can't believed that 😪 I watched this movie in theaters in my childhood. And I was being way too generous to this film and liking as a kid. As I grew up as a adult, now I absolutely hated it. Out of all the animated films with liar revealed tropes, this is the WORST LIAR REVEAL TROPE in animated film I have ever seen in my entire life! The liar revealed trope is the cliché formalic trope trend in DreamWorks films like Antz, the Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar 3 Europe Most Wanted etc. Oscar lies to everyone that he killed a shark 🦈 just because he wants to be fame and rich 🙄. He is a freaking adult and he should've known better! He doesn't realized that shark is the son of a mafia boss! Franky the shark got killed by anchor that just came out of nowhere! Yup, that's our main protagonist ladies and gentlemen the protagonist who we supposed to rot for. Plus, Oscar should've tell the truth to Angie and his coworkers that Mr Sykes tries to murder him for not paying back money he owned him. Why the hell would Oscar still talk to Sykes who attempted to murder him?! Just like why would Charlie still talk to Carface after he attempted to murder him in the first All Dogs Go to Heaven?! Why would Angie still like Oscar and being too generous after he lied to her? She's so stupid! She should've left him! 🤦🏻 And Oscar could’ve become famous for uncovering his boss’ connections with the Shark mafia without having to even lie about killing a shark. I’m sure uncovering a higher up’s hidden crimes is worthy of getting praise and recognition than lying about something he wouldn’t even have the courage to do in the first place. I can forgive other animated films with liar revealed tropes like Aladdin, Chicken Run, The Tigger Movie, Clifford's Really Big Movie, Rango, Madagascar 3, Pokémon the Power of US and Klaus with liar revealed trope. But I cannot forgave Shark Tale with this liar revealed trope!

I actually liked this film. But that's probably because I'm not as freaked out as everyone else with the designs. Also, I was born in 2006. This was a film that I have nostalgia for.

Is it me or does the fish characters look like more Bratz toys than anthro fishes?!

I can’t believe you were able to review this film without bringing up Oscar’s, most idiotically despicable act in the film. For those who don’t know, the Renée Zellweger fish (Angie) gives him a pink pearl that belongs to her grandmother, so that he can pawn it off and get out of debt, and what does he do with the money? He bets it on the horse race! if that doesn’t give me a reason as to why I shouldn’t root for Oscar, then I don’t know what will.

Why did you not ask Schaffrillas if you want to feature him?

Yes! Yes! I was hoping you were gonna review this fishy garbage that feels like cringe.😂

I’m still relieved that DreamWorks didn’t waste Jack Black and Angelina Jolie’s potential in Kung Fu Panda. I hope they do the same with De Niro, Zellweger, Smith, and Scorsese (more as a director)

STORY: 1/10 ANIMATION: 6/10 CHARTERERS: 3/10 TOTAL: 3/10 💩

10:55 Mat after deciding not to collab with Schaffrillas for this review “Schaffrillas is coming to GET me!”

Sure, the characters suck Yes, the story is bland & dumb True, the animation is horrific..... But the music's good

For the next movie he’ll review, is it the Demon Slayer movie? He did say “most popular Japanese movie currently”

The only two saving graces for this movie is Jack Black as Lenny and Martin Scorsese as Sikes. (But mostly Sikes)

Nice review, Animat. I knew this was gonna get the Animat Seal of Garbage.

Are you doing a review first on Kung Fu Panda 4 or Megamind 2?

Jim Carrey instead of Will Smith would’ve been more interesting.

It was kinda cool to see Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the movie after "Casino" in 1995

I know this movie has an infamous reputation but I don't care. This movie was a major part of my childhood and I can't help but enjoy it. It's an extreme guilty pleasure movie for me. It was also released in the same year I was born. I will hold this film close to my heart as one of my childhood favorites.

Oscar : keep my wife’s name out of your f&#* mouth Oscar slaps marty

I honestly don't dislike Shark Tale, but it's not something I really go back to either.

You’re still hungry for a review Shark Tale? Well say hello to you’re old friend! (imitates blowing calvary trumpet and then Animat’s Shark Tale review gets posted)

5:57 Also, I'm kinda suprised I didn't hear about Jim Carrey fish until now. (Though at first glance, I thought that was a Seaman. XD) Now I cant decide if that would've been better or worse.

I can see why this movie got nominated for 2005 Best Animated Feature,since the original SpongeBob SquarePants movie was so much more entertaining and way better than this film.

If this was about mermaids and that Oscar is a Will Smith mermad, that would be funny.

I forgot how bad the script was in this film lol

This movie is 20 years old and it has aged worse than time itself. Also I like how Jack Black and Angelina Jolie voices two better characters two movies from now. Also why is killer whales there in Don’s undersea mafia? Does that feel weird for anyone?

Here's some alternate titles for what animated film could have replaced Shark Tale's nomination for Best Animated Feature: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Team America: World Police (I'm not personally a fan of Parker and Stone's works, but even I feel like this would be a better pick even if it uses puppetry for its form of animation.) Howl's Moving Castle (I know this was nominated in the 2006 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, but considering it was released in Japan THAT same year as Shark Tale, Shrek 2 and The Incredibles, it can QUALIFY for the 2005 Best Animated Feature category. Plus, it ensures that an ACTUAL animated film released in 2005 wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 2006 Academy Awards.)

I am so sorry that you had to review this movie.

I always thought that it was nominated for an Oscar because it has both Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese

Now i wanna see Mat review Monsters vs Aliens. Not because it's one of my all-time favorites (which it is), but because the guys who directed Shark Tale went on to direct Monsters vs Aliens. And now I wanna see if they've improved since last time. I mean, obviously, I think they have, but thats besides the point. I wanna see what Mat thinks. If only I had the money to request it. :p

Why did he gave a 5/10 to the animation ?! It was horrible!!!

Ahhhh Christ! Will Smith fish is terrifying

You what’s even funny that DreamWorks has to put my name on that movie. Why DreamWorks?

For me, this might shock you, But Shark Tale is NOT the worst DreamWorks movie I've seen from them, For me, it's an underrated gem, And I'll tell you why, The story can be sometimes be clumsy, especially the liar reveal trope, but at least it got me engaged enough. The animation can sometimes be unfinished but still can be enjoyable. The characters can be funny, At least in my opinion. So yeah, for me, it's a 7/10, Share you agree with me, If you don't, that's alright, I respect other people's opinions. And hey, I've seen DreamWorks films WAY worse than this. Again, share if you agree.🙂😚😊😉🙂

19:15 Schaffrillas in fish form.

Once Again Great Review Animat and Happy 20th Anniversary to Shark Tale The Film that many consider to be The Worst Film from DreamWorks Animation 🐠🦈

THIS ATROCITY WAS NOMINATED AT THE OSCARS

My guesses for what movie he’s gonna do next is either Your Name or Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.