Shark Tale - 09/26/04

Written by: Rob Letterman, Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, Michael J. Wilson

Starring: Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese

Official Site

So, I'd seen the trailers, I knew who was starring in the film... and, over the past few years I've enjoyed much of the new animation that's been coming out of Dreamworks and Disney and Pixar.

So, I figured that this would be in the vein of the films that have come before it. Films geared towards children, with an adult comedic edge. Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Shrek...

The first thing that strikes me as odd is that there are four writers and three directors on this film. Looking up the credits on the Pixar films, I've noticed that there have been some projects that have had more than one director, such as Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Shrek, among others... so I cannot say that this is out of the ordinary. I suppose a project like this has many different kinds of input, with directors working on specific scenes, characters, etc... you've got many more people working on an animated feature than a live action feature (expect maybe The Matrix films)... so you dole out scenes to different directors, and you get everything done quicker?

Maybe, I don't know for sure... but what I do know is that this is, by far, the worst of the new crop of animated features I've seen.

I cannot tell you how badly I wanted to leave the theater. How completely unimpressed I was with every aspect of this film... except for Jack Black. And the biggest reason why he is so successful in this film is that you have no idea that it's Jack Black's voice. He acted out the character by changing his voice, and it was perfect.

But that's the only redeeming quality of the entire film.

Now, I don't know about you, but I've watched the trailer... and to me, it did not look like this film was going to be an urban comedy. Hopefully we're all on the same page when I say the word 'urban'. What I mean is the subculture that has come about over the last ten years or so. This entire film is infected with it.

With the success of Shrek and Shrek 2, Dreamworks figured they had another winner on their hands... but prior to its release and initial work, the must have thought that to reach the intended audience, they needed to make the film in a language that kids today would understand. And with that, they flooded the entire picture with useless urban comedy, slang and ridiculous imagery.

So much talent is wasted on this film, it's not even funny. Watching it, I couldn't believe my eyes what they had gotten De Niro and Scorsese to do... hearing some of the dialog come out of their mouths was just a travesty. Will Smith is Will Smith, pure and simple. The character was obviously molded around him, and it shows too clearly. There was no acting from him, what-so-ever, so we get Will Smith as Will Smith being Will Smith, which is pretty boring after you've seen him acting like himself in each and every feature film he's made. Don't get me wrong, I loved Bad Boys II.

Renée Zellweger was wasted here, as well as Jolie. It's a shame... the addition of their voices to this film did nothing for the overall entertainment value of the picture, which is kind of the point, right? Especially in an animated picture?

The plot, the writing, the characters, were so clichéd... it's just plain sad. Never in my life have I seen a film that had been picked from so many other films, as to make it completely unoriginal. Shouldn't the director(s) and writer(s) have said "OK, we've got this great idea for an animated film," taken the basic plot and ran with it in an interesting and imaginative fashion? The entire film felt like the writers and directors were on autopilot.

This is the second feature directed by Bibo Bergeron, the first being The Road to El Dorado, which was a boxoffice disaster. He's worked as an animator and story board artist... I don't know... I think he should stick to what he's good at. The other films he's worked on have all been Disney films for the most part... I suppose since, with the new crop of animation coming up, there is a shortage of directors, so you have to get what you can get... but Bergeron shows me nothing here.

Vicky Jenson was one of two directors on Shrek, so it's obvious how she got this gig. Shrek was a very popular movie, made a ton of money... she had proven herself. What happened?

And this is Rob Letterman's first writing and directing debut. It shows.

I won't even get into the other writers, except to say that someone thought the direction this film was headed was a good direction. I would love to know who that person was... so I can avoid their films in the future.

I'm trying to put my finger on it, but I cannot. What makes the Pixar films so much more enjoyable than the other animated features we're getting? Is it the artwork itself? Is it the writing? Is it a combination of the two? I know the directors are on to something, because each of the Pixar features that have come out have all been hugely successful films, both in the theaters and on DVD.

Dreamworks needs to have some quality control going on... this film is a huge trainwreck... one of the reasons why I couldn't get out of my seat... and I feel an embarrassment for the actors who lent their voices to this film... save Black, who I think did a tremedous job.

Boy, I'm being overly negative in this review, and I apologize to those who have read this far... but there are experiences in the theater that discourage me from wanting to become a screenwriter, and then there are ones, like this, that make me think there are morons heading the development of companies like Dreamworks... and that gives me hope. But then I think, people are going to see this film anyway, and it'll make money, and that's all they care about... so then I get depressed again... but then I think... I can do better, I have done better... make your own movie, and you'll never have to deal with these morons...

These specific morons, anyway.

Ok, enough on the milk box, or carton, or whatever they call it. Stay away from this film. Rent it... wait for cable. Whatever you do, don't go into this film thinking you'll see something original, unique, clever... you won't. You'll see something old, recycled, used up. You'll hear voices of actors (and a director) who you love, idolize, respect... and you will not believe your ears.

Except, again, for Jack Black.