| Shark Tale | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Nick Fletcher |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures[a][3] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes[4] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75 million[3] |
| Box office | $374.6 million[3] |
Shark Tale is a 2004 American animatedadventure film[1] produced byDreamWorks Animation. The film was directed byVicky Jenson,Bibo Bergeron, andRob Letterman, from a screenplay written by Letterman andMichael J. Wilson, and features the voices ofWill Smith,Robert De Niro,Renée Zellweger,Angelina Jolie,Jack Black, andMartin Scorsese. It follows an underachieving fish named Oscar (Smith) who falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss Don Lino (De Niro) in an attempt to advance his community standing. Oscar teams up with the mobster's younger son Lenny (Black) to keep up the facade.
Shark Tale premiered at theVenice Film Festival on September 10, 2004, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 1. It made $374.6 million worldwide against its $75 million budget, finishing its theatrical run as theninth-highest-grossing film of 2004. The film received mixed reviews from critics; advocacy groups criticized the film for its use ofItalian-American stereotypes. It was nominated forBest Animated Feature at the77th Academy Awards.
In the Southside Reef, Oscar is a lonelybluestreak cleaner wrasse who, in his childhood, dreamed of being a tongue-scrubber at the localWhale Wash like his father until he was cruelly mocked for it. Since working at the wash, Oscar now wishes to be rich and famous, but owes money to his boss and the Whale Wash's owner, apufferfish named Sykes. His best friend, an angelfish named Angie who has a secret crush on him, offers him a pearl that was a gift from her grandmother to pawn and pay his debt. Oscar brings the money from the pearl to aseahorse race to meet Sykes, but hears that the race is rigged and bets it all on a seahorse named "Lucky Day". A feisty redheadgold diggerlionfish named Lola sees this and seduces Oscar.
Sykes is annoyed that Oscar bet the money, but he hopes that Oscar might win. Lucky Day eventually takes the lead, only to trip and lose short of the finish line, revealing that the race was rigged against him. Sykes loses his temper and orders his twoJamaican henchmenjellyfish, Ernie and Bernie, to punish Oscar for his actions by banishing him from the reef. Meanwhile, Don Lino, the boss of a mob gang of sharks, orcas, sailfish, and octopuses, which Sykes works for, dislikes that his younger son Lenny is a vegetarian, and orders his older son, Frankie, to mentor Lenny. While Ernie and Bernie repeatedly sting Oscar, Frankie notices the scene and urges Lenny to eat Oscar. Lenny instead frees Oscar and tells him to escape. Frankie is enraged and charges at Oscar, only to be killed when ananchor from above the surface falls on his neck. Blaming himself for his brother's demise, a devastated Lenny leaves.
Returning to the reef, Oscar takes credit for killing Frankie and rises in fame as the "Sharkslayer". He moves to a luxury apartment at the "top of the reef", while Sykes becomes his manager and forgives his debt. Meanwhile, Don Lino has everyone search for Lenny and the Sharkslayer. Oscar encounters Lenny who, aware of Oscar's lie, begs Oscar to let him hide at his place to avoid returning to his father. Angie soon finds out about Oscar's lie and threatens to tell everyone, but he and Lenny convince her to keep it a secret. Oscar and Lenny stage a fight involving Oscar "fighting" off Lenny, thus cementing Oscar's notoriety and tricking the sharks into thinking that Lenny has been killed too, infuriating Don Lino. Lola kisses Oscar on camera, making Angie jealous. That night, as Lenny disguises himself as a dolphin, Oscar and Angie get into a heated argument, where she admits that she had romantic feelings for Oscar even before he became the Sharkslayer. A remorseful Oscar sadly reflects on his selfishness and dumps Lola, who beats him up in anger as payback.
Oscar visits the Whale Wash with gifts for Angie, only to discover that Don Lino has kidnapped her with Lola's help as revenge for being dumped. Don Lino threatens to eat Angie if Oscar does not give up his act and surrender, but Lenny "eats" Angie to save her. He soon regurgitates her, inadvertently exposing his true shark self to Don Lino. Believing that he turned his son against him, an enraged Don Lino chases Oscar through the reef. Oscar flees to the Whale Wash, accidentally trapping Lenny in the machinery before also trapping Don Lino. Everyone cheers for Oscar, but he finally confesses the truth behind Frankie's death while urging Don Lino to respect Lenny's lifestyle and not commit the same mistakes he made. A regretful Don Lino reconciles with Lenny and accepts him for who he is. Oscar forsakes all the wealth he has acquired; becomes co-owner of the Whale Wash, now frequented by the gang members; and reconciles with Angie, beginning a romantic relationship with her and living happily in the reef. Lola arrives at the penthouse to apologize to Oscar for her antagonism, only to encounter his deranged hermit crab friend Crazy Joe instead.
Additionally, animatorDavid Soren makes cameos as Horace, ashrimp and former enemy of Don Lino's, who escapes being eaten at a shark family meal courtesy of Lenny; aworm on a fishing hook whom Lenny also helps escape; and astarfish.
The film was officially announced and began production in 2002, under the title ofSharkslayer,[10][11] withVicky Jenson andBibo Bergeron directing from a screenplay byMichael J. Wilson, as well asMark Swift and Damian Shannon, who conceived the film's story. By September 2003, the film had been retitledShark Tale, to make it sound less violent and more family-friendly.[12][13]Bill Damaschke, the producer of the film, explained the title change: "In the beginning, we set out to make a movie a little more noir, perhaps a little darker than where we've landed."[14]Shark Tale is the first all computer-animated film produced atDreamWorks Animation'sGlendale facility, which previously animated the studio's hand-drawn animated movies, as well as their first computer-animated film to not be produced byPacific Data Images.[11]
James Gandolfini was initially set to voice the kingpin shark Don Lino. When he later dropped out,Robert De Niro took over the role.[11][15]
The film was produced concurrently withFinding Nemo, another animated film set underwater, which was released a year and a half earlier. DreamWorks Animation's CEO,Jeffrey Katzenberg, defended the film, saying that "any similarities are mere coincidence. We've been open with thePixar people, so we don't step on each other's toes."[15]
Burger King featured ten differentShark Tale action figures within its kids meals. Over 100 millionThe Coca-Cola Company products displayedShark Tale on their packaging. Specially-marked pouches ofMinute Maid andHi-C offered consumers a free movie voucher with three proofs of purchase, or directed them to free limited-timeShark Tale downloads at howdoyouhangout.com.[16]Shark Tale was featured on over 40 million packages ofGeneral Mills products, while specially-marked cereal packages came with one of fiveShark Tale mini video games inside.Great Clips sponsored a national sweepstakes awarding a trip toShark Tale's world premiere and other prizes, and promotedShark Tale onKasey Kahne's NASCAR race car.Hewlett-Packard, whose computers were used to create the film, sponsored onlineShark Tale games and activities.Krispy Kreme carriedShark Tale-themed doughnuts.[17]
Shark Tale was initially scheduled for release on November 5, 2004, but was later moved up to October 1. This shift was reportedly made to avoid competition withPixar'sThe Incredibles, which was released on the same weekend.[18] The film had its worldwide premiere on September 10, 2004, inPiazza San Marco inVenice, Italy.[19] Screening as part of theVenice Film Festival, it marked the first time that Piazza San Marco was closed for a premiere of a major feature film.[19] The film was projected on the largestinflatable screen in the world, measuring more than six stories tall and over 3,900 square feet (360 m2). It required 20,000 cubic feet (570 m3) of air to inflate and more than 50 tons of water for stabilization.[19] The premiere was attended by 6,000 visitors,[20] including Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, and Michael Imperioli.[19] Jeffrey Katzenberg, the executive producer of the film, explained that they "wanted to find a unique way to introduce this movie to the world. We needed a big idea. ... More than anything, we are in showbusiness. This is the show part."[20]
Shark Tale was released onVHS andDVD on February 8, 2005. The DVD contained behind-the-scenes featurettes, games and activities, blooper reels, an audition for the whale Gigi, the Car Wash music video featuring Aguilera and Elliott, and a short filmClub Oscar.[21] The film was released onGame Boy Advance Video on November 17,[22] and onBlu-ray on February 5, 2019 byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment.[23]
Shark Tale grossed $160.9 million in the United States and Canada and $213.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $374.6 million.[3] It was theninth-highest-grossing film of 2004.[24]
Shark Tale opened at #1 with $47.6 million, which was, at the time, the second-highest opening for aDreamWorks Animation film behindShrek 2 ($108 million).[25] It remained the #1 film in the U.S. and Canada for its second and third weekends.[26]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 35% of 183 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Derivative and full of pop culture in-jokes."[27]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[28] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[29]
Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, observing, "Since the target audience forShark Tale is presumably kids and younger teenagers, how many of them have seen the R-ratedGodfather and will get all the inside jokes? Not a few, I suppose, and some of its characters and dialogue have passed into common knowledge. But it's strange that a kid-oriented film would be based on parody of a 1972 gangster movie for adults." He also opined that younger viewers would have trouble enjoying a film about adult characters with adult problems, such as an elaborate love triangle and a main character wanting to clear his debt withloan sharks, and compared it to more successful fish-focused animated features likePixar Animation Studios'Finding Nemo, which Ebert felt featured a simpler plot that audiences could more easily identify with.[30]Richard Roeper commented that although the film was not on the same level asFinding Nemo, it was a film worth seeing.[31]
Todd McCarthy ofVariety was critical of the film's lack of originality: "Overfamiliarity extends to the story, jokes and music, most of which reference popular entertainment of about 30 years ago" noting that the script combinesThe Godfather andJaws, with a dash ofCar Wash. McCarthy calls Smith's character "tiresomely familiar", and Zellweger's "entirely uninteresting", but praises the vocal performance of Martin Scorsese.[32] Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter said the film was not as good asShrek, but called it "an overly jokey but often quite entertaining spoof that should please families everywhere."[33]
Shark Tale was criticized for perpetuatingnegative stereotypes of Italian-Americans in its antagonists.[34][35][36] PoliticianBill Pascrell said: "The prevailing message is negative and they have to be held out to dry for it. I'm a very proud Italian-American. When you stereotype me, it's like making fun of my grandparents".[34]Columbus Citizens Foundation issued a statement condemning the stereotyping of people with Italian names as gangsters.[37] Dona De Sanctis, deputy executive director of theOrder Sons of Italy in America, said: "We were very concerned about this type of stereotyping being passed on to another generation of children."[34] John Mancini, the founder of the Italic Institute of America, protested the movie, stating: "We're concerned about what preteens are learning from the outside world. They don't associate other groups as criminals, they only know Italians as gangsters. Our goal here is to de-Italianize it."[35] The protest was coordinated by theItalian American One Voice Coalition of New Jersey.[34] DreamWorks reacted by changing the name ofPeter Falk's character from Don Brizzi to Don Feinberg. However, Mancini demanded that everything Italian—character names, the mannerisms, the forms of speech—be dropped.[36]
Lenny, a shark voiced byJack Black, spends the film coming to terms with his vegetarianism, a trait deeply ostracised by his carnivorous family. Since the film's release, many have taken this as an allegory forhomophobia andself-acceptance—particularly in the context of Lenny's family environment, rife with "alpha male" types who mock his refusal to eat seafood.[38][39] TheAmerican Family Association, a Christian conservative organization, found fault with this aspect, suggesting that it was designed to "brainwash" children into supporting gay rights.[40][41][42]
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The film was nominated forBest Animated Feature at the77th Academy Awards, but lost toPixar'sThe Incredibles, along withShrek 2, another film produced byDreamWorks Animation.
| Shark Tale: Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | September 21, 2004 |
| Recorded | 2003–2004 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 50:33 |
| Label |
|
| Producer | |
| Singles from Shark Tale: Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| |
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[56] | 35 |
| U.S.Billboard 200 | 34 |
| U.S.BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 48 |
Shark Tale: Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on September 21, 2004. The soundtrack features newly recorded music by various artists, includingChristina Aguilera,Mary J. Blige,India.Arie,Bobby Valentino,Sean Paul,Timbaland,D12,fan_3,The Pussycat Dolls,Ludacris,Missy Elliott, andJustin Timberlake, as well as "Some of My Best Friends Are Sharks", the film's closing theme composed byHans Zimmer.
Janet Jackson andBeyoncé initially planned to record a duet for the film's soundtrack. Jackson's frequent collaboratorJimmy Jam, who had recently worked with Beyoncé forThe Fighting Temptations soundtrack, commented, "Obviously we'd love to have the involvement of Janet and Beyonce, who we just worked with onFighting Temptations. They've already expressed interest", adding "There are a lot of opportunities with an animated piece to work with some different people."[57]Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, had appointed Jackson's producersJam & Lewis to be involved with the soundtrack, though the duo only ended up producing only one song for the film, with Jam saying "We worked for DreamWorks before on theBryan Adamssong forSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and theBoyz II Mentune forThe Prince of Egypt, and Katzenberg is a fan of what we do. He thought we would be perfect to do the music forShark Tale."[57]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Three Little Birds" (Sean Paul andZiggy Marley) | Bob Marley | Stephen Marley | 3:37 |
| 2. | "Car Wash (Shark Tale Mix)" (Christina Aguilera featuringMissy Elliott) | Norman Whitfield (additional lyrics by Missy Elliott) | Missy Elliott,Ron Fair | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Good Foot" (Justin Timberlake andTimbaland) | Timberlake,Timothy Mosley | Timbaland | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Secret Love" (JoJo) | Samantha Jade, Jared Gosselin, Phillip White | White, Jared | 4:00 |
| 5. | "Lies & Rumors" (D12) | DeShaun Holton, J. Rotem, Denaun Porter, O. Moore, V. Carlisle, Rufus Johnson, M. Chavarria | Denaun Porter | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Got to Be Real" (Mary J. Blige featuringWill Smith) | David Foster, David Paich &Cheryl Lynn | Andre Harris,Vidal Davis | 3:33 |
| 7. | "Can't Wait" (Avant) | Damon E. Thomas, Antonio Dixon, Harvey W. Mason, Eric Dawkins, Steven Russell | The Underdogs | 3:44 |
| 8. | "Gold Digger" (Ludacris featuringBobby Valentino andLil' Fate) | Alonzo Lee, Shamar Daugherty,Christopher Bridges,Bobby Wilson, Arbie Wilson | The Trak Starz | 3:47 |
| 9. | "Get It Together" (India.Arie) | Drew Ramsey, Shannon Sanders,India Arie Simpson, Dana Johnson, Mel Johnson | India.Arie, Sanders, Ramsey | 4:54 |
| 10. | "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" (The Pussycat Dolls) | Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan | Ron Fair | 3:51 |
| 11. | "Digits" (Fan 3) | Allison Lurie, Paul Robb, David Clayton-Thomas, Fred Lipsius | BitCrusher | 3:41 |
| 12. | "Sweet Kind of Life" (Cheryl Lynn) | James Harris III,Terry Lewis, Cheryl Lynn,Bobby Ross Avila,Issiah J. Avila, Tony Tolbert,James Q. Wright | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | 3:59 |
| 13. | "Some of My Best Friends Are Sharks" (Hans Zimmer) | Hans Zimmer | Hans Zimmer | 3:25 |
| Total length: | 50:33 | |||
A video game based on the film was released on September 29, 2004, forMicrosoft Windows,Xbox,GameCube,PlayStation 2, andGame Boy Advance.[58] Published byActivision,Edge of Reality developed the console versions of the game, whileVicarious Visions developed the Game Boy Advance version, andAmaze Entertainment developed the Microsoft Windows version.[58] The cast from the film didn't reprise their roles in the game, except David P. Smith reprising his role as Crazy Joe.
The first annual Kiera Chaplin Limelight award was presented to Vicky Jenson, co-director of DreamWorks' animated blockbuster Shrek and the upcoming Shark Tale (formerly Sharkslayer).
In 2004, the AFA went after the movie 'Shark Tale,' because the group believed the movie was designed to brainwash children into accepting gay rights.
Make no mistake. This is not a joke or a parody. The AFA is serious.
