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Many Big Name Stars Took Part in this Fun Animated Film

DreamWorks pulled out all the stops in its fun animated 2004 film "Shark Tale". Using a combination of advanced computer graphics and animation, New York City is transformed from a busy above-water city of people into a crowded underwater realm inhabited by an assortment of very colorful fish, arthropods and other assorted sea creatures. One of the reef's residents is a lowly cleaner-fish named name Oscar (voice of Will Smith). Oscar is not happy working at a swim-through whale-washing facility and dreams instead of being rich and famous. To try and make it to the top, Oscar made the mistake of borrowing a lot of money from the whale-washing facility owner, a puffer-fish named Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese). When Sykes decides that it's time for Oscar to pay-up, he sends his two jelly-fish henchmen, Ernie (voice of Ziggy Marley) and Bernie (voice of Doug E. Doug) to warn Oscar what's going to happen if he doesn't pay up. A female fish that also works at the whale-washing facility, Angie (voice of Renée Zellweger), secretly loves Oscar and offers to help him pay back his debt by giving him a huge pearl. En route to Oscar to pay him his 5000 clams at a race track, Oscar is easily coerced into betting the entire amount on a long shot, which he subsequently looses. Sykes then tells Ernie & Bernie to get rid of Oscar for good, but while tormenting him in open water, a shark suddenly shows up, but is accidentally killed when he swims into an anchor. The dead shark's brother, Lenny (voice of Jack Black), afraid to return to his father Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro), instead hatches a scheme with Oscar to make Oscar appear to have killed Lenny's brother Frankie (voice of Michael Imperioli). Oscar is immediately haled as a hero and suddenly gets what he always dreamed: fortune and fame, but having lied to achieve it, he looses Angie's respect and soon discovers that he's in some hot water with the other sharks. Frankie, who is a vegetarian shark, also uses the opportunity hide from his father and thus avoid having to live as how most sharks expect him to live. Just how long will Oscar and Frankie be able to maintain their phony story? You'll just have to watch this fun animated film to find out.

The quality of animation used in "Shark Tale" was quite good, but also not as realistic as Pixar's 2003 "Finding Nemo". Though the story in "Shark Tale" is often predictable, it was clearly intended for a young audience. The film did earn an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film, but that honor instead went to Pixar's 2004 "The Incredibles". Overall, for being an entertaining animated film, I rate "Shark Tale" with 4 out of 5 stars. Other stars who helped to bring this animated adventure life include Angelina Jolie (voice of Lola), Peter Falk (voice of Don Feinberg) and Katie Couric (voice of reporter Katie Current).