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"SHARK TALE" (2004) (voices of Will Smith, Robert De Niro) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Mild Heavy *Moderate None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None Moderate Mild *Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Mild Minor Moderate Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Animated Comedy: A little fish with big dreams must contend with threats from a shark mafioso while living the high life following his newfound but false reputation of being a great shark slayer. PLOT: Oscar (voice of WILL SMITH) is a little fish at the bottom of the food chain who dreams of one day living in a penthouse at the top of the reef overlooking a Manhattan-style, underwater metropolis. In the meantime, he's employed at the local Whale Wash where he and others, such as Angie (voice of RENÉE ZELLWEGER) who's smitten with him, work for Mr. Sykes (voice of MARTIN SCORSESE). He's a fast-talking puffer fish who's getting the squeeze from shark mafioso Don Lino (voice of ROBERT DE NIRO). Accordingly, Sykes sends his two jellyfish goons, Ernie (voice of ZIGGY MARLEY) and Bernie (voice of DOUG E. DOUG), to get the $5,000 out of Oscar that he owes his boss. At the same time, and when he's not trying to extract more clams from the likes of Sykes and others, Don Lindo is trying to groom his sons to take over the business one day. To his dismay, Lenny (voice of JACK BLACK) is nothing like his vicious brother Frankie (voice of MICHAEL IMPERIOLI), and unbeknownst to anyone else is a closet vegetarian. The disparate groups of aquatic life come together when Frankie wants Lenny to eat Oscar who's been tied up and tortured by the jellyfish thugs. Following an accident where a dropped anchor kills Frankie, the jellyfish think Oscar did the deed and report that back to Sykes and others. Soon ace TV reporter Katie Current (voice of KATIE COURIC) is on the scene reporting that Oscar is a shark slayer, drawing the attention of gold digger Lola (voice of ANGELINA JOLIE). After being consoled by fellow shark Don Feinberg (voice of PETER FALK) and his right-hand octopus, Luca (voice of VINCENT PASTORE), Don Lino vows to get revenge on Oscar. He's now living the high life thanks to his newfound reputation but must deal with living up to it, all while befriending Lenny and being oblivious to how Angie feels about him. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Since it's an animated offering featuring talking animals, it's a good bet many younger ones will want to see it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For some mild language and crude humor. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: It's debatable whether kids view animated characters (particularly non-human ones) as role models, but here's a quick look at their major characteristics. OSCAR is an impulsive little fish with big dreams who lies about being the shark slayer in order to live the high life. He befriends Lenny and eventually sees the errors of his ways. DON LINO is the shark mafioso who's putting the business squeeze on Sykes and isn't accepting of Lenny's differences. He also vows revenge on Oscar for Frankie's death. ANGIE is Oscar's coworker at the Whale Wash who isn't happy that he's oblivious to how she feels about him and the fact that he's living a lie. LENNY is Don Lino's son who's a different kind of shark and is sad that his father won't accept him for who and what he is. LOLA is a sultry gold digger who only comes around Oscar when she thinks he's rich or famous. SYKES is Oscar's boss, a hyperkinetic puffer fish who has his goons rough up Oscar for some money he owes, but then befriends Oscar when he thinks he can make money off him. ERNIE and BERNIE are the Rastafarian type jellyfish who work as Sykes' thugs and rough up Oscar for that money. FRANKIE is Lenny's brother who tries to make him act like a "normal" shark. LUCA is Don Lino's right-hand octopus. KATIE CURRENT plays an assertive reporter who turns Oscar into a celebrity. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this animated comedy that's rated PG. Various colorful phrases are uttered, and some minor profanity is possibly present (but may be other, sound-alike words), as is some non-explicit, sexually related dialogue. Additionally, a female gold digger fish acts sultry/sensuous toward a male fish. A dropped anchor accidentally kills a shark, sharks chase and try to bite/eat others, some jellyfish repeatedly shock and rough up the main character, and other hitting and related physical contact is present. Some of that material may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to very young kids. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some brief (and undersea) smoking and drinking occurs. Several instances of crude humor occur, and some tense family material (a family death and a father not accepting a son for who/what he is) and imitative behavior are present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Sykes has some champagne. Some sharks raise a toast. BLOOD/GORE A character comments about a whale that looks as if it's going to be sick, "She's gonna blow." The whale then belches and some green goo slops onto Oscar. We see Oscar with a black and swollen eye from what the jellyfish thugs did to him. Sykes shows a food chart where Oscar is at the bottom, just below "whale poo" (we see a crude sketch of a pile of that on the chart). Don Feinberg lets out a fart and a fish behind him passes out from the smell. After accidentally swallowing Oscar into his mouth, the vegetarian Lenny starts to get the heaves and says, "I think I'm gonna puke" (but he doesn't). Ink shoots out from a scared octopus (jokingly meant to suggest something else). There's a mock hemorrhoid ad where it states that Preparation O slays hemorrhoids like sharks. Trying to act like a tough guy porpoise in front of his father who doesn't recognize him, Lenny (in such a disguise) swallows Angie, but then starts to feel sick again. He then vomits her up (along with other objects, such as a license plate that another shark quickly eats). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Don Lino and his associates are all members of the mob who put the squeeze on businesses and conduct other organized crime activities. Don Lino also wants Oscar dead. Sykes orders his thugs to rough up Oscar for the money he owes him. He then acts friendly toward Oscar when he thinks he can make some money off him. It's possible some viewers could be offended by some of the stereotypes (Italian-type sharks being mobsters, some Jamaican jellyfish being the usual Rastafarians, etc.). Rather than use the money he got from Angie's pearl to pay back his debt to Sykes, Oscar instead places all of it on a sea horse race. Lola is only interested in Oscar when she thinks he has money or fame (that will make him rich). Oscar lies about killing Frankie and then gloats over his new reputation as the shark killer. Lola states that Angie is a "nobody." We hear that Don Lino's thugs have kidnapped Angie. A shark spots the sexy Lola and states, "If I wasn't married." We see that Lola is now in cahoots with Don Lino. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers, but older kids and adults likely will have little if any such reaction to the material. A worm used as bait on the end of a fishing line gets nervous when dropped into the water. We then hear the theme music from "Jaws" playing and see a large mass moving from a distance toward the worm (which turns out to be Lenny who frees the worm). Don Lino orders Lenny to eat a live shrimp (a cute little animated character that pleads for him not to), but Lenny can't and lets him and his little friends escape. After Lenny won't eat Oscar, Frankie menacingly races toward the small fish (who's still bound) and bites at him, but an anchor from above drops down and hits Frankie, mortally wounding him (he dies a few moments later, played for comedy). There's a report that a shark has been sighted along the edge of the reef and Oscar knows that he must go out there (due to his newfound reputation), but is scared to do so as he does. We hear that Don Lino's thugs have kidnapped Angie. Don Lino chases after and tries to bite Oscar who manages to escape, with Don Lino's face then getting stuck in a ship's porthole. Don Lino chases after and repeatedly bites at Oscar through a whale wash building where Don Lino runs into and damages some things during the chase. Oscar eventually captures Don Lino in the whale washing equipment, rendering him harmless. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Mack daddy," "Yo dude," "You the fish," "Angie needs to get her freak on" (presumably meaning to dance), "It's a fish eat fish world," "He had an accident...he was born," "You're fired," "Stop your moaning," "She's gonna blow," "My brother from another mother," "You go boy," "That's messed up," "You're a nobody," "Sucker," what sounded like "For the halibut," "Capeesh?" "Moron," an incomplete "What the..?" "Let's get this party started," "You're gonna flip," "Are you crazy?" "Oop, there it is," "Get your butts home," "You dig, dawg?" "Yo diggy dawg," "Get your tail in there," "Snuggly, buggly, wuggly," "Shut up," "Kicked his butt," "Too late, veggie boy," "Holy mackerel," "I think I'm gonna puke," "Are you not entertained?" "Don Lame-O," "You was the bomb," "Knock it off," "Will you stop screwing around?" "Are you out of your mind?" "Say hello to my little friends" and "You big, dumb dummy-head." Some fish children have "painted" graffiti on a billboard but then start to sweep it away under orders from Oscar. We later see that they've done the same elsewhere. A little shrimp gives some sort of demeaning hand and arm gesture back at Don Lino. Sykes puts his hand to his own butt, making a sizzling sound upon contact. Kids set off a fire hydrant (under water). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of ominous and suspenseful music (including the theme from "Jaws") plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) We hear the beginning lyrics of "Baby Got Back" that state, "I like big butts and I cannot lie." PROFANITY At least 1 possible "ass" and "hell" (although the latter might have been "halibut" standing in for "hell of it"). SEX/NUDITY A whale goes through the Whale Wash and states, "It's mating season and I'm feeling lucky." Oscar states that he "wants some of that" (the good life), not realizing he's pointing at a middle-aged female character (looking frumpy). He then says no when Angie asks if he was talking about that woman. The sultry Lola swims about and generally acts in a sexy fashion toward Oscar. Lola acts sensuously toward Oscar and pushes him back against a wall. A shark spots the sexy Lola and states, "If I wasn't married." SMOKING A mob shark smokes (underwater). TENSE FAMILY SCENES Lenny sees his brother die before his eyes and then there's a brief funeral scene, but that's it for tense family material related to that particular element (other than Don Lino wanting revenge). Lenny asks what's wrong with him, wondering why his dad won't accept him for who and what he is. Don Lino and Lenny have some father/son tense family moments when Don Lino is mad at Lenny for not being the kind of shark Don Lino would expect, but Don Lino accepts him at the end. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Revenge. People who dream that riches and/or fame will make them happy. Lola is only interested in Oscar when she thinks he has money or fame. Lenny asks what's wrong with him, wondering why his dad won't accept him for who and what he is. Later, Oscar asks Don Lino about Lenny, "Everybody loves him the way he is. Why can't you?" Some may see a cross-dressing reference regarding Lenny (a shark) dressing up like a porpoise and his father not being happy about that (or that he's "come out of the closet" as a vegetarian). VIOLENCE Frankie smacks undersea flowers from Lenny's "hands" and then smacks him across the face. One of the jellyfish thugs shocks Oscar who's then thrown by one of them into Sykes' office. We later see Oscar with a black and swollen eye from what they did to him. Oscar accidentally smacks face-first into a post. Sykes pops one of his jellyfish thugs on the head. The jellyfish have Oscar tied up and repeatedly zap him with their tentacles (so much that each time we briefly see his illuminated skeleton). Frankie smacks Lenny on the face. After Lenny won't eat Oscar, Frankie menacingly races toward the small fish (who's still bound) and bites at him, but an anchor from above drops down and hits Frankie, mortally wounding him (he dies a few moments later, played for comedy). Oscar accidentally hits one of the jellyfish in the eye. Katie knocks other characters aside to get to Oscar for her story. A shark smacks another shark on the head. As part of a mock fight to make Oscar look like the shark slayer, Oscar knocks Lenny back through a Jaws billboard. He then spins him around and throws him into an electronic billboard that sparks from the impact. Lola repeatedly smashes Oscar into a glass window. Don Lino chases after and tries to bite Oscar who manages to escape, with Don Lino's face then getting stuck in a ship's porthole. Little shrimp, wanting revenge, then all jump onto Don Lino's face, attacking him. Don Lino chases after and repeatedly bites at Oscar through a whale wash building where Don Lino runs into and damages some things during the chase. Oscar eventually captures Don Lino in the whale washing equipment, rendering him harmless. One of the Jellyfish accidentally shocks Sykes in a group hug. Reviewed September 23, 2004 / Posted October 1, 2004

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