Honestly there is a side of me that just wants to say ‘this movie sucks and I hate it’ and be done with this review. I really have nothing nice to say about Shark Tale but for the sake of the series I will share with you my thoughts.

So here we go: Shark Tale is not really about a shark at all. It’s about a fish named Oscar who is a complete jerk and loser. You might not realize he is a fish because he stands upright and there are no bubbles or other fish-like attributes. All the fishes look more like lizards than fish and I hate that.

Oscar lives in an underwater city called Reef City where the main population is fish puns. We get such great humor as stars named Katie Current and Jessica Shrimpton. They also have a fast food restaurant called Fish King instead of Burger King- which is really kind of confusing when you think about it.

All this would be fine if the story was decent but it totally sucks. Oscar is a selfish creature who is constantly in debt and lying to all around him. Reef City is over-run with organized crime including Oscar’s boss Sykes and a group of sharks that are run like an Italian mob family.

One of these sharks is named Lenny (Jack Black) and his big shame is he is a vegetarian- a fact that is too feminine and weak for his crime boss father (Robert Deniro). They make a lot of mafia movie jokes and references. This can be funny like in Zootopia but they fall flat here. I didn’t laugh one time.

There is a groan worthy plot where Oscar gets mistaken as a mighty Sharkslayer and there is a media storm. The movie seems like it is trying to say something about media but it ends up feeling very cynical and strange.

There are also 2 female characters that are uncomfortable. Angie (Renee Zellweger) is the girl fish Oscar literally steals from and Lola (Angelina Jolie) is there to be a sexy temptation although why either would be wasting their time on Oscar I have no idea. Oscar is also a compulsive gambler and puts up Angie’s grandmother’s pearl at the track, which is a trashy thing to do (nice protagonist Dreamworks).

The only characters I remotely like are 2 jellyfish (Ziggy Marley and Doug E Doug) that are total Jamaican stereotypes but at least they are a little bit fun and they are supposed to be standing upright like that, so the animation is more pleasing.

The sentimentality between Lenny and his Dad at the end is completely unearned and tacked on and Oscar is never punished for lying and being a terrible fish.

I hate the animation in Shark Tale. I hate the humor. I hate the character designs. I hate the lack of bubbles and the fact it looks like it could be above the water. I hate the bloated celebrity voice cast. I hate the way the female characters are treated. I hate the lead protagonist Oscar. I hate the co -lead protagonist Lenny. I hate the mafia jokes and storyline. I hate all the puns and the patronizing humor for the adults.

There are a few good hip-hop songs which are fun but that’s about it.

I HATE THIS MOVIE!!!

It’s awful and is without a doubt one of the worst mainstream animated films of the last 20 years and definitely one of the worst to receive a Best Animated Movie Oscar nomination (For Shame!!).

This movie sucks

Overall Grade- F