Shark Tale

The kind of flashy and colorful but insultingly trite Hollywood regurgitation that too often gets a pass under the excuse that "it's just a kids' movie," this computer-animated comedy begins with a brief burst of imagination, establishing its setting in an amusing coral-reef metropolis. Then the characters start speaking, the plot kicks in, and it's all downhill from there. Blindly adlibbing his way through a thin script full of dated pop-culture jokes ("Whoop, there it is!"), Will Smith voices a shallow, bottom-rung Everyfish whose self-centered life revolves around forever-failing schemes to get "rich and famous." Just by chance, this worthless cliché finds himself pretending he's killed the sissy son (Jack Black) of a mobster-like Great White shark (Robert De Niro) who threatens the reef, thus achieving false-hero celebrity status, but failing to realize that the sharks will be out to get him now. Following a shopworn story arc, disingenuous last-scene apologies are trotted out to fix everything, especially with the doormat girlfriend (Renee Zellweger) whom our hero has mistreated throughout the picture. But, it's just a kids' movie, right? Not recommended. [Note: Available in widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary (by directors Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, and Rob Letterman), a “Club Oscar” section with a three-minute dance sequence, a 17-minute “Get Your Groove On” learn-to-dance sequence (including a warm-up “The Hustle” and “Shrimp Moves,” hosted by choreographer Hihat and featuring 11-year-old contemporary music video staple Alyson Stoner), the production featurettes “Star Fish” on celebrity voices (11 min.), “Rough Waters” technical goofs (2 min.), “The Music” (4 min.), and “A Fishified World: Gettin' Fishy with It” (6 min.), the massive interactive guide “A Tour You Can't Refuse” featuring seven sections that include galleries, layouts, drawings, props, and hidden icons (whew!), a brief interview with “Gigi the Whale,” a “DreamWorks Kids” section with a “Sykes' Jukebox” menu to jump to 10 song/scene segments, a music video for “Car Wash” featuring Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott, “Fin-Filled Scenes” including five jump-to-scene sections (with categories such as “Laugh Out Loud,” “Gross Out!”, “Lenny & Oscar,” “Must Sea Games” “Disguise Lenny, and “Place Your Bets”), the marine life guessing game “Fish Eat Fish,” an Easter egg color script gallery, text cast/filmmaker bios, and trailers. Bottom line: a whale of an extras package for a minnow of a film.] (R. Blackwelder)