*** Official SHARK TALE Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Ernest Rister]

"The animation was “OK” but at times lacked fluidity and seemed “stiff” in comparison to Pixar work or Shrek."

I think the animation in Shrek is solid, but nowhere near Pixar's level. Compared to Monsters, Inc., Shrek is like a puppet show. The stiffness you see in SharkTale is par for the course when it comes to PDI/DreamWorks films.

The money SharkTale is making is sort of baffling -- I don't know anyone who really likes the movie, and this thing has outgrossed Sky Captain in little more than 48 hours.

 

[Joel C]

Shark Tale's success is, unfortunately, one more nail in the coffin for traditional animation. A traditionally animated middler like Home on the Range (which was on par with Shark Tale, story wise, and actually more entertaining, I thought) struggles to make $50 million, and Shark Tale can do it in a weekend.

Audiences haven't yet figured out that CG doesn't mean a good movie, or maybe the images make the movie seem better. All I know is, if Ice Age had been a 2-D Disney film, it would have made no more than $65 million (terrible script, I don't care what Oscar nom it got). And had it been #-D, Home on the Range would have made north of $100 million. Though good animated films can still make a splash (Lilo and Stitch made $150 million or so), the money doesn't compare to what CGI will make (I bet a CGI Lilo would have rivaled the grosses of Monsters Inc.).

I wish this wasn't the case, since I love 2-D and 3-D animation, and don't think the method of storytelling should matter so much as the story, but for now, it looks like CGI is all there will be.

 

[Ernest Rister]

To be frank, though, it didn't help matters that Home on the Range was so limp and Brother Bear so bad at the screenplay level. The screenplay for Ice Age looks like a Mamet script compared to the writing in Brother Bear.

Still, you're right about audiences showing up because of the novelty. Dinosaur also had a terrible script and it grossed $120 million. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is the anomaly in this bunch.

I think it is all going to settle out once the novelty wears off. I truly believe that in a few years, when everyone is making CGI films, people will come to once again appreciate hand-drawn animation. It isn't that people don't like or don't appreciate hand-drawn animation now, CGI is simply a new form that has captured the interest of the audience. I wouldn't even mind so much that Disney was making CGI features if they hadn't scuttled their hand-drawn department. I think they should have kept the hand-drawn tradition alive and cut it down to a single core team making a new feature every three or four years, just like Walt did back in the 50's and 60's. The hand-drawn films would become "events" again and recapture their unique appeal.

It would be such a great thing for Disney to make their bread and butter with their CGI films, and then, every three-or-four years, release something special in the hand-drawn medium -- films not so much child-oriented, but family oriented like the "old days". It would allow Disney to take some risks again in animation -- imagine a bold, hand-drawn take on some venerable classics like Dracula or Moby Dick or Where the Red Fern Grows.

If Chicken Little tanks, there is going to be panic on Buena Vista street -- I don't really expect it to, but sooner or later the novelty of CGI is going to wear off and then the films are going to have to rely on their scripts and storytelling, two areas Disney Feature Animation has been struggling with for a few years now. A CGI Brother Bear would be just as bad as the hand-drawn version...maybe worse, because the only thing I enjoyed about that movie was the hand-drawn, hand-painted backgrounds.

 

[Chris]

I'll say this.. what bothered me and bothers me more as I think about it, is how many stereotypical jokes and jibes there are in this film that really seemed out of place and.. somewhat wrong for a children's film. But maybe that's just me.

 

[Ernest Rister]

I'm not sure Shark Tale is a children's film. To me, there are huge distinctions between "children's films" and "family films". Thomas the Magic Train Engine is a children's film. VeggieTales the Movie is a children's film. Care Bears in Wonderland is a children's film. A children's film is a film made expressly for very young children.

A family film is different. A family film can be enjoyed by audieces from ages 6 to 100. Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Dumbo, My Neighbor Totoro, etc. Just because something is animated doesn't make it a children's film -- as films like Fantasia, Yellow Submarine, The Plague Dogs, Grave of the Fireflies, and Heavy Metal so ably prove.

As for SharkTale, I think it is a film for tweeners and up, just like Shrek and that miserable NBC sitcom, Father of the Pride. When Katzenberg created DreamWorks Feature Animation, he said they were going to aim for the teen and adult market, not so much the family market. He didn't really fulfill that goal with his hand-drawn films like Spirit, Sinbad, El Dorado, etc., but his CGI films and TV shows bear out that philosophy. Speaking personally, I think these efforts display a lack of taste and class. Pixar is defined by the charm and heart of their work, DreamWorks CGI is defined by dick jokes and "up yours" attitude.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Shark Tale" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Shark Tale" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[DustinPizarro]

I saw Sharks Tale last night and found it rather enjoyable. The only two characters that made it enjoyable were Lenny and Don Lino especially their scenes involving their "place of residence." Overall, it cannot beat anything out of Pixar but for a few laughs it wasn't that bad.

 

[LanieParker]

I thought the opening was cute. All the little jokes and what not (Katie Current, The Gup, Coral Cola,newsreef, shellphones) started off being cute, but then somehow just got less funny and seemed like they were trying waaaay to hard. Waaaaaay too many puns for my taste. It got old quick.

The story was pretty boring actually. I have to admit that after the first 10 minutes I just wasn't interested anymore. The animation wasn't really all that great.

My girls enjoyed it, but said it wasn't a movie they would go see again.

Definitely not a movie we would purchase.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Not a very good movie, but I've seen worse at the theaters in the name of entertaining my 9 year old (The Haunted Mansion...shudder...Scooby-Doo 2...groan).
The jokes, aside from being mildly offensive...just weren't funny. Jack Black and DeNiro were pretty good, but Will Smith was annoying...and I usually like him.
The animation when compared to Finding Nemo was like a hand drawn sketch by a two year old, and the story and charm were, well, nonexistant.
Anyway, has there been a good hand-drawn animated movie recently? The last one I remember was Tarzan...I don't mean anime either, as that has other issues that keep it from grossing large sums of cash. Miyazaki is a god of animation and film, but his films aren't exactly kid friendly. Not inappropriate, but possibly a little far over their heads!

 

[andrew markworthy]

I think they would now if someone could come up with a decent script. Sure, the animation in Shrek is wonderful, but I think I'd have enjoyed it just as much as a traditional 2-D drawn movie - it's the script that makes it enjoyable.
Haven't seen Shark Tale (it's out in a couple of weeks' time in the UK, but we've got tickets for a sneek preview next weekend). However, I've got to admit that the trailers and advance publicity don't have me as excited as e.g. I was about Shrek.

 

[CoreyII]

Haven't seen this film yet but from what I've gathered from the trailers, the Incredibles should smoke this film with no problem.

 

[ZacharyTait]

I just got back from this and I found it enjoyable. Not as good as Shrek 2. The animation was amazing, just about as equal as Finding Nemo.

The cast was terrific. I thought at first that Jack Black was out of place, but after a while I just accepted that he decided not to play a live wire for once. Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, and Renee Zellweger were good, but for me Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro stole the movie. Their scenes together were priceless.

I enjoyed the references, both pop-culture wise and movie-wise. Fish King, Gup, Coral Reef....etc. Since I'm a huge Godfather and Sopranos fan, it was right up my alley.

*** 1/2 out of ****