Shark Tale (PG, 2004)

Oscar (voice of Will Smith) is a little fish who dreams of fame and fortune. When his blowfish boss, Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese) says he needs the $5000 Oscar owes him, pretty receptionist Angie (voice of Renee Zellweger) gives him her family heirloom pearl, which Oscar sells, but then loses the money gambling. Sykes' Rasta-jellyfish henchmen (voices of Doug E. Doug and Ziggy Marley) take Oscar out to rough him up, but a mix-up occurs in which Sykes henchmen believe that Oscar has killed a shark, and the little fish returns home as the celebrated "The Shark Slayer." Oscar enjoys the high life until the sharks come searching for him. Meanwhile, shark Lenny (voice of Jack Black) runs away from home because he can't be a predator like his pop (voice of Robert De Niro) and the other sharks. Lenny teams up with Oscar. They decide stage a fight in which Oscar will pretend to kill Lenny, then the sharks will be too scared to come after Oscar. And Lenny can start a new life. But it's not a very good plan, as Lenny and Oscar soon find out.

This hip-hop/mob action comedy set undersea is fast, fresh, fun, and finny ... er, funny. Okay, you watch the movie and see if you don't come out making silly jokes like that. This isn't a classic like Finding Nemo or Shrek, but it throws so much at you so fast you will be too busy enjoying yourself to notice.

The plot is nothing special, but the visuals are, with eye-popping color and wonderfully expressive fish faces, hilariously funny and surprisingly touching. The voice talent is top-notch and the animators have managed to bring the essence of the actors to the characters. Don Lido has De Niro's birthmark on his cheek and Oscar has Smith's eyes and mouth. There are dozens of gags and pop-cultural references and some bright musical numbers that keep things moving briskly, with a remake of the Rose Royce "Car Wash" song by Missy Elliot and Christina Aguilera a highlight.