Shark Tale (2004)

I finally got around to viewing this one as I think of myself as a (very) minor animation buff and like to see what the world of U.S. digital animation is now producing.  The film, however, despite all the technical advances is not really one for posterity.  Winking in a knowing kind of way at the adults in the audience and laden with product placement, this is the story of a small fish in a very big ocean who claims notoriety for being a "sharkslayer"; he's a fraud until he realises that he will lose the girl-fish of his dreams and makes a clean breast of his deceptions.  As one would expect from Dreamworks, the animation was well realised, but they just are not Pixar when it comes to giving the movie a human heart.  What they thought they would accomplish by using celebrity voices (Will Smith, Robert DeNiro, Jack Black, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie and even Martin Scorsese -- no doubt he thought it would be fun) is anyone's guess, as they do detract from the overall enjoyment.  However, the film is still better than many, but just not up among the very best.