Shark Tale This movie was a classic for any family in the early 2000s. It had it all; talking fish, a great cast of voice actors, and of course, a great soundtrack. However, the one thing it doesn’t have is an accurate representation of how the ocean works. In all fairness, no one has watched this animated family comedy about realistic talking fish and thought angrily to themselves about how unrepresentative oceanography is. Still, it’s fun to explore some of the areas where the movie completely ignores logic in the name of storytelling.
Released in 2004, Shark Tale The film revolves around Oscar, a failed fish who (wrongfully) claims to have killed the son of a shark gang leader for power. The film was a critical and financial success, and continues to be one of the most quoted children's films of the era. The film grossed $374.6 million and became the ninth highest-grossing film of its year of release, and was even nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, losing to superheroes.
Parts of the ocean that shark tales don't tell
Clearly, the ocean is not a colorful, animated seascape that reflects the real world, where fish get jobs and participate in a rental market. It would be nice if it were, but most of us can agree that introducing capitalism to the ocean would not be the best thing for it right now.
Sharks are at alarming risk of extinction.
Since the title of the film refers to sharks, it makes sense that many of the errors are shark-related. The film makes a constant effort to force a certain image on viewers: that sharks spend all their time worrying about losing territorial control of the ocean. In fact, sharks are one of the most endangered marine life species today, and their situation has only gotten worse since the film was released in 2004..
A study in the journal Nature suggests that the number of sharks and rays in the ocean has declined by 71% over the past 50 years. So it seems that sharks have plenty of other concerns than losing their influence over coral reefs. Similarly, their declining numbers could be a cause for concern, as there are fewer sharks to control, so perhaps this has already been considered.
Sharks are not at the top of the food chain.
If we continue with this idea of control, it does not make sense for sharks to control the mafia. The real ocean has killer whales above sharks in the food chain, even feeding on parts of the great white shark.This falsehood becomes even more apparent in the mafia meeting scene where some killer whales are shown terrified of sharks.
In keeping with the theme of fear, Oscar would not be afraid of sharks. The blue-striped fish on which the film is based has a symbiotic relationship with sharks, eating dead tissue and parasites from their bodies. By cleaning up such larger animals, the sharks feed on themselves. So it seems odd that Oscar would be afraid of the very species he depends on for his survival.
Family units look a little different.
It is strange that a movie called Shark Tale It seems to be very reluctant to search for fish very deeply. To give more examples, the head shark, Don Lino, claims to raise his children, despite No true species of shark actually acts as a parental figure to its young after they are born.Another small detail you may have missed is when all the other sharks made fun of Lenny for being a vegetarian, while some species like the bonnetheads pretty much eat seaweed (along with some smaller crabs and snails). However, maybe real-world carnivorous sharks make fun of vegetarian species and humans just don't know it yet…
Magical Underwater Geography
There are other details that many people don't realize, such as the misrepresentation of what a lionfish actually looks like. When creating Lola's character, it seems appropriate to choose a different species, rather than just changing her appearance entirely on screen. Finally, the mafia's hideout is presented as the RMS Titanic, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, far from an exotic tropical reef. Shark Tales Well, that is unless some strong and comfortable ocean currents manage to move the ship across the world.
How do other animated films compare?
The only animated film set primarily in the ocean that has become more popular than Shark TaleHe is Finding Nemowhich has its own set of errors. The most obvious error is that Nemo's father, Marlin, would become a female shortly after his wife's death.Some other examples include how ocean currents are represented as narrow, when in fact they are not, and sea turtles tend to travel alone, only gathering in larger groups during nesting periods.
Another popular example appears in the 1989 Disney classic, The Little Mermaid. As with the hierarchy represented in Shark Tale, The marine life used within the Titan Kingdom seems unbalanced.There's no point in using average fish species to pull Sebastian's cart, while Flounder becomes Ariel's best friend and lives freely. And just like Lola's altered appearance, Flounder shouldn't look so colorful. It seems like he might Shark Tale Borrowed the wrong geography book from The Little Mermaidsince Sebastian has a Jamaican accent, and the film is set in Denmark.Maybe it took the same magical current that carried the Titanic.
Unless it's a documentary, you won't find a movie or TV series that does the ocean justice. The ocean is not a sentient being in the way. Moana It presents it as such, and there are no sea monsters that can turn into humans when they dry up, as in LucaWhich is a good thing. Who wants to watch an accurate retelling of these movies anyway?
