‘Shark Tale’ flounders

Can we all agree that computer-generated animated movies have lost their novelty?

I love them just as much as anybody—the “Toy Story” and “Shrek” series remain some of my favorite movies, but now that CGI has completely enveloped theatrical animation, it’s time to stop mollycoddling the newer films and start judging them based on their merits. It’s one thing to animate well, but you have to have some wit underlying that. It’s no longer cute just to see anthropomorphic animals engage in human activities, something “Shark Tale” does not seem to understand.

All right, there are fish that act like taxicabs. Enough. The young fish in “Finding Nemo” may have gone to “school,” but they did not live in tall apartment buildings made of coral reef or heed underwater traffic lights.

Not to say that “Shark Tale” is a necessarily bad film, but it’s coasting on the tails of its predecessors, expecting that everyone will love it based solely on the fact that it is computer-generated. The plot and characters are likeable, but they seem dumbed down, particularly considering the movie’s title was changed from “Sharkslayer,” an infinitely better if not entirely kid-friendly name.

The movie plays like an underwater mob picture. Pufferfish Sykes (voiced by Martin Scorsese, with the eyebrows to prove it) is the owner of a “whale wash” service being knocked around by the Shark Mafia, which is having some problems of its own. Lenny (Jack Black), the son of the mob chieftain Don Lino (Robert De Niro), is too timid to eat anything living, so the Don sends his brother Frankie (Michael Imperioli) to show him the ropes. During a “fish-eating” lesson, they encounter Oscar (Will Smith), an employee of the whale wash who is getting shaken up for going bad on an I.O.U. to Sykes. In the middle of the lesson, Frankie is killed by a wayward anchor, and Oscar takes the credit—and he’s soon called “Sharkslayer” by the overzealous fish media.

At first, Oscar loves the attention from everyone, especially a self-confessed superficial money-chaser named Lola (Angelina Jolie), but the sharks are out for revenge, which puts a strain on his life and his relationship with his best friend Angie (Renée Zellweger).

At least the vocal performances are great. Although Smith has the propensity to be a bigmouth (bass?), he still has some charm. Renée Zellweger has one of those lovably unique voices that are always a pleasure to hear. Jack Black gives a smile-inducing “golly-gee-whiz” persona to Lenny.

But then there is Martin Scorsese, from whom I would have never expected such an energetic performance. Just the very idea of the director of “Taxi Driver” trying to speak like a rapper—it’s too hilarious for words.

There are references to some great timeless motion pictures, like “The Untouchables,” “Raging Bull,” and the “Godfather” trilogy, which are much appreciated, and expected, for a modern-day gangster pic. But on the other hand, there are also numerous, unwelcome references to today’s popular culture that go nowhere. I can handle a few token references here and there, but in “Shark Tale” they’re practically omnipresent.

Now, come on: A clothing retail store called “GUP”? Celebrities named “Cod Stewart” and “Katie Current”? This is the kind of pun-laden writing you’d expect from an episode of “The Flintstones.” (Coincidentally – or not – both “Shark Tale” and “Flintstones” use “clams” as a monetary unit. Har har.)

The premise of the film alone is enough to elicit some laughter and enjoyment, but the filmmakers do not do enough with it. As a whole, when all is said and done, the film has a bland, milquetoast feeling to it that is certainly not worth the price of admission. In five years, chances are you’ll still be thinking about “Toy Story” and will show it to your friends when they want a good, friendly movie for the whole family. That won’t hold true for “Shark Tale.”