Synopsis

Oscar, a fast-talking fish stuck in a low-level job, becomes an overnight celebrity after taking credit for the death of a powerful shark's son. His fabricated story brings fame and influence, but it also places him in the path of the shark mafia. Oscar eventually joins forces with the dead shark's gentle, vegetarian brother to keep the dangerous lie alive.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was originally titled "Sharkslayer." DreamWorks changed the name roughly a year before release because the original title sounded too violent for a family audience. The earlier title remains audible in the song played over the end credits.

• "Shark Tale" was the first fully computer-animated feature produced at DreamWorks Animation's Glendale facility. It was also the studio's first computer-animated feature not made by Pacific Data Images.

• The production overlapped with Pixar's "Finding Nemo," which had already made an underwater animated adventure a major hit. DreamWorks maintained that the similarities between the projects were coincidental.

• James Gandolfini was initially attached to provide the voice of Don Lino. After Gandolfini departed, Robert De Niro assumed the role, reinforcing the film's numerous references to gangster movies.

• Several characters were designed with the appearance of their voice performers in mind. The approach is especially noticeable in the character modeled after Will Smith's Oscar and in the resemblance between Don Lino and Robert De Niro.

• The film opened in the United States on October 1, 2004, with a domestic opening weekend of approximately $47.6 million. It ultimately earned about $374.6 million worldwide and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.