Shark Tale.

Saw Shark Tale last night. I had no plans to see it, but my friends were curious, so in we went.

I wanted to like it, because Shrek 2 had been a pleasant surprise. But frankly? About 20 minutes in, I started getting bored.

Make no mistake, the animation is quite good. Things look and move as they're supposed to; the fish look remarkably like their voice actors, so kudos to the artists for that. Some things are lovely--the transparency and movement of fins, for example. Lola's tail, in particular, with its faint suggestion of holographic sparkle, had me mesmerized.

On the other hand, I don't recall being particularly wowed by composition or color or what have you. Individual aspects of the visuals may look very good, but put them all together in an uninspired fashion and the result, no matter how intensively-rendered, still puts one in mind of the animation of the average Saturday-morning cartoon.

The script doesn't help matters much; there are only a few bright spots.
( Read more... )

On the bright side, the prime-time showing of Sky Captain at the same multiplex was sold out. Yeah, baby.

Shark Tale.

Saw Shark Tale last night. I had no plans to see it, but my friends were curious, so in we went.

I wanted to like it, because Shrek 2 had been a pleasant surprise. But frankly? About 20 minutes in, I started getting bored.

Make no mistake, the animation is quite good. Things look and move as they're supposed to; the fish look remarkably like their voice actors, so kudos to the artists for that. Some things are lovely--the transparency and movement of fins, for example. Lola's tail, in particular, with its faint suggestion of holographic sparkle, had me mesmerized.

On the other hand, I don't recall being particularly wowed by composition or color or what have you. Individual aspects of the visuals may look very good, but put them all together in an uninspired fashion and the result, no matter how intensively-rendered, still puts one in mind of the animation of the average Saturday-morning cartoon.

The script doesn't help matters much; there are only a few bright spots.
( Read more... )

On the bright side, the prime-time showing of Sky Captain at the same multiplex was sold out. Yeah, baby.