Released in 2004, Shark Tale, an animated Dreamworks film about a fish (Will Smith) who recruits a shark to help him convince his nautical neighborhood that he'd killed a shark mob boss, might not have managed to fill the enormous shoes left open by the previous year's Finding Nemo. But it remains surprisingly rewatchable, even if its premise is rivaled in head-scratching weirdness only by Bee Movie. (Really? The mob? That's the best plot they could come up with?)
Either way, the movie is gleefully silly and quite a bit more fun than it sounds. It also boasts an impressive ensemble cast. Will Smith is joined by Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, and Renee Zellweger, to name a few. The other two big names, though, are among the last people you'd ever imagine would to join a movie about cartoon fish, but they're the first people you'd think would be attached to a mafia flick. Robert De Niro, of all people, plays the shark mob boss, and — get this — legendary director and not-at-all-an-actor Martin Scorsese plays a pufferfish loan shark in his first-ever voice-acting role. He's not half bad. (Sopranos fans should also keep an ear out for Michael Imperioli as the mob boss' son, Frankie.)
While it's largely been forgotten today, Shark Tale was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, ultimately losing to The Incredibles. But with all due respect to Pixar, their film doesn't have a single shark mobster. Not one.
