SEE-WORTHY WHY THESE ACTORS ARE HOOKED ON THEIR ANIMATED `SHARK TALE' CHARACTERS.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer DreamWorks' new animated offering, ``Shark Tale,'' boasts a flashy group of vocal talent, a lineup that studio co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg describes as ``one of the most amazing casts for any kind of movie - ever!'' The question is: Does anybody care? The two biggest hits in animation history - ``The Lion King'' and ``Finding Nemo'' - had no vocal superstars. The ``Shrek'' movies had three - Mike Myers Mike Myers may refer to:
But do you remember the voices of Sandra Bullock or Michelle Pfeiffer or Steve Martin Noun 1. Steve Martin - United States actor and comedian (born in 1945) Martin in ``The Prince of Egypt'' or Mel Gibson Noun 1. Mel Gibson - Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956) Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. doing John Smith in ``Pocahontas''? We didn't think so. So despite a cast that includes Will Smith, Robert Smith, Robert, 1757–1842, U.S. government official, b. Lancaster, Pa. Admitted to the bar in 1786, he practiced law in Baltimore before serving in the Maryland state senate (1793–95) and in the Baltimore city council (1798–1801). De Niro Noun 1. De Niro - United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943) Robert De Niro , Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Martin Scorsese Noun 1. Martin Scorsese - United States filmmaker (born in 1942) Scorsese , ``Shark Tale,'' like all animated movies, will sink or swim on the strength of its story. That said, the DreamWorks animators couldn't resist incorporating the facial features Facial Features See also anatomy; beards; body, human; eyes. gnathism the condition of having an upper jaw that protrudes beyond the plane of the face. — gnathic, adj. and mannerisms of their high-powered cast into their fish counterparts. The movie is as much about their personalities as it is a story of a little fish named Oscar who learns to be himself. Here, the actors and animators elaborate on testing the waters with this big-budget offering. The fish: Oscar The voice: Will Smith The character: Big talker, big dreamer, likes the bling-bling, lies about slaying a shark so he can live the high life. Smith on Oscar: ``He's a small fish in a really big pond, but in his mind, he's a really big fish in a really small pond. So there's a collision of reality and perception.'' Smith on his animated likeness: ``I didn't know they were going to make it resemble me that much. It's the ears, the perfect resemblance of the ears. It's fun. My kids love it.'' Animators on Smith: ``Will's already a bit of a cartoon in real life, so we didn't have to stretch,'' says co-director Bibo Bergeron. ``Because he talks so much with his hands, we changed our design and incorporated that. That's why Oscar has hands.'' The fish: Lenny The voice: Jack Black The character: Vegetarian shark who doesn't want to conform, but also doesn't want to disappoint his dad, Don Lino. Black on Lenny: ``Lenny is a tender soul. He is a fish out of water. He doesn't fit in with the other sharks because he's kind. But in the end, he may be the most powerful shark of all because of his brains and his heart.'' Black on his animated likeness: ``They captured my essence. I think they went overboard with the potbelly pot·bel·ly n. A protruding abdominal region. , though.'' Animators on Black: ``I like that belly,'' Bergeron says. ``Jack makes Lenny a gentle giant. Kids should love him.'' ``Jack's like a big kid, and Lenny's like that, too,'' says supervising animator Fabio Lignini. ```But Jack's also very sharp, so that combination of innocence and knowingness is nice.'' The fish: Don Lino The voice: Robert De Niro Noun 1. Robert De Niro - United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943) De Niro The character: Mafioso great white shark great white shark or white shark Large, aggressive shark (Carcharodon carcharias, family Lamnidae), considered the species most dangerous to humans. It is found in tropical and temperate regions of all oceans and is noted for its voracious appetite. residing at the top of the food chain. De Niro on Don Lino: ``He's the underwater boss. It's obviously a takeoff on everything. (Mumbles For the record label, see . Mumbles (otherwise, The Mumbles – Welsh Y Mwmbwls) is a large village with adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay. It is also a community made up of the Mayals, Newton, Oystermouth, Norton and West Cross electoral wards. ) It's fun.'' De Niro on his animated likeness: ``They took ...'' (Points to mole on face) Animators on De Niro: ``It's a lot about his expression,'' Bergeron says, ``the way he's saying he's not kidding with his face. He also squints his eyes to make sure you get the point.'' ``He's got a great mouth shape with the corners turned down,'' Lignini adds. ``He can be scary.'' The fish: Angie The voice: Renee Zellweger The character: Girl next door, the love of Oscar's life, only he doesn't (yet) realize it. Zellweger on Angie: ``Angie is Oscar's best friend and his conscience as well. She supports him, tries to give him good advice, and I think she has fallen in love with the man - or the fish, as it were.'' Zellweger on her animated likeness: ``When they called and said, 'Hey, do you want to be a fish?' I said, `Yes, I want to be a fish! So much! You have no idea!'' Animators on Zellweger: Says Lignini: ``She has those little scrunchy eyes, where she presses them shut. She gets very cute when she does this.'' Adds Bergeron: ``She's the best actress I've ever met. She gives you such a range of options for just one word. And, yes, that squinty squint v. squint·ed, squint·ing, squints v.intr. 1. To look with the eyes partly closed, as in bright sunlight. 2. a. To look or glance sideways. b. thing she does with her eyes is adorable.'' The fish: Lola The voice: Angelina Jolie The character: Sexy, femme-fatale gold digger. As Smith puts it: ``When I first saw Angelina Jolie animated as a fish, I had a sudden, insatiable desire for sushi.'' Jolie on Lola: ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how they did it, but they made a very sexy fish. She's so over-the-top because she's on all the time. I don't know if I'd play her if she wasn't a fish. She's a bad woman. But as a fish, I love her.'' Jolie on her animated likeness: ``It's weird, but I'm much more comfortable watching me as a fish than watching my own face.'' Animators on Jolie: ``We went with the lips first,'' says Lignini. ``The lips, yes, the lips,'' Bergeron adds. The fish: Sykes The voice: Martin Scorsese The character: Maniacally ma·ni·a·cal also ma·ni·ac adj. 1. Suggestive of or afflicted with insanity: a maniacal frenzy. 2. intense puffer puffer, common name for some tropical marine fish of the family Tetraodontidae. The puffers and their allies, the boxfish, the porcupinefish, and the ocean sunfish or headfish, form an odd group (order Tetraodontiformes). fish with caterpillar eyebrows, caught between his fondness for Oscar and fear of Don Lino. Scorsese on Sykes: ``I'm a puffer fish. When I get upset, I get inflated and speak very high and very fast. And I don't know where they got that from or why they put me in that role.'' Scorsese on his animated likeness: ``Those eyebrows . . . it's almost a caricature, a caricature come to life. It's very funny.'' Animators on Scorsese: ``As an animator, you try to get the character's mouth to sync up with his speech, but with Scorsese you couldn't possibly hit every syllable,'' Lignini says. ``It would be too hectic; the mouth would never stop moving.'' ``He speaks like a machine gun fires,'' Bergeron adds. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 16 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) a fishy fish·y adj. fish·i·er, fish·i·est 1. Resembling or suggestive of fish, as in taste or odor. 2. Cold or expressionless: a fishy stare. 3. MAKEOVER Hollywood stars get high-tech, if somewhat unflattering, transformations in DreamWorks' `Shark Tale' (2 -- cover -- color) SKYES (3 -- cover -- color) MARTIN SCORSESE (4 -- cover -- color) DON LINO (5 -- cover -- color) ANGIE (6 -- cover -- color) RENEE ZELLWEGER (7 -- cover -- color) ROBERT DE NIRO (8 -- cover -- color) OSCAR (9 -- cover -- color) WILL SMITH (10) no caption (``Shark Tale'' characters) (11) THE FISH: OSCAR (12) THE FISH: LENNY (13) THE FISH: DON LINO (14) THE FISH: ANGIE (15) THE FISH: LOLA (16) THE FISH: SYKES |
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