DreamWorks’ catalog of animated movies includes plenty of highly successful and iconic titles, but also a substantial back catalog of films that have been less memorable. Movies like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon quickly became global hits and set the gold standard for the studio’s movies going forward as others fell to the wayside, and one of those forgotten DreamWorks movies is now about to swim off of Netflix.

Netflix subscribers only have a few more days to stream Shark Tale, the 2004 animated adventure film featuring Will Smith as the voice of Oscar, an underachieving fish who falsely claims he killed the son of a shark mob boss to become an unlikely hero. In an effort to keep up the façade, he teams up with the mobster’s younger son, Lenny. The movie features a stacked cast that, in addition to Smith, includes Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese. Shark Tale is currently on the chopping block at Netflix, with a scheduled departure date of January 1st.

Shark Tale Is DreamWorks’ Lowest-Rated Movie

Shark Tale was a major box office hit, grossing around $375 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, but the film failed to make a splash with critics and audiences. With just a 35% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is DreamWorks’ lowest-rated film of all time, and its audience rating isn’t much better at just 46%.

Those low ratings weren’t unwarranted. There are some high points to the film, including its star-studded cast, catchy soundtrack, and some genuinely funny moments, but the movie as a whole really isn’t that great. The premise of the movie is interesting and creative enough, but the protagonist, Oscar, and many of the other characters are simply unlikable and driven by shallow fame. Many aspects of the film, including its mafia parody, suggestive themes, and even some of the humor, also just seemed more suited for adults than kids. The movie even stirred controversy with its portrayal of Italian-American stereotypes, prompting condemnation from the Columbus Citizens Foundation, which accused the film of creating “in its audiences an association between gangsters and Italian-Americans that will become imprinted in the developing minds of children.”

Shark Tale isn’t one of those movies that gets better with age or manages to be reframed with a brighter angle over time. The film is still mostly poorly received and really is one of the lower-tier DreamWorks movies, but there is a certain nostalgic appeal to it that makes it worth revisiting.

Where to Stream Shark Tale After It Leaves Netflix?

Shark Tale is swimming off Netflix and seemingly off of streaming altogether. The movie currently doesn’t have a streaming home outside of Netflix, and with streamers still releasing their January lineups, it’s uncertain if the movie will land on a different service. If the movie doesn’t move to a different platform, fans will still be able to revisit it by either renting or purchasing the film online.

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