A Bunch Of Movie Stars Voiced Fish In "Shark Tale," And The Animators Really Did Their Thing Making These Celebrities Look Like Fish

    Martin Scorsese's fish eyebrows, I'm crying.

    Evelina Zaragoza Medina
    by Evelina Zaragoza Medina

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Remember Shark Tale? The DreamWorks movie about a little fish (Will Smith) who became besties with a great white shark (Jack Black) was the ninth highest grossing movie of 2004, if you can believe it. With the help of its star-studded cast, it also got a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 77th Academy Awards.

    Screenshot from "Shark Tale"
    DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Will Smith and Jack Black were hugely popular movie stars in the 2000s, as were Renée Zellweger and Angelina Jolie. The supporting characters were almost all part of a shark mafia ring, many of whom were voiced by actors famous for playing mobsters themselves in projects like The Godfather and The Sopranos.

    The movie actually also faced a little bit of controversy because the shark mafia in the movie allegedly portrayed negative stereotypes about Italian Americans

    Let's see what all those celebrities look like next to their ocean dwelling counterparts, shall we?

    1. Will Smith as Oscar

    Side-by-side of Will Smith and Oscar
    Peacock / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    From his early music career as the Fresh Prince to his eventual Oscar win for King Richard in 2022, Will Smith has been in the spotlight for nearly 40 years. And like all the great movie stars, he's made just as many headlines offscreen as he has on. You know the one, I do not need to bring it up again.

    Since his Oscar win, Will starred in Emancipation and is set to reprise his role as Mike Lowrey in the fourth Bad Boys movie. He also recently reunited with his former partner DJ Jazzy Jeff to perform at the Grammys 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop celebration.

    2. Robert De Niro as Don Lino

    Side-by-side of Robert De Niro and Don Lino
    NBC / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Robert De Niro's name has been synonymous with tough, grizzled (and often mafia-associated) characters for over 40 years, and his turn as Don Lino the mobster shark was no different, other than being toned down for a PG family cartoon. All his tough guy roles have led to eight Academy Award nominations and two wins for The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull.

    De Niro might be able to add even more hardware to his collection with his recent turn as real-life crime boss William King Hale in Killers of the Flower Moon, which saw him reunite with frequent collaborator and Shark Tale costar Martin Scorsese. Yes, that's correct: Martin Scorsese voices on of the fish in Shark Tale.

    3. Renée Zellweger as Angie

    Side-by-side of Renée Zellweger and Angie
    Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    From rom-coms to musicals to dramas, to voicing a cartoon angelfish, there's little Renée Zellweger can't do. After getting two consecutive Academy Award nominations for her work in Bridget Jones's Diary and Chicago, her first win came in 2004 with Cold Mountain. After countless acclaimed performances, she took a six-year hiatus from acting in 2010.

    She returned from hiatus in 2016 with Bridget Jones's Baby, and in the years since, she's starred in the TV shows What/If and The Thing About Pam, and won her second Oscar for playing Judy Garland in Judy.

    4. Jack Black as Lenny

    Side-by-side of Jack Black and Lenny
    Presley Ann / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Lenny the vegetarian shark was the second talking animal to have Jack Black's voice, but the most famous animal in his repertoire is Po in Kung Fu Panda. Jack has been voicing Po since 2008 and even won an Emmy for it last year. He'll be back on the big screen as Po later this year in Kung Fu Panda 4.

    He's spent the better part of the last decade guest starring in comedies and touring with his band Tenacious D, but Jack Black's leading man chops can't be denied with his turns in the 2000s hits School of Rock, Nacho Libre, and The Holiday.

    5. Angelina Jolie as Lola

    Side-by-side of Angelina Jolie and Lola
    Samir Hussein / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    These days, Angelina Jolie is known for her humanitarian work as much as her filmography. She received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and notably held the position of Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees until 2022.

    Other than Lola the angelfish in Shark Tale, Angelina's only other voice acting role has been Tigress in Kung Fu Panda, which also stars Jack Black. She's recently starred in big blockbusters like Maleficent and Eternals, but her first time leading a franchise was when she played Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its sequel. She also has three Golden Globes and an Oscar to her name, NBD.

    6. Martin Scorsese as Sykes

    Side-by-side of Martin Scorsese and Sykes
    Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    You probably know him for directing some of the most iconic movies ever made, but Martin Scorsese has actually appeared onscreen many, many times. Most of the time he plays himself in documentaries or tongue-in-cheek appearances in shows like Entourage, 30 Rock, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also frequently cameos in his own movies, most recently in Killers of the Flower Moon.

    7. Ziggy Marley as Ernie

    Side-by-side of Ziggy Marley and Ernie
    Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Like his father Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley is an acclaimed reggae musician with 16 albums to his name — eight released with his siblings as part of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, and eight more that he released as a solo artist. He's won 8 Grammy awards from 15 nominations as well as a Daytime Emmy. He's appeared as himself onscreen several times and has done quite a bit of voice acting, such as his most recent appearance as Lenny in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

    8. Doug E. Doug as Bernie

    DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Doug E. Doug's notable film appearances include Jungle Fever, Hangin' with the Homeboys, Class Act, Cool Runnings, and Eight Legged Freaks. He most recently starred in the Netflix comedy Brown Nation, and has previously been nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award and three NAACP Image Awards.

    9. Michael Imperioli as Frankie

    Side-by-side of Michael Imperioli and Frankie
    Bruce Glikas / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Michael is best known for playing Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos, largely considered one of the best TV shows ever made. One of his earliest roles was Spider in Goodfellas, which was directed by his Shark Tale costar Martin Scorsese, and he's had a very busy career since. He's appeared in movies like Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, The Lovely Bones, One Night in Miami..., and narrated the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark.

    His recent work in The White Lotus earned him an Emmy nomination, and he'll next appear onstage in An Enemy of the People alongside Jeremy Strong and Victoria Pedretti.

    10. Vincent Pastore as Luca

    Side-by-side of Vincent Pastore and Luca
    Daniel Zuchnik / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Vincent Pastore also starred in The Sopranos as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, and made an entire career out playing Italian American gangsters. He appeared in crime dramas like Goodfellas, Men of Respect, Carlito's Way, Gotti, Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn, and The Family. In 2019 he started a sauce business called Vincent Pastore's Italian Sauce.

    11. Peter Falk as Don Feinberg

    Side-by-side of Peter Falk and Don Feinberg
    Victor Spinelli / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Peter Falk was best known for playing Lieutenant Columbo on the hit TV series Columbo, which ran from 1968 to 1978, and then from 1989 to 2003. Younger audiences might know him as the grandfather and narrator in The Princess Bride, and fun fact: He was the first person to be nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year.

    12. Katie Couric as Katie Current

    Side-by-side of Katie Couric and Katie
    Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Katie Couric essentially played herself in Shark Tale, and it wasn't the first time that the journalist and presenter did so. She also guest starred as herself in shows like Murphy Brown, Will and Grace, and Glee. As for her day job, Couric cohosted Today for 15 years before moving on to anchor CBS Evening News in 2006, and eventually hosted her own talk show. 

    13. Christina Aguilera as a jellyfish version of herself

    Side-by-side of Christina Aguilera as herself and as a fish
    Variety / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Christina Aguilera has won so many awards over the course of her music career that it's hard to list them all. What could you expect when she won her first Grammy for Best New Artist at age 19? Aside from her nine studio albums, Christina also starred in Burlesque alongside Cher. She doesn't really have a main role in the plot of Shark Tale, but closes out the film singing "Car Wash" with Missy Elliott.

    14. And Missy Elliott as a fish version of herself

    Side-by-side of Missy Elliott as herself and as a fish
    Noam Galai / Getty Images / DreamWorks / courtesy Everett Collection

    Joining Christina Aguilera for a rendition of "Car Wash" is Missy Elliott, one of the greatest rappers in history. Over the years, she has released such iconic songs as "Get Ur Freak On," "Work It," "The Rain," and "Lose Control." In 2023, she became the first female rapper to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.