Hey, I guess this is old news, but here's some IMDB reviews from some people who actually had the unfortunate experience of watching this, uh, film:
11 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Rubbish, 12 February 2007
1/10
Author: Chris Roberts from United Kingdom
To be honest, this film is basically a very poor rip-off of Finding Nemo....
and is no where near as good, funny or entertaining, nor is the animation up to the same standard.
The plot is roughly the same, although this time he doesn't go after his parents - even the voices sound alike!
I really recommend that you don't go and see this film - even little kids who have seen other animated films (such as Finding Nemo, Shrek, Shark Tale, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, etc) may turn up their nose at this one.
Was the above comment useful to you?
10 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Cute but same old story, 4 October 2006
7/10
Author: Crystal Ambrose (Ambrosea) from New Orleans, LA, USA
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This movie was well animated and had a good voice cast, but the plot left something to be desired. Namely, it has been done over and over again. The plot was literally an even mix between Finding Nemo and Shark Tail, without the originality. It seems everyone is jumping on the "cool underwater 3D animated fish stories" bandwagon.
Additionally, the characters were one dimensional and if you've seen any of Disney's animal movies, you basically know the story. Loss of family, find a loved one, overcome the bad guy despite being the underdog, sappy ending. (And Disney does keep churning those out) Different company, same old concept, without anything new added to the mix.
Overall, it was a cute movie for kids. However, if you're over the age of 14 and are still looking for good underwater animation, try Finding Nemo or even better, Shark Tale, which was geared more toward plot-liking adults.
Was the above comment useful to you?
4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
absolute carp- the worst animated film ever ever ever!!!, 24 February 2007
1/10
Author: AJ_is_Awesomness from United Kingdom
Firstly, let me start by saying that if I could give this movie 0, then I happily would, as it goes I cain't so a 1 will have to do. Now, then on with the review. 'The Reef' or 'Shark Bait' as it is otherly known is a floundering story about a young guppie fish named Pi who is forced to move to the glossy reef under the sea after his family are killed. It is here where he encounters bullying sharks, dopey but cute angelfish and a storyline so drip it makes you want to bury your own head.Queue all the kiddie-flick clichés which so merrily unfold. There are just so many bad points about this movie (not to mention a laughable stab at trying to rip off Finding Nemo and Shark Tale) The animation is absolute carp, the voice-over work (by a blatantly wannabe Will Smith-like Freddie Prinze Jr and Rob Schneider) is a jumbled mess and the whole 'complexity' of the story is just bad. The set visuals are very candy-eyed but only add to the dishorientation of the film. It is a very appalling movie, even below Shark Tale's standard, and very very un-original. Don't see this for your own good...
Was the above comment useful to you?
Do not waste your money however hard your kids persuade you...., 18 February 2007
1/10
Author: AlexLakey from United Kingdom
Ever been to a film where you are looking at your watch within the first 5 minutes?
Sadly this film looks great from the trailer and has the relevant kiddie appeal - so we took our son (who loves Finding Nemo) and all of us were deeply disappointed.
The very poor animation looks like this was made in someone's bedroom (actually I think now you could do a better job at home) and the storyline is nearly non existent. Half the time I thought the projector was out of focus, but no, it is just made that poorly.
The characters sound and look wooden, there is none of the 'shine' that a film like Nemo has. Characters also appear out of nowhere with no explanation.... granted the audience is young, but they aren't stupid!
It is sad to see how a film like this can be made against the fabulous work and care that someone like Pixar put into animated stories, this is just rubbish, and I wouldn't bother going to see it - save the £20 or so it will cost you, buy some popcorn and watch something decent in your own home on DVD
Was the above comment useful to you?
Add another comment
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
Shark Bait (The Reef in the UK, Pi's Story in South Korea) is a 2006 computer animated film.
So that explains why Ben saw it advertised as The Reef!
Also, here's more info on the plot:
Our hero, Pi (Freddie Prinze Jr., is a little fish who, after losing everything, goes to live with his aunt (Fran Drescher) on an exotic reef. Before long, he's madly in love with a pretty girl fish (Evan Rachel Wood), but the local bully, a shark (Donal Logue), also has the hots for her. So Pi decides to learn Kung-Fu so that he can take on the shark and win the girl, even though the shark is many times bigger than him.
Man, Freddie Prinze Jr. really needs to find a decent job besides lending his voice to these mediocre, mostly awful features. Happily N'Ever After, this "thing" and the upcoming (and again, mediocre looking) Delgo
ShyViolet wrote:It looks almost as bad as that "Ratatoing" movie! (y'know that rat rip off film from Canada? )
Curses!--You beat me to the mention!
Interesting that Pixar now seems to be the target of the entire offshore video-knockoff industry, rather than all those generic GoodTime videos of Hercules and Hunchback we used to see store shelves flooded with ten years ago...
(Rented a couple out of curiosity one time--And since they were always made before their target came out, it was always worth a chuckle to see what the knockoff thought the Disney version would look like for musical numbers, sidekicks, etc...Some guesses were so wrong as to stagger the imagination.)
Of course, since Pixar always thinks up their own stories, it's a little harder to write a half-remembered movie about "A rat in, uh, Rio who wants to cook!" and claim plausible denial.
ShyViolet wrote:It looks almost as bad as that "Ratatoing" movie! (y'know that rat rip off film from Canada? )
Curses!--You beat me to the mention!
Interesting that Pixar now seems to be the target of the entire offshore video-knockoff industry, rather than all those generic GoodTime videos of Hercules and Hunchback we used to see store shelves flooded with ten years ago...
(Rented a couple out of curiosity one time--And since they were always made before their target came out, it was always worth a chuckle to see what the knockoff thought the Disney version would look like for musical numbers, sidekicks, etc...Some guesses were so wrong as to stagger the imagination.)
Of course, since Pixar always thinks up their own stories, it's a little harder to write a half-remembered movie about "A rat in, uh, Rio who wants to cook!" and claim plausible denial.