Grade: C-

Verdict: Colorful, with a welcome urban verve, but never really hooks you.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
Cox News Service

Someone find Nemo.

Fast.

"Shark Tale," an animated underwater feature from DreamWorks about a watery underworld run by wiseguys with dorsal fins, has a lively, colorful look and a talented, star-laden voice cast. But it lacks the one thing that made "Finding Nemo" worth seeking out. Namely, a heart.

Another entry in the ping-pong competition between DreamWorks and their rival, Pixar. "Shark Tale" can't help but suffer by comparison to the award-winning "Nemo," which turned a fish tale into an enduring story of the bond between parents and kids. Here, the focus is on a nobody who wants to be a somebody, and goes about it in the wrong way, until he realizes he's a somebody, even when he's a nobody.

Got that?

Anyway, Oscar (voiced by Will Smith) is the low fish on the oceanic totem pole, beneath plankton, coral and whale poop. He works at the Whale Wash, run by the blowhard blowfish, Mr. Sykes (Martin Scorsese), where he scrubs whales' tongues. He's too self-absorbed to realize that Mr. Sykes' assistant, a cutie-pie angelfish named Angie (Renée Zellweger), is in love with him.

Oscar lies his way into somebody-ness by claiming to have slain a Great White Shark named Frankie. Unfortunately for Oscar, Frankie happens to be the son of the Godfather of the seven seas, Don Lino (Robert De Niro).

The Don has another son. He's Lenny (Jack Black) and he's, well, different -- a vegetarian who likes to cross-dress as a dolphin. Maybe that's why he offers to help Oscar escape his vengeful dad and so avoid sleeping with the fishes.

Listening to De Niro, Zellweger, Black and Smith work together is a lot of fun. And Scorsese turns out to be an expert at voice-overs. Also fine are Angelina Jolie as a seductive golddigger with great fins; Michael Imperioli as Frankie; Doug E. Doug and Ziggy Marley as rasta jellyfish; and Katie Couric as enterprising reporter, Katie Current.

Visually, the movie is a treat. Oscar lives under the sea in a place that looks like a cross between Times Square and the Great Barrier Reef. Familiar brand names are given a slight sea change, such as Coral Cola or The Gup.