This Early 2000s Family Film Is Amazing—and I Can’t Believe It Only Has a 35% Score on Rotten Tomatoes

Rediscovering movies and shows you once loved as a kid can sometimes be a special, but confusing treat. On the one hand, those emotions that remind you of the good ol’ days come flooding back in full force and for a brief moment you remember why you loved that weird piece of media in the first place. But on the other? With this new era of the internet and those adolescent rose-colored glasses finally lifted, you start to see that everyone around you (and critics) didn’t love it as much as you did. 

I recently rewatched a film I wholeheartedly loved only to discover that it was rated 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and I couldn’t help but find myself wanting to defend this beloved ‘00s flick. Granted, I was only five years old when it was released, but with this rewatch fresh in my mind, I’m demanding that it get a new score or at the very least be on others’ radar. Trust me, this movie has all the makings of the best family night movie and I’m here to tell you why.

Let’s start with the cast that’s essentially filled with Hollywood royalty. I’m talking Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese—the list goes on. The movie also touches on themes of following your dreams, staying true to yourself and what happens when lies spiral (which prompts a killer wake-up call after dealing with the mafia). You’d think this is an HBO special that we somehow all missed, but it’s actually the PG-rated film Shark Tale. Throughout my rewatch, I found myself laughing way too hard at jokes that initially flew over my head as a youngin and repeating quotable lines I thought I’d forgotten. Although, who could forget the iconic shrimp monologue? If that’s not enough to convince you to hit play on Netflix, here’s a bit more on the film, so be sure to keep that remote handy.