Oscar (Shark Tale)

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Oscar (also known as Will Smith Fish) is the main protagonist of the 2004 DreamWorks film Shark Tale. He is Angie's boyfriend and co-worker, Lenny's best friend, Lola's ex-boyfriend, and the former tongue-scrubber and current co-manager of the Whale Wash. He is a blue-streaked cleaner wrasse. He is voiced by Will Smith.

Fishy Qualities

 * 1) Before his development, Oscar was essentially a narcissistic and entitled manchild.
 * 2) He's extremely impulsive, quite empty-headed, cowardly sometimes, & somewhat clueless. Whenever he comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme, it backfires on him, mainly because of how ridiculous the scheme is or how poorly he thinks it through. In fact, much of the conflict of the plot is due to him making dumb decisions without realizing the consequences.
 * 3) * In one scene, Angie gives him a pearl that is supposed to get him out of debt. What does he do? He doesn't pay off the debt, he bets it on a seahorse race! (Albeit, everyone was expecting Lucky Day to win, so he probably figured there was nothing to worry about.)
 * 4) * When he gets Lenny (a shark we mind you) to snatch Angie from a plate she was laying on and Oscar gets prideful & cocky when being so egotistical about foiling up Don Lino & the shark mafia that Lenny pukes Angie and everything he has ate.
 * 5) His dream of becoming rich and famous is extremely shallow, a bit cliche, and materialistic.
 * 6) His design is unintentionally hideous and it looks like his voice actor (Will Smith) was Photoshopped, mainly by his face.
 * 7) * Not to mention that he doesn't look that much like an actual Bluestreak cleaner wrasse and possibly he might have the ugliest design ever put into a fish character. And even though many characters in Shark Tale had this consistent flaw, Oscar is mainly the ugliest out of the many.
 * 8) * Also, the expressions he makes are uncanny and come off as nightmarish to viewers.
 * 9) Not only did he bet Angie's pearl on a race (albeit, everyone was expecting that Lucky Day would win as mentioned before), he also lied to everyone about killing a shark just so he could become rich and famous which is very unacceptable since he's too much of a coward to do something like that.  While it is more of a dumb decision than an evil act, given that he wasn't aware of the consequences, and that he only did it to be respected by everyone, it is nonetheless dishonest.
 * 10) * Geez, even Lenny (the friendly, slightly dim shark) knows that he made all the shark slaying up.
 * 11) * While he and Lenny are indirectly responsible for Frankie's death, the fact that Oscar lies about how it happened to seek fame and wealth paints him in a negative light.
 * 12) That moment where he was hiding behind Lola when a fish that a shark was coming pretty much showed how much of a coward Oscar was.
 * 13) He is infatuated with Lola even though she rejected him for being a nobody, is only dating him because he is rich and famous, and regardless of how much she belittles him.  This leads to point of Oscar mistaking Lola's emotional manipulation for genuine respect for him.
 * 14) He is highly oblivious to Angie's feelings for him (though to be fair, she didn't make them clear to him), no matter how obvious they are to everyone else, including his boss Sykes and his crush Lola.  Even his new best friend, Lenny, can see it, considering that he had known her for a short time.
 * 15) He does a good amount of lame fish puns, and in one scene, a race joke about White Fish.
 * 16) Oscar is also obnoxious and a bit jerkish; he says to a fish at the Whale Wash, "Yeah that's true. I could have this job, and look like you", and when ordered by Angie to tell the truth to everybody, he and Lenny just laugh it off.
 * 17) On top of all this, Oscar has the unfortunate Butt-Monkey cliché due to the other characters treating him like dirt - he was bullied by his peers when he was a child, Sykes didn't treat him well at first (for example, he orders his jellyfish henchmen Ernie and Bernie to tie him up and sting him in the middle of nowhere), he enters an abusive relationship with Lola and even the more minor attempts to be cool end up in complete and utter failure (e.g. his cape tangles him up during his fake Sharkslayer stunt).
 * 18) His chemistry with Angie comes off as very poor due to Angie's constant enabling and Will Smith Fish's obliviousness towards her feelings.
 * 19) Based on his lifestyle and use of language, Oscar is essentially a stereotypical African American man from a low-income community in a form of a fish.

Good Qualities

 * 1) Overall, Oscar is not a bad person (or fish?!) or character. He is just a deeply flawed one, which again makes him more relatable.
 * 2) He has decent character development since he not only tells the truth and tells Angie he loves her, he also brings together a broken family and brings peace to Reef City, being hailed a true hero who helped create a society where preys and predators live together in harmony. He also learns to let go of his insecurities about being a nobody and value what he already has, which results in him becoming more optimistic and being more confident with his life working at the Whale Wash.
 * 3) * He is shown to care about the well-being of his co-workers despite them not respecting him, as shown as he is trying to save one of them inside a whale having indigestion, though it turned out the whale had gas and the algae splattered on Will Smith Fish, much to his embarrassment.
 * 4) * He did the right thing in breaking up with Lola after seeing her true colors and realizing that he has romantic feelings for Angie. He was also disgusted by how she disrespects Angie.
 * 5) * Although he lied about being a shark slayer, he actually managed to take Don Lino down by trapping him in the whale washing machine, living up to his reputation in the process.
 * 6) * While Will Smith Fish frequently annoys his boss Sykes with his schemes and shenanigans, he is still loyal to Sykes and respects him. In fact, he is forgiving of Sykes when he leaves him out to be tortured by his minions Ernie and Bernie and made a partnership with Sykes after taking credit for killing Frankie.
 * 7) * Despite being oblivious to Angie's romantic feelings for him, he still cares about her and treats her with respect. In fact, he returns Angie her grandmother's pearl to her in a necklace when he gets popular, showing his gratitude to her for being there for him.  When she calls him out on his lie and confesses her feelings for him, he instantly regrets hurting her and tries to apologize to her.
 * 8) Though he is one of the least popular protagonists of DreamWorks Animation overall with his numerous faults, most DreamWorks fans find him likable and root for him.
 * 9) * Despite his massively egotistical and immature nature, he can be shown to be friendly to everyone around him.
 * 10) * He is energetic and at times charismatic, cheerful, and fun-loving to some.
 * 11) * As discussed, while Oscar was highly oblivious to Angie's feelings for him, he is still a caring friend to her.
 * 12) * While his childhood trauma and insecurities prevent him from acknowledging this fact, Oscar actually enjoys being a tongue-scrubber at the Whale Wash. In fact, he treats his co-workers and customers with kindness and respect.
 * 13) * Even though he is ashamed about being a nobody like his father, he still admires him and follows in his footsteps. At the end of the movie, he places a picture of his father on his desk when he became manager, showing his satisfaction in continuing his father's legacy.
 * 14) * Even when he became a fraudulent celebrity, he doesn't forget his values, as shown as he promises that he will never forget who his friends are when he gave Angie her grandmother's pearl back to her. This is proven when he stays in touch with his friends from his neighborhood, such as the Shorties and Crazy Joe.  During his epiphany of realizing how his lie affects him, he sees his friends having fun and reminisces how fun it was at the bottom of the reef, smiling in the process.
 * 15) * While many perceive him as a villain protagonist or designated hero at the very least, some who recognize his redeeming qualities and heroic actions consider him an anti-hero.
 * 16) * He does have a nurturing side, as he takes care of the whales at the Whale Wash and supports them with their hygiene. He once cleaned the soap out of a whale's eye.
 * 17) * His desire to be a somebody is something that makes him fairly relatable.
 * 18) * He is very pleasant towards children and is shown to care for their well-being.
 * 19) * Oscar is capable of integrity and is willing to sacrifice his desires for others' necessities. During the mid-end credits, his friend Crazy Joe the hermit crab, who was originally homeless, currently lives in Will Smith Fish's apartment at the top of the reef. This heavily implies that Oscar sold it to him out of kindness after he told the truth and sacrificed his wealth and fame.
 * 20) He has his comedic moments.
 * 21) At least his voice actor Will Smith did a good job voicing him, despite wasting his talents. This is shown when he's pretty good at singing. Phil LaMarr, his voice double for the game did a great job, too.
 * 22) * Oh, and his famous line when he finally tells the truth, "I AM NOT A REAL SHARKSLAYER!!!!"
 * 23) As immature as Oscar can be, he is compassionate, open-minded, and has a mature side.
 * 24) * He also helps Lenny to get over Frankie's death by saying that it is not his fault and taking full responsibility for it.
 * 25) * When Lenny confesses that he is a vegetarian, Oscar opened up to it despite his urge to laugh at his secret, which shows how friendly and mature he can be.
 * 26) * Unlike Lola, who reacts with violence and revenge when being rejected by a significant other, Will Smith Fish can accept being rejected by his crush, no matter how much it hurts.
 * 27) In the sequel short, Club Oscar, he turns the Whale Wash into a nightclub called Club Oscar whenever it closes, where everyone can have fun dancing.  This shows that Oscar also learns to be more diligent, as he no longer resorts to get-rich-quick schemes and instead puts in the effort to turn his life around.
 * 28) While his appearance doesn't resemble too much of an actual blue-streaked cleaner wrasse, he does at least have the main parts of the species' essence and it is considered unique that it makes him stand out, even from the other fish in the movie.
 * 29) In the video game, he is more likable and competent. For example, he can take down enemies with his bare fins and can taunt them.
 * 30) Poor judgment and impulsivity aside, Oscar is actually cunning and street-smart.
 * 31) * When he realizes that the sharks are still unaware of his fraudulence, he can use his reputation long enough to save Angie.
 * 32) * As for street-smarts, he can successfully sneak Lenny into his house without getting caught.
 * 33) As shallow as his ambition is, his reason for becoming rich and famous is quite sympathetic.  It stems from a traumatic childhood experience of his classmates mocking him for his father's job at the Whale Wash.  It also comes from the fact that no one at the Whale Wash except Angie respects him.  In other words, his decisions to achieve his ambition were made not out of greed or selfishness, but out of a yearning for respect.
 * 1) As shallow as his ambition is, his reason for becoming rich and famous is quite sympathetic.  It stems from a traumatic childhood experience of his classmates mocking him for his father's job at the Whale Wash.  It also comes from the fact that no one at the Whale Wash except Angie respects him.  In other words, his decisions to achieve his ambition were made not out of greed or selfishness, but out of a yearning for respect.

Trivia

 * On WickedBinge's DreamWorks Heroes: Good to Most Good video on YouTube, Oscar is ranked as the fifth least heroic DreamWorks Hero, being ranked outside of the bottom 3 due to his overall growth and the impact that his heroic actions had on Reef City.
 * YouTuber Schaffrillas Productions uses Oscar in a good amount of his YTPs.

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