In the gill-conceived underwater gangster spoof “Shark Tale,” Dreamworks animators envision a bustling coral metropolis covered with billboards for an apparel retail chain known as “The Gup.” Elsewhere in the reef, public opinion is gauged by something called the “Scallop Poll” and everyone's favorite dimple-faced morning TV news host is named “Katie Current.”

I think you'll agree with me when I say: hardy-flippin'-har. Puns this mind-numbing haven't bobbed to the surface of pop entertainment since Bruce Vilanch joined the cast of “Hollywood Squares.” Puns, clichés, a squid that looks like Christina Aguilera — that's about as good as it gets in “Shark Tale,” a dull, spiritless family comedy that will leave fans of “Finding Nemo” decidely unhooked.

The movie's problems aren't limited to salty joke-writing. Erstwhile man-in- black Will Smith provides the voice of the hero, a street-wise tropical fish named Oscar who works as a lowly tongue-scrubber at a “whale wash,” which is like a detailing service for whales, complete with (pun alert!) “turtle” waxing. Oscar is never all that engaging or sympathetic as a protagonist — where the father-fish in “Finding Nemo” was obsessed with finding his lost son, Oscar is obsessed with penthouse apartments and other soulless ornaments of wealth. It's all just a little too “MTV Cribs.”

When Oscar runs afoul of the mob — here depicted as a school of sharks, led by the notorious Don Lino (Robert De Niro) — he enjoys an unexpected reversal of fortune, earning false acclaim as a fearless shark killer. Soon, cowardly Oscar has the penthouse and P. Diddy wardrobe he always wanted, along with the romantic attentions of a gold-digging goldfish (Angelina Jolie). Renee Zellweger (“Cold Mountain”) looks on jealously as Angie, Oscar's co-worker and longtime secret admirer.

Inevitably, the filmmakers — including directors Bibo Bergeron (“The Road to El Dorado”) and Vicky Jenson (“Shrek”) — ultimately shape Oscar's story into a cautionary tale about the seductive perils of what hip-hop types call “bling-bling.” There's a faint trace of racial gamesmanship running throughout “Shark Tale,” including a scene when Oscar consoles his rhythm- impaired boss (Martin Scorsese) by saying, “Don't worry. A lot of whitefish can't do it.”

Still, racial insensivity isn't the problem with the film — it's bite, or lack thereof. After “Analyze This,” “Analyze That” and a half-decade of “The Sopranos,” it's safe to say that the whole gangster/psychiatrist couch thing has been pretty much tapped dry. Which is why Jack Black (“School of Rock”) is so curiously unfunny as Lenny, Don Lino's angst-ridden, vegetarian son.

Aside from a few splendid images — including a galloping sequence set at a sea horse-racing park — “Shark Tale” has little to offer in the way of tribute. Like any dead-beat that tangles with the mob, it sleeps with the fishes.