New York, NY -- An Italian-American group is ready to sink an upcoming animated movie from Dreamworks which depicts a Mafia-like band of underwater sharks.

"Sharkslayer" features the voices of Mob movie veterans like Robert DeNiro and "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini who play characters with Italian-sounding names like "Don Lino."

Members of the Italic Institute of America are worried the final product will give kids the impression that all Italian-Americans are Mafia thugs.

Institute Chairman John Mancini says the Mob stereotype is unfounded and "a gimmick" which gets people into theaters.

In September, the Institute shot off a letter to Dreamworks head Steven Spielberg, asking how, "...Dreamworks reconciles the story's grossly unfair equation of Italians and organized crime with the sensitivity you reserve for various other ethnic and racial groups?"

Spielberg hasn't responded yet, but Mancini says he hopes his group will get a chance to review the film and prevent any further defamation of Italian-Americans.

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