They wasted waaaaaaaay too much time...
...on all the side-story junk about Shelly Winters & the 2 kids leading up to the boat race. It was pure filler, and just one of the reasons the movie bogs down so badly. Think about how much time they spend focusing on them leading up to entering the boat race, all just so ONE of the kids ends up dying. They don't focus in on anyone else's side story with as much attention to detail as Winters & the kids, and even when the one kid ends up getting eaten, it's almost like no big deal. His mom hardly shows the appropriate kind of reaction. She cries, but it's more like over just having wrecked a new car, instead of losing a child.
Oh well, I guess there's hardly any point in complaining about it, now ...LOL... you can put a big red bow on a pile crap, and yet, all it will ever be is a big ol' stinkin' pile of crap.
"Questions are a danger to you, and a burden to others." -Mr. Krabs