Finding Nemo

2003 Pixar movie

Rating: 18/20 (Jen: 18/20; Sophie: ?/20)

Plot: The entire world finds out that a clownfish is called a clownfish as Marlin, a clownfish who lost his wife and all but one of his babies after a shark attack, takes a watery road trip to Sydney in search of his missing son, Nemo. Along the way, he meets Dory, a blue fish with no short-term memory, and they encounter sharks, bioluminescent fish with gnarled fangs, stinging jellyfish, surf-happy turtles, a giant whale, seagulls, and a dentist. Can they reach Nemo before the little guy is given to a notorious fish killer with braces?

I was so amazed with the animation when this came out. Pixar's always so good with character, and the animation of the ocean critters along with the good voice talent (love Ellen as Dory) makes even the most minor characters in this memorable. This is a good adventure story, a buddies-on-the-road movie, and although it's episodic, it never seems choppy because it alternates between the dual stories of the father's adventures as he tries to find Sydney and the attempts by Nemo and his new aquarium friends to escape the dentist's office. Finding Nemo's got a great story and that typical Pixar heart, and right from the get-go, with a pretty intense shark attack scene, you know you've got a story that isn't just for children. The adventures are exciting, but there's some great comedy as well, including what I think was Pixar's funniest moment until Potato Head was given a tortilla--the scene with the dentist waiting room occupants watching and listening to the great escape. But as I said, it's really the animation that steals the show. There's an artistic realism to the underwater scenes, and it's hard not to be pleased with the splashes of color across the screen. Nearly eight years later, it's still hard to imagine that animation can ever look better than some of the imagery in Finding Nemo. Just compare this one to its under-the-sea contemporary Shark Tale, and you'll see that the Pixar folks were Buzz Lightyears ahead of their competition. And that's even without a Fresh Prince!

Sophie's started watching movies. Well, to be completely accurate, she's started watching parts of movies. She gets the dvd cabinet open and reaches for either this or Monsters, Inc. usually. Actually, she handed me Kill Bill Volume 2 this evening, but Jen told me that wasn't appropriate for a one-year old.

With this, I believe I've got all the Pixar movies on the blog finally. Now I can just wait patiently for Cars 2 to come out!

4 comments:

Barry said...

Yeah I give this one a 17 to 18. Entertaining movie, with many clever parts. A bit manipulative in parts, but I am able to get past that.


And I cant find The Incredibles on your blog site here. So do you really have all the Pixar movies out here? Maybe I spelled it wrong?

jen said...

um, sophie's rating is a 20. this is the movie she pulls out of the cabinet almost every time.... if she could, she would watch it about 4 times a day. she loves it!

and i think he is missing the incredibles. i guess we'll have to watch that one soon.

cory said...

Another solid review. One of Pixar's 3 or 4 greatest, which makes it a mid-top 10 animated film, period. For me, it is the rare flawless film and gets a 19.

Shane said...

Not flawless--it does have a fart joke, and I have no tolerance for fart jokes.

I'd agree with Barry that there's some manipulation going on. I don't mind manipulation if I like what's going on with the rest of a movie though. If something else isn't right, I'll play the manipulation card and slam a movie though.

And you're right, Barry and jen...no 'Incredibles'. It's been a while since I've seen it. I like that one less than Cory.