Finding Nemo | Review

Stanton gives us plenty to laugh about with imaginative aquatic adventure.

How many times do you get the perspective of how it feels like to live inside of a fish tank aquarium? Like the monsters under the bed, or the treasures in our childhood toy box the folks at Pixar and Disney know their market very well, a market that is vast in ages as it is not just the little kids that have fun with these first-rate animation features. Making a splash into theatres is a fun little number by the name of Finding Nemo.

An only child with a physical disability gets separated from his father who survived the tragic loss of his wife and children in a massacre. Sounds like a holocaust survivor story? Nope. Leave it to the good folks at Disney to set a pleasant tone and create some good old fashion separation anxiety for the little tikes in the world. Deceptions and possible orphanage scenarios are of course transformed into a ‘little engine that could’ triumphant moments with a very happy ending just waiting to unveil itself. Surprisingly, it is not the two orange-colored white-stripe heroes that grab our attention and tickle our funny bone, but a school of other fishes that steal the show such as a trio of sharks in a 12-step program, a French flavored bottom of the fish tank character who offers some sound advice with an accent or the fish with the master plans named Gill (Willem Dafoe Auto Focus) whose mission impossible tactics inside of plastic bags give the film a final goodbye laugh. However, the real scene stealer comes from Ellen DeGeneres (Edtv) blue fish character named Dory, whose memory-loss spiel number never grows dull and makes us remember the talents of this comedian.

Andrew Stanton’s aquatic odyssey gives us two running stories that distribute the try a little harder morals where everyone is a winner inside some really cool-looking underworlds that look almost better than the dozens of television documentaries that I’ve watched that explored these mysterious territories. The film nets us in pretty quickly, from the vibrant and yummy Pixar colors and nifty animation to the comedy and wittiness in the dialogue which brings about laugh after laugh for the audience. You’ll love the bunch of zany and goofy creatures that come along the ride; the characters are splendid and have distinct personalities from the get-go with some fine voice work and animated facial expressions. With some great one-liners, the film looks and sounds good.

Finding Nemo is a good film; I prefer the adventures of Woody and Buzz, but the quality of the work shows that the creators put in the effort and when you spend so much time making a product, you can’t help but raise the bar to highest standards. Pet shops might experience a slight decrease in sales from their aquatic section while film-going families will enjoy this fish tale a picture which will make you laugh, and make you marvel at an animation that comes to life. See you back in November 2004 with what looks to be another jolly good time with The Incredibles .

Rating 3.5 stars