Released on May 30, 2003 - this computer animated comedy-drama from director Andrew Stanton
was a massive hit, with a box office cume ten times its $94 million dollar budget.
Surprisingly though, it did even better on home media, selling over 40 million copies,
making it the best-selling DVD of all time.
When a tiny clownfish is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to a fish tank in a
Sydney dentist office, his nervous and worrisome father, played by Albert Brooks, sets out
on a remarkable journey to bring him home.
From there, the 100-minute feature ostensibly becomes a road trip comedy, as Brooks teams
up with perfectly-cast Ellen DeGeneres - a forgetful but energetic regal blue tang whose
oft-repeated motto of "Just keep swimming" symbolizes the perseverance of their improbable
quest.
Together, their performances...
layered with humor, fear, surprise, defeat, and love truly make this picture a wonderful
and heart-warming experience.
Reluctant allies initially, they're forced to slowly accept each-others quirks; Brooks'
fearful hesitancy, and DeGeneres' reckless optimism - and their respective transformations
are quite enjoyable to watch develop.
The G-rated film also boasts some extremely well choreographed action as well, like when
our aquatic heroes upset a large vegetarian shark and attempt to out swim him inside a
sunken ship.
They meet all sorts of interesting and dangerous creatures along their swim, from bodacious
turtles surfing an ocean current - to hungry seagulls constantly squawking "mine!".
Meanwhile, Alexander Gould - who plays the titular fish with a gimpy fin - works with
his new tankmates to devise an escape from their Dentist office prison.
There's plenty of recognizable voices in the large supporting cast from Geoffrey Rush to
Allison Janney - but Willem Dafoe is particularly memorable as a gruff and determined moorish
idol with a broken fin of his own.
The central lessons he imparts to Nemo about overcoming your disabilities might be a bit
on-the-nose, but for a children's film they're important reminders that everyone is capable
of succeeding if they really try.
With some grown-up allusions and jokes peppered throughout the screenplay for good measure,
"Finding Nemo" does an excellent job of appealing to all audiences; something Pixar really knows
how to do better than anyone.
In fact, the well-written screenplay scored the picture one of its four Oscar nominations,
and the movie won for "Best Animated Feature", the first of seven for Pixar.
Speaking of animation... the visuals here are nothing short of gorgeous.
The wavy gleam of the ocean as sunlight pours in from the surface has been recreated with
marvelous realism... painting a picturesque backdrop for the expressive and colorful characters
on full display in the 16:9 frame.
And the 3D-version somehow makes the underwater visuals even more impressive.
The score from Thomas Newman meanwhile is lively and dramatic, whether they're racing
between pink jellyfish, or taking a deep breath before surfacing above the waves.
Although this picture rather overtly advocates against keeping fish in captivity, the success
of this picture ironically led to a dramatic increase in clownfish being adopted as pets
- many of whom were not taken care of properly.
This is a very fun and relatable trip under the ocean worth watching at least twice...
but there's some intangible magic missing from it that keeps me from really loving this
film.
But maybe its eventual sequel, "Finding Dory" will offer something more, we'll just have
to wait and see.
"Finding Nemo" is an imaginative adventure with unforgettable characters.
Here's what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Praise was unanimous for the characters, but for one reason or another, we both held off
on giving it the top-score.
You rated it a NINE, whereas I'm giving it an EIGHT out of ten.