After the massive success of it’s first four animated features, Pixar was on it’s way to supplanting Disney Studios as the king of family entertainment.  Thanks to it’s revolutionary computer generated animation, memorable characters, and heart warming, emotional screenplays, the young upstart studio became the standard for the industry.  However, for it’s next project, Pixar was inspired by it’s parent company Disney for it’s latest idea.  Disney, while famous for it’s classic films, also had a dark side behind in its fairy tails.  Some of these endearing classics, were stories of children facing the perils of life after a separation or death of a parent.  These examples include Dumbo’s mother being locked away, Mufasa’s murder at the hands of Scar, and of course the most famous example of the killing of Bambi’s mom.  This doesn’t even include cases of a loving parent dying off screen leading to the misery of the main character in films like Snow White and Cinderella.  Based on this precedent, Pixar for the first time explored the issues of mortality and loss, but it would be done so in the unique environment of the aquatic.

Finding Nemo is a story that takes place in the depths of the ocean.  We are introduced to Marlin and Coral, two clownfish who are excitedly preparing a family when disaster strikes.  Coral and all but one egg perish after an attack, leaving Marlin as the lone survivor.  He names the child Nemo and goes to great lengths in protecting his son from any danger.  Unfortunately, his overbearing parenting creates a wedge between the two as Nemo wants to explore and go to school.  The relationship reaches a breaking point, as Nemo rebels against his father, swimming close to a speedboat.  He is eventually captured by the humans and is taken away to a fish tank in a dentist office.  Faced with another tragedy, Marlin purses the boat and goes on a quest to save his son.  He is joined by a regal blue tang named Dory, who despite having short term memory loss, provides invaluable assistance as they face obstacle after obstacle in their journey.  Nemo meanwhile is befriended by a group of fish in the tank which include a Moorish idol fish, starfish, striped damselfish, and an assortment of other fish who are devising an plan to escape back to the ocean.  The urgency of the mission is increased when the fish tell Nemo that he would be adopted by the niece of the dentist, who has a history of cruelty of fish.   

The main strength of Finding Nemo is the phenomenal animation.  As soon as the film appears on the screen, you become a part of a new world filled with fish, plants, shells, and stones.  The vibrant colors, movements of the ocean, and trickles of water of fish swimming are mesmerizing.  It really creates an environment that provides an escape from our world into the world that a fish would experience.  This animation also extends to all the different categories of sea life in the film.  If you add up all the different families of fish, it would probably be enough to fill a couple of aquariums.  All swam with distinctive motions from their fins and gills, which only add to the realism.  My favorites of these marine animals are the frightening realism of the great white shark and the lovely hypnotic movements of the jellyfish. 

Another strength is the diversity of personalities of the numerous sea life who greatly enrich the film.   Among those fish are Gil the scarred leader of the fish in the dentist’s tank, Mr Ray the headmaster of the school for fish, and Bruce the shark who leads a step by step program for his fellow sharks to quit their addiction of eating other fish.  The highlight of the film is a group of sea turtles highlighted by Crush, who befriends Dory and Marlin on their journey.  His surfer, carefree persona was delivered perfectly by the vocal talents of Andrew Stanton who happens to be the writer and director of the film.  He is the perfect counterweight to the gloomy Merlin and provides a nice respite in the film.  

I also like how we the audience are included on the perilous journey of what Marlin and Dory experience. We never really know what challenges our characters will face as get further and further away from their home.  While there’s the peaceful tranquility of swimming, we get shaken out of it by an assortment of events.  Among those are the encounters with the sharks, a school of moonfish, and jellyfish which are sometimes more dangerous than they appear.  The different ways the two characters escape from these obstacles are very enjoyable, the best being the two hopping on the heads of the jellyfish to escape their harmful stinging cells.  When they do reach Nemo, I really felt  a sense of accomplishment, that I had survived the treacherous, yet exciting adventure alongside with the two fish.

The biggest weakness of the film is the main characters.  While I find Dory lovable and amusing, the two clownfish aren’t very likable.  Nemo is very spoiled, never really accepting his importance of being the only surviving child and I wished he would’ve cut his father some slack for his concern over his welfare.  Other than being well animated and maybe his bravery,  there aren’t any attributes that I can speak favorably about the title character.  Marlin takes the term annoying on whole other level.  His personality really starts to grate me immediately after the massacre of his family.  His overbearing presence, ineffective parenting, and his constant negativity really drag the film down.  It gets to the point where I start to cringe every time he starts to speak, knowing that something pessimistic will be coming.  As much as I enjoy Albert Brooks’ work in the Simpsons, I believe his vocal performance adds to the flaws of his character.  I was actually more worried about Dory’s welfare and I wouldn’t have minded if he would’ve vanished and let Dory take over the rescue mission of Nemo.  Even Ellen’s great performance as Dory wasn’t enough to overcome Marlin’s moaning and groaning.

Finding Nemo extended Pixar’s streak of successes becoming it’s all time highest grossing film until the release of Toy Story 3.  Critics also adored the film with one group of critics listing it as among the top 100 motion pictures ever made.  However, the film is a tad overrated. Unlike the Toy Story’s and Monsters Inc, Nemo didn’t really create any connection with it’s characters.  I smile when I think of Buzz, Woody, Sully, and Mike, I grimace when I think of Nemo and Marlin.  I cried in the other Pixar films and while the opening segment is gut wrenching, I didn’t have any strong emotions during this film.  The story, adventure, the aquatic feel, and the fascinating range of supporting characters make this a really good film, but the lack of appeal from the two leads keep this film from reaching the lofty status that it has since acquired.  

Brian Rating 7/10

–  Flyin’ Brian