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"Cute" is a word that I often find myself using when describing certain aspects of Disney, therefore "cute" is the word that I'll use to describe Disney/Pixar's Finding Nemo. The story was cute, the characters were cute and the animation was gorgeous. (OK, so everything's not simply "cute" after all.)
To call Finding Nemo the worst of the Pixar-created features might sound a bit harsh but there always has to be a worst. When Toy Story first opened, it was Pixar's best and worst movie all wrapped up into one. So that being said, while I would rank Finding Nemo as the worst of the Pixar bunch, it is still light years above and beyond what tends to pass for entertainment these days.
The single, best aspect of the film is the animated settings. Water never looked so good. From the multicolored reef to the flecks of stuff floating in the water to the way the light bends, the surroundings are breathtaking. Perhaps the biggest compliment to the quality of the digital vistas is that you start the movie in complete awe of what the animation team has accomplished before eventually forgetting that you are watching animated scenery at all towards the film's conclusion. It is believable, it is breathtaking and it is beautiful.
Also excellent were the main characters of Finding Nemo. As someone who is planning to be a father at some point in the future, I could identify with Marlin. I can totally see myself being overprotective of my children and wanting to do things for them rather than let them try for themselves. Albert Brooks gave a great performance as Marlin, despite not being very funny for a clownfish (which was pretty funny).
Ellen DeGeneres played Dory just to the point of irritation without ever becoming annoying. This could easily have been a character that may have been equivalent to nails on a chalkboard but DeGeneres pulled it off. Perhaps the funniest part of the movie was when Dory was "speaking whale." The words were in English but it did indeed sound like whalespeak. Well done!
Alexander Gould as Nemo was also ably played. He pulled off the inflections of the role requiring childish rebellion, the fear of being far from loved ones and the determiniation of someone overcoming real and/or perceived handicaps. The emotions expressed seemed geniunely real and helped tremendously to give this film its heart.
Speaking of heart, there was plenty of it in Finding Nemo. The story of a father and son's love for one another and the lengths each took to re-unite was very heartwarming. The tale of friendship that grew between Marlin and Dory was also touching. If writer/director Andrew Stanton had a tale to tell in Finding Nemo he did it best by casting himself at the 150-year-old surfer dude turtle Crush and dispensing the wisdom of a lifetime, the very essence of the film.
The film advertisements state that there are 3.7 trillion fish in the sea and they all apparently found their way into Finding Nemo. Crush was just one of the dozen or so characters who had supporting roles in the movie and unfortunately none were fully able to grab you. At the end of the film, you'll want to talk about some of the characters and you'll find yourself calling them "the starfish" or "the shark" rather than Peach and Bruce. It was almost too much to keep up with the characters that Marlin meets along the way or the members of the "Tank Gang" that help Nemo.
The musical score by Thomas Newman was never distracting but didn't connect emotionally like cousin Randy Newman's arrangements have in every previous Pixar film. Whereas, John Ratzenberger's cameo to place him in every Pixar film wouldn't have taken away from the film had he not appeared, I do feel there was something missing with not having Randy Newman's music present and accounted for. Robbie Williams' song "Beyond the Sea" over the end titles worked well though (and be sure to stay through the end of the credits).
Finding Nemo is a delightful film full of adventure and fun. The animation is top-notch, as are many of the vocal performances. There are too many characters to get too attached, and though important to the overall story, there seemed to be too many adventures that Marlin, Dory and Nemo must perform in order to re-unite in a happy ending. It is an incredibly immersive environment one finds themselves in while watching Finding Nemo on the big screen. But hopefully it won't make you squirm in your seat quite as much as I did trying to get comfortable.
Finding Nemo isn't as good as Monsters, Inc. but it really isn't very far behind the other Pixar projects in overall enjoyment and it may surpass all the other efforts in sheer beauty. As the ad campaign states -- "Go Sea It!"
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