Finding Nemo

Rating:
Summary: CUTE AND CREATIVE
Review: FINDING NEMO was a big hit with myself and my young niece and nephew. Diving beneath the deep sea of the Great Barrier Reef near the coast of Australia, Disney portrays the delightful world of the lives of fish and other creatures that inhabit this often-unknown region of Earth's geography. In addition this film is a wonderful way to teach youngsters about these amazing animals. Nemo is a young clown fish who becomes separated from his father after he is captured by a diver and taken back to Sydney to accompany other fish in his aquarium. What follows is a cute and creative tale of Nemo and his father attempting to find each other while they face numerous obstacles. Under normal circumstances I tend not to watch animated movies but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both adults and children can enjoy FINDING NEMO.

Rating:
Summary: Got to be the favorite...
Review: I saw THe Ring a few months ago and I thought that no movie could ever beat it. It was scary, in a way funny, and the best movie I had ever seen. Saturday night I went to see Finding Nemo, now there's a movie that has got to be a favorite. I instantly fell in love with all the charaters. I especially liked Dory who kept the movie moving and the audience laughing and Marlin for his pretty funny actions as well. Then there was Nemo, who must be the crowd's favorite because all around me I heard kids yelling, "Quick, find Nemo!!!" It was adorable. But if you think that this movie is just for kids, think again. While the little 6 year old in light-up shoes next to me was laughing the entire movie, I was crying, hiding and laughing histarically. Finding Nemo is definitely the new favorite of mine, and will definitely be a tough movie to follow! But this is a movie for all ages, even adults and will be a family favorite guarenteed!

Rating:
Summary: Things for folks of all ages...
Review: If you were going to rank Pixar films, 'Finding Nemo' would come in behind the great "Monsters, Inc." but ahead of "A Bug's Life." You can debate where it stands vs. the "Toy Story" twosome. It's Toy Story's dramatic impact on the movie-making community vs. Finding Nemo's quantum leaps in rendering capabilities.

And that's where any discussion of "Nemo" should start. The sheer complexity and richness of underwater life depicted here is incredible. Forget about flora and fauna...think about the imagination and computing power required to simulate the pervasiveness and action of water.

This movie gets a heck of a lot better when it jumps out of the ocean and into a dentist's aquarium. Those scenes are wonderful, especially the role of Gill, as portrayed superbly by Willem Dafoe. Dafoe's stirring reading is suggestive of a POW leader in dramatic WWII setting. Great stuff. He also tosses in the occassional riff. "Gill" refers to the faux mountain setting in the aquarium as "Mt. Wannahockaloogie," bringing guffaws from the adults and "what's so funny?" reactions from all the kids.

Other pleasures:

- Geoffery Rush as a klutzy pelican named Nigel.

- Barry Humphries (aka 'Dame Edna') as a wonderfully malevolent shark in the midst of a trying 12-step "no fish" program.

- Ellen DeGeneres as a Blue Tang with "Memento"-like short-term memory issues.

- Albert Brooks perfectly cast as Nemo's fussy, overprotective father Marlon (a perfect example of how Pixar renders the character to fit the spirit of the voice). This is Brooks' best stuff since "Broadcast News."

- Bill Hunter as the unwitting scuba diver/dentist. [Hunter was Dance President Barry Fife in "Strictly Ballroom" and Terence Stamp's maybe-boyfriend 'Bob' in "Priscilla Queen of the Desert." As a long-time admirer of his work, it was an unexpected treat to hear his voice again.]

Rating:
Summary: Finding Story
Review: While Andrew Stanton gets primary credit for the writing duties in Finding Nemo, one gets a sense that a team of secondary writers sitting around a table doing their best to come up with some fresh fish jokes had a pretty serious impact. For one, it appears that many story-element arguements went unsettled, as a movie with a one-beat plot contains a jumble of mixed messages for today's minor minnows. The story is: find Nemo. Nothing else. The jokes are funny. The animation is amazing. As for toddlers in the audience, perhaps they will be less concerned with the hulking great white shark Bruce that goes into a blood induced feeding frenzy, accompanied by, what some might suggest, all the stylistic bells and whistles of a good monster movie. Additionally, toddlers might find the peaceful 'terror of the deep' lantern fish with glowing saber-teeth that snap shut like a bear trap a humorous chase sequence through the dark of the 'twilight zone' as Jacque Cousto was wont to call this particular phosphorescent feeding ground. Or maybe it will be the fun-filled bouncing game through the certain death tentacles of thousands of jellyfish that will spark those flickers of joy in a child. While it is true that young people often miss the more adult elements of the generic Disney film, this one goes beyond innuendo.

Marlin, an unfunny clownfish, is voiced by Albert Brooks, and like other stock Brooks performances, can't seem to get a break. After purchasing a risky bit of cliff-side real-esate, his wife and all his children (save one) are eaten by a barricuda (more fun child-fare). This prompts poor Marlin to live a life of over-cautiousness and over-protectiveness. When Nemo is abducted out of the reef's safety, Marlin must ignore all his fears and rush out into the terrors of the sea to save him. Fortunately, he is accompanied by a Hippo Tang named Dory with a short-term memory voiced by Ellen Degeneres. The question of how Dory has managed to survive in such a dangerous world for so long goes unanswered, but her bumbling luck (good or bad?) leads her (and Marlin) into some incredibly dangerous situations, all the while unwitting of the potential for disasterousness. Marlin, on the other hand, is very aware of how dangerous everything is, but has no choice but to carry on in his quest. The message: ignore life's dangerous elements and proceed? It's what Nemo did (though he's rescued from certain death), and its what Marlin did initially (to the demise of his entire family). After all is said and done, they end up safely back in the reef, but now, Marlin can tell a joke without ruining it (though how is never explained) and Nemo can go to school without sending ripples of fear through his father. And hey, all it took was a long voyage filled with countless terrors. Is there a fish psychologist in the house? Don't ask Dory, she can't remember... a perfect example of repression therapy. Without it, how could she befreind the three sharks that tried to eat her. No one seems to mind their hovering presence over the reef... of course not, they are 'reformed' from their meat eating days. Just don't get a bloody nose or everybody dies. A positive message in how to not bother to fight your own insticts.

Ultimately, Finding Nemo is a fascinating study of repression in child-rearing adults, and a sort of denial-acceptance of the worlds dangers. While adults may find this aspect of it intriguing, the simple story-line undercuts the more intelligent elements. Simply put, there really isn't much of a story-line at all. As for the kiddos, the fish without fangs and blood frenzy-less are cute and funny, but be prepared to do a little late-night nightmare counseling.

Rating:
Summary: Mine, Mine?
Review: A much better movie than I expected to see.

Albert Brooks plays the same character that he has played very well in many pictures, Willem Dafoe proves once again that he can give credibility to old vampires, psyco goblins and escape happy fish, but the real star of the show is Ellen DeGeneres as Dory.

She has the best lines but she also pulls them off well. She makes this picture even funnier than the computer graphics are good. (and the graphics are VERY good)

If possible see this movie at the drive-in as I did as the bigger screen really makes this picture rock.

There was a great little pixar pre-feature concerning a snowman and a blonde. I don't know if it was only at the drive in or not but it was great.

As always Pixar computer animators prove that the old Nerd chat "That's alright that's ok you'll all work for us someday." is more than just words. As their quality is so steady that it almost doesn't need comment it really becomes the job of the voice over actors to make the film. They do.

Rating:
Summary: Pixar does it again!
Review: My daughter and I went to see this film at our local IMAX theater and I have to say it was fabulous! This picture deals with some difficult themes in an entertaining and heart-warming way. The ocean scenes were so breath-taking that at times it was hard to believe we were watching computer animation. We loved this movie so much that we will be going to see it again this week. Looking around the theater I saw many young adults and couples without children. I hope the 70 million dollar opening weekend sends a message to Hollywood: America is tired of the violence. We want more feel-good movies.

Bravo Disney/Pixar! We are patiently awaiting your next theatrical release in Nov. 2004!

Rating:
Summary: Pixar scores again
Review: I'm a college boy, and I'm not afraid to admit that Pixar is the best film company today. Monsters Inc and the Toy Stories don't get old, and Nemo won't either. The underwater world that was created is incredible and the characters have the usual down to earth charm that makes Pixar so successful. Nemo continues Pixar's run of excellence. One complaint that I have is that the short film was god-awful. Definitely a step down from the Monsters Inc short. But Nemo rocks. So go see it.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific family film
Review: I'll put my main quibble up front -- why does every animated movie have to have orphans? From Bambi on...Disney, et al, just love wiping out the parents. But of course, _Nemo_ plays on this better than most, leaving a father to take care of the one surviving child (out of hundreds) after a barracuda wipes out fish suburbia. The father becomes overly protective and the son, reacting to this, does stupid things that lead to his capture and new home in a dentist's aquarium. Then the father goes on a quest to find Nemo. Since it's a kids' movie, he succeeds! In fact the ending is quite heartwarming. As another reviewer put it, it falls on the good side of manipulative.

The animation is excellent, as are the voicings (DeGeneres in particular, speaking in "whale", is a riot). The aquarium scenes are very funny too (the fish have become dental experts). There are plenty of in-jokes for the adults, and the kids will be enthralled by the big blue landscapes, expertly filled by Pixar. My kids, at least, enjoyed this more than they did the VeggieTales' _Jonah_ movie this last winter. Thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: Pixar Does It Again
Review: Another great adventure from Pixar: the excellence in animation, writing, matching voices to characters, etc. you have come to expect from these films is all here, to say nothing of the quirky humor aimed primarily at the bigger kids in the audience. The underwater environment is simply breathtaking, and as we descend to greater oceanic depths, realistically creepy!

Plot deals with realistic issues of parents letting go, kids testing the limits (waters???), friendship, family, loss, love etc you name it. Very enjoyable movie for kids of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Will be a classic
Review: Not quite 5 stars but who's going to quibble. Finding Nemo is gorgeous, cute and smart. (If you are going to cast actors in animation let them have colorful voices.) Even the credits had the characters hanging around until the end. The DVD should be excellent. Pixar could put a DVD together of just their short cartoons. It's alot of fun.