Finding Nemo

Review by Jason Gaston

Pixar is back with their latest visual feast called Finding Nemo, a perpetually cute movie about a clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) who sets out to find his son, Nemo - who is scooped up by a diver and placed in an aquarium in a dentist’s office in Sidney. Marlin meets a doopy blue tang named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) and together, they set out on an adventure where they must battle the wacky denizens of the deep.

Ever had a visual orgasm? Well, see this movie and you will. Finding Nemo is probably the most beautiful movie that Pixar has come out with… the fish, the reefs, the corral, and even the fixtures in the aquarium are just breathtakingly gorgeous. This is a movie where, if the sound system suddenly frizzed out and the speakers exploded, I would probably stick around just to watch in silence.

Of course, one of Pixar’s most ingenious innovations is to include a story with the visuals and this is yet another creation of theirs that does not disappoint. It’s a grand adventure, overall as Marlin and Dory brave the breathtaking environments from one harrowing experience to the next. Those harrowing experiences, by the way, are a hoot to go through… from a support group of sharks trying to give up eating other fish, to a school of stinging jellyfish, to escaping from a giant whale, to even a hysterical air escape from a swarm of seagulls who, comically, can only say the word, “Mine!” Imagine a hundred seagulls coming at you screaming the words, “Mine! Mine! Mine!” Funny stuff.

It is… trust me. It’s a lot funnier in the movie. Really.

The story also has a human side as well… which is odd because the cast is made up of fish, but nevertheless the humanity is there. Marlin is an overprotective father, Nemo is a curious little fish with a bum fin (making Marlin that much more protective), and Dory… well, she’s just a delightful airhead (big stretch there, Ellen). Even supporting players like a Rabbitfish voiced by Willem DaFoe and a pelican voiced by Geoffrey Rush are well rounded, likeable, and fun.

“Fun” is, of course, the operative word here and Finding Nemo is full of it. Both for adults and kids. This movie is satisfying both visually and emotionally… just beautiful filmmaking all around.