Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo, the fifth installation in the Diseny/Pixar 3D animation partnership, is a film that should be on your list if you enjoy incredible comedic acting, adventurous narrative tales and visual artistry unrivaled in contemporary animation. The high-paced story revolves around a father and son clownfish learning, through an adventure-filled separation, how to appreciate what is truly important to one another. The movie is beautifully set in the fascinating undersea world of the Australian Great Barrier Reef.

The film starts with a tragic attack by a barracuda that leaves Marvin the clownfish (Albert Brooks), and adoring father-to-be, without a wife and with only one of what was once hundreds of eggs. This tragic event leaves Marvin in a perpetual state of paranoia with a motto that the one thing to remember about the ocean is “that it’s not safe”. His over-protectiveness drives his son Nemo (Alexander Gould) to disobey his father’s incessant admonitions to play it safe. While on a school field trip, Nemo takes up a challenge to touch the underside of a boat in unsafe open waters and pays dearly for this dare by getting captured by divers and sped off to Sydney. Marvin, utterly beside himself, instantly sheds his play-it-safe persona and puts all of his strength into chasing the boat through the ocean only to come up short as his son, his last connection to his dream of a family, speed away.

The tale reaches its conclusion following a crescendo of exciting events during which father and son learn to appreciate one another’s needs and, having learned first hand about bravery and loyalty come back to the life they both always dreamed of as happier and more well-adjusted reef dwellers. From this the viewer will feel their own sense of equilibrium, having just experienced a masterpiece of cinematography, casting, writing and sound production, though the animation alone sets the film and Pixar apart as an animated film.

Last edited on 2008-02-14 15:39:37 by Ted