Release Date: 30 May, 2003
What's It About: Young Clownfish Nemo is separated from his overprotective father Marlin, who then embarks on a journey to find him and bring him home.
The Good: Finding Nemo's greatest achievement are its characters, each of whom receive a story and some screentime. Each fish is assigned a personality type and the look of them is tailored to the fish they represent. The graphics and animation are absolute top notch, and even stand up today. The way the water is animated is very natural and the way the light filters through from the surface to the bottom, bringing the whole ocean to life in the process.
The Bad: It's actually a bit difficult for me to say anything negative about this film because there isn't really anything to say. Being a children's movie, there are many liberties taken with plot and structure to help move it along, so a number of things that happen are quite coincidental and happenstance. Some of the film's tones, especially about single parenting, can be a bit preachy, but this is to be expected with a film of this nature.
Best Performance: Ellen Degeneres as the voice of Dory, a regal blue tang fish. Dory suffers from short-term memory loss, so she is always forgetting things, sometimes immediately (for comic effect) or not. She is the voice of chaos and acts as a foil to Marlin's safe, timid approach to life, and leads him down paths of adventure that he had never before even considered taking part of.
Should I Watch It: A heartwarming story of family, Finding Nemo manages to make us feel something for marine life. They are given personalities and have their species quirks incorporated into their characters to make them more developed and unique. Disney and Pixar have done an incredible job of bringing this film to life, and this is one of their finest works in years.
Post-Credits Scene: No
Similar Films: Happy Feet (2006), Ice Age (2002), Madagascar (2005)
Trailer:
