Back after several years away and looking forward to seeing what I have missed! Hope the site is as ...
Back after several years away and looking forward to seeing what I have missed! Hope the site is as interesting as it was 4 years ago!
Member since:03.08.2003
Reviews:31
Members who trust:4
The other day I saw this making of ‘mockumentary’ on CBBC or something about this film and I was so impressed that I went to it later that afternoon. I’m very happy to tell you that I was not in any way disappointed by the finished article! Finding Nemo is, as with all Pixar offerings, exceptionally well drawn, animated and directed so I will leave the ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahhs’ about all that stuff until later on (as they were worth commenting on!). Aside from that this was a classic film from the new wave of Disney films sweeping across the cinema landscape. The traditional basic moral of the story type thing is heavy-handedly hammered home to the audience but it manages to do this without losing any of the humour that made the film so appealing. The script writing and characters are superb. Andrew Stanton is to be congratulated for writing and excellent story and screenplay. Anyway before I lose myself in a big structureless rant about the good points of this film let me break it down for all concerned!
THE PLOT
I’m sure you’ve all seen the trailer but never mind. Marlin (the father fish who despite being a Clown fish isn’t very funny wait I digress) buys a house at the Drop Off (the edge of the reef they call home) for his wife and millions
of eggs. Unfortunately disaster in form of a predator calls and despite his best effort only one damaged egg is left! The result is Nemo a small fish with an underdeveloped fin that Marlin over-protects as he is so cut up his loss earlier on. Nemo goes to school with Marlin very unhappy about it. Marlin finds out they are going to the drop off and chases Nemo to tell him that he can’t swim out into open water because of his fin. Nemo tries to prove him wrong and does but is soon taken by divers. Marlin gives chase but he cannot catch them. He bumps into a fish with no short term memory called Dory and off they set on an adventure to find Nemo meeting loads of characters on the way like surfer turtles Crush and Squirt (expect a spin off film about these guys in the near future!), veggie sharks (kind of), Nigel the pelican and many more besides. Nemo meanwhile is in a fish tank with an equally odd bunch all trying to escape from the tank. Nemo in particular needs to get away to prevent being given to Darla the horrible child (just think the kid from Toy Story). Anyway Marlins story of heroism gets all the way top Sydney and the two face another batch of adventures to be reunited! I won’t say any more than that but it had me laughing out loud at the stupid gags and slap stick stuff.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
Oh dear it must be done. Marlin doesn’t believe in his son. Nemo realises this. While apart they find a substitute to work through their issues on (Dory and Gill respectively) and in the end learn to love, trust and believe in each other! Walt would have been proud of that one!
ANIMATION
This needs a mention. The crew that worked on this spent years working out how to do this and it comes together beautifully. Particularly impressive is the range of expression they have despite having no limbs to speak of (except Jacques the shrimp). Apparently they had a tank with all the main species in it at the studio (even the great white) and studied them for how to make each of the characters move realistically. The voice actors could also look for inspiration on tone of voice and attitude etc. Excellent!
DIRECTION
Normally I would comment a lot on this but I was so wrapped up in the plot that I realy didn’t notice the work of the Director in the film. In my opinion that is one of the highest compliments that could be given for a film like this so well done to Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich for that!
CAST/ VOICES
Marlin: Albert Brooks
Good performance as the doting father who learns to trust in his sons ability. Voice was full of character and fitted very well. Really there for the pathos not the comedy it seemed.
Dory: Ellen DeGeneres
Hilarious throughout. Helped by some good dialogue but undoubtedly connected with her fish character in a way I’ve not heard her do with any human one.
Nemo: Alexander Gould
Good performance from a child actor. Sounded believable and was still young enough to have the women in the audience melting.
Gill: Willem Dafoe
Probably the most appropriate voice as the surrogate father figure for Nemo in the tank and the guy behind all the escape plans. Excellent.
Tank Gang: Brad Garrett, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Joe Ranft
All played their characters well and added some nice comic touches to the tank. A bit like the Toy Story non-main characters they weren’t key to the plot but were pretty funny
Crush and Squirt: Andrew Stanton and Nicholas Bird
He was involved in everything it seems! Great stuff from these two and as I said probably going to be the most popular characters going. We’ll be seeing these again soon.
Bruce and his mates: Barry Humphries, Eric Bana and Bruce Spence
All great but ex Dame Edna Mr Humphries steals the show and is one of the most surprising vocal performances in the film. Very deep bassy Australian veggie shark called Bruce, hmmm. Who to cast? Dame Edna? Yeah sorted!
Special Mentions
Nigel the Pelican : Geoffrey Rush Mr Ray: Bob Peterson Fish School: John Ratzenburger
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Yeah it’s fantastic. Go and see it now. Go on. Stop reading this and leave.
Still here? Ok you want more. Well its sharp, beautifully animated, funny and even squeezes in morals for the kids about trust and togetherness. How much more do you need in a family film. The cast are excellent and the script great as well. I love this film and will be buying the DVD soon enough! I would recommend this to anyone but a cynical genX freak who can’t enjoy anything at all! Even the little bonus film you see before the film (Pixars first film short) is really good so don’t plan on missing the trailers and miss that. Go early its worth seeing a few poxy U trailers! Even when you've found Nemo you'll want to keep looking.Thanks for reading!
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A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventureFinding Nemo. When his ... more
son Nemo is captured by a scuba diver, a nervous clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventureFinding Nemo. When his ... more
son Nemo is captured by a scuba diver, a nervous clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Nemo an adventurous young clownfish is unexpectedly taken to a dentist's office ... more
aquarium. It's up to Marlin (Albert Brooks) his worrisome father and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish to make the epic journey to ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Finding Nemo (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [2003] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78525038.jpg "Finding Nemo (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [2003] [DVD]")
Oct 15th, 2003
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![Finding Nemo [Collector's Edition]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/106082569.jpg)
