“Finding Nemo” is the latest animated blockbuster from Disney and Pixar, the team who brought us “Toy Story”, “A Bug’s Life” and “Monsters Inc”. I’ve been a big fan of this type of film ever since I saw the first “Toy Story” movie, so I was keen to see “Finding Nemo” and I recently borrowed it from a colleague.
This undersea adventure tells the story of Marlin, a clownfish, and his quest to find his only son, Nemo, who has gone missing. Nemo is particularly precious to Marlin, after a shark attack some years before resulted in the death of his wife, Coral, and all bar one of the clutch of eggs they were nursing. The one remaining egg produced Nemo, a baby clownfish, perfect but for one slightly weak fin. Nemo has had a sheltered childhood, as Marlin is fiercely protective of his only son – but the time has come for Nemo to start school (school – geddit?) and despite Marlin’s offers to let him stay at home for another year, Nemo is very keen to leave the confines of the anemone on the Reef, where he lives with his father and get out into the big wide ocean.
Unfortunately, Nemo’s explorations with his newfound friends end in disaster when – to prove to his father that he is perfectly capable of swimming just as far as any other fish – he ventures too far away and is captured by a diver collecting tropical fish in jars.
And so begins Marlin’s quest. With the aid
of Dory, a very forgetful fish whom he meets along the way, he sets off on a perilous journey to Sydney, where he believes Nemo is to be found. Along the way, they encounter some sharks, who (fortunately!) are trying to give up eating fish, some sea turtles, a shoal of ferocious jelly fish and a killer whale.
As for Nemo, he is indeed in Sydney, living in a fish tank at the surgery of the diving dentist who captured him. He quickly makes friends with the other inhabitants of the tank – including a battered but kind hearted old fish called Gill and a pink starfish called Peach – but he lives under the threat of a visit from the dentist’s niece. She wants a new fish – and the last fish she took from the tank lasted only a few minutes in her care. Nemo appears to be lined up as her next pet – and his only hope of escaping and being reunited with his father is a seagull called Nigel…
As usual with the Disney/Pixar films, the animation is flawless, and the coral of the Great Barrier Reef and the imposing skyline of Sydney Harbour make a wonderfully rich and colourful backdrop for the action. As usual, we have in the mix a range of different characters, each with their own personality and style.
The story is good and provides almost “edge of the seat” action, particularly for younger viewers, but is also gripping enough to absorb most adults. It is, however, very similar in its basic premise (several characters racing against time to rescue a friend/family member before it is too late and a terrible fate befalls them) to several of the other films already mentioned – particularly “Toy Story 2” so offers nothing particularly new or clever in terms of plot. Also, and call me cynical if you will, as it is a children’s film, we were never in any doubt that we would be treated to a happy ending, with Nemo and Marlin being reunited. Can you imagine Disney actually allowing one of their movies to end with its hero being flushed down the toilet to an almost certain death? Or another hero being digested by a killer whale? I thought not!
That said, the opening scene, where Marlin’s wife and almost entire prospective family are wiped out by a shark, did actually bring a tear to my eye, although it’s early enough on in the film that we have not become too attached to any of the characters, and young viewers will be no more than momentarily upset, as the action quickly moves forward a few years to the point where Nemo is starting school.
Although I enjoyed this film and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with children or anyone who enjoys animated adventures, it did not have quite as much adult appeal as some of its peers. “A Bugs Life” in particular featured a multitude of bug-related jokes (such as the poop platter and the bloody mary being served up in a bug bar, and the fat, German caterpillar who never quite manages to get off the ground) which were comparable with any adult comedy. Similarly, although not a Disney film, “Shrek" also featured a number of jokes that would be lost on some younger viewers but would be found highly entertaining by adults watching the movie. I didn’t feel that “Finding Nemo” quite hit the mark in the same way – perhaps there are just not quite as many fish-related jokes to be had. Dory’s absent mindedness did provide a few laughs, but actually became a little tiresome towards the end of the film.
Throughout the film I was convinced that the voice of Marlin was provided by Tom Hanks – but I discovered as the credits rolled that it was in fact Albert Brooks. Other famous names that appear are Ellen De Generes as Marlin’s forgetful sidekick Dory and Willem Defoe as Nemo’s new friend Gill.
Finding Nemo is a fun way to pass an hour and a half – its charming story, beautiful animation and cute, plucky characters will keep adults and children alike absorbed throughout. For me, however, it just manages to fall short of being a real classic.
As it’s a Disney film, it will never be found on special offer, so perhaps it’s one to add to the Christmas list, as it seems to retail around the £15.99 mark for the DVD. It does, of course, have a U certificate, and is therefore suitable for all.
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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: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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 Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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
Advantages: It's Disney, often a quality guarantee Disadvantages: disc 2 is a bit superfluous, only workth the collector's edition if you're a big extra fan
M.Newcastle 02.09.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Finding Nemo (DVD)
![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]")
Jun 17th, 2004
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