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Finding Nemo (2003)

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719 comments in total

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88 out of 115 people found the following comment useful :-
Yes, it's THAT good !!, 10 December 2003

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

I'll be totally honest and confirm to you that everything what they say about this movie is true. It's a brilliantly animated masterpiece with lots of humor that actually works and a plot that really brings tears to your eyes from time to time. The modern artists of Pixar never cease to amaze the audience in expanding their horizons. Finding Nemo is visually stunning and you can have nothing but respect for the people who created it.

I was more or less skeptic about watching it, because it was so overhyped ! Two days before it got released in my country, the TV and press loudly announced that the DVD broke all records in the USA during its first release-day. That's usually a sign of being typically mainstream and fake...but Finding Nemo is not. I'm allergic to fake sentiment and pathetic feel-good movies but I was really touched by this one. The moral and valuable life lessons are always present, but they're not shoved down your throat or thrown in your face all the time. This movie really relativates itself and that's important for a good comedy. And it's hilarious !!! Every side character in Finding Nemo (and there are a LOT of them) is exceptional and worth a mention. And the voices are cast perfectly as well...like the voice of Willem Dafoe for Gill, for example...a perfect choice. The character of Dory ( speaks through the voice of Ellen DeGeneres ) steals the show. She's an adorable blue fish who suffers from amnesia. She forgets what she's doing or going to every five minutes and that really leads to hilarious situations.

Movies like this aren't just being made for children exclusive... They're good for everyone to realize you have to entertain yourself from time to time and just to enjoy the little things in life. I recommend this to everyone in the world. No matter if you're 9 or 99 years old, Finding Nemo will bring a smile on your face and leave behind a warm feeling in your heart.

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64 out of 73 people found the following comment useful :-
Pixar's best feature to date, 15 October 2005

Author: kylopod (kylopod@aol.com) from Baltimore, MD

I have enjoyed most of the computer-animated films made so far, ranging from Pixar films like "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles" to DreamWorks films like "Shrek." But "Finding Nemo" is the one that remains unparalleled, not because of its comedy or creativity, both of which are equaled in the "Toy Story" movies and in "Monsters Inc.," but because it truly, more than any of the previous computer-animated features, reinvents the genre of the children's animated film.

Humor in traditional animation is usually based on broad slapstick and physical exaggeration. There are occasional nods to this brand of humor in "Finding Nemo," as when a flock of seagulls ram into a boat and we see their beaks crowing on the other side of the sail. But such sequences only call attention to how far this movie generally departs from old cartoon conventions. Instead, the movie invests its world of sentient animals with a surprisingly scientific texture. All of the animals are based on real species. The fish tank is constructed out of real devices. There is a strong sense of locale, as Marlin (Albert Brooks) travels across the Pacific to Australia, where even the animals speak with an Australian accent. In a scene that I'm sure Gary Larson of "Far Side" fame loved, a pelican discusses with a group of fish the intricate details of dentistry. The fact that the animals talk and understand what's going on is treated as though it were a natural feature of the world. The realism is so striking that by the end of the film, you'll almost believe it possible for fish to plot an escape from a tank.

Far from making the film pedantic, this approach results in an intelligent but still entertaining picture. Most of the humor is based on parodies of human behavior: repentant sharks start a club that's like Alcoholics Anonymous, a school of fish act like obnoxious DJs while forming themselves into spectacular patterns, and a four-year-old girl behaves like most kids that age, oblivious and destructive. The manner in which Marlin finds his way to his son is so inventive that we can forgive the film for the number of coincidences involved.

The story employs the same basic formula used in "Toy Story," in which two characters, one uptight and the other clueless, are thrown together as they're forced to journey through a world populated by creatures that are a lot more knowing than the humans realize. This movie, however, creates a unique character in Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a fish with short-term memory loss. To give a cartoon character a real human disorder is risky, to say the least, and I'm glad the filmmakers didn't lose the nerve to include this ingenious device, which not only generates some of the film's biggest laughs, but reinforces the character interaction that is so central to the story. This is in fact the only Pixar film to feature true character development. In the course of his voyage, Marlin learns to be more adventurous, getting parenting tips from a surfer-dude turtle voiced by the film's director Andrew Stanton, while his son Nemo learns to be self-reliant.

Of course, none of the sharks, jellyfish, whales, gulls, pelicans, lobsters, and humans that Marlin encounters along the way really mean any harm. They're just doing what they do. As Nigel the Pelican tells Nemo at one point, "Fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat." That's perhaps the film's most interesting insight, that there are no true villains, just creatures that act according to their nature, and a few that transcend it.

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45 out of 54 people found the following comment useful :-
quite a catch, 12 August 2003
Author: nadger_09

Pixar Studios have done it again. I have to say that these guys are totally good in computer animation, as well as in storytelling. Rarely do those qualities come together but here they are, delivering unto the audience once again something that one can only be drowned with wonder. Such is the marvel of Finding Nemo.

The story is about Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould), a young clownfish who is fed up with his dad Marlin's (Albert Brooks) excessive paranoia over him. He swims to a place where his dad forbids him and ends up being captured by a scuba diver. He is then placed in a fish tank in a dental clinic somewhere along the harbors of Sydney. Thus the quest of Marlin, along with Dory (a hilarious forgetful blue tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) to find Nemo before it's too late.

The story is a simple one but where the film more than makes up is on the overwhelming sense of detail and rich, lavish colors and textures as if we aren't really watching an animated film at all. Scenes such as Marlin bringing Nemo to school while swimming through corals and anemones, to the aquarium where Nemo was taken to, are nothing short of breathtaking, and undoubtedbly one of the most outstanding animation ever to hit the screen.

The world of "Finding Nemo" is simply alive with lovable creatures swimming about their daily lives under the ocean, darting across the screen in playful manners. The viewer almost literally dives into another world for nearly two hours and one cannot help but be completely captivated.

The music and screenplay also blend very well with the visual feast that it produces such a high quality movie. From its basic storyline, to the father-and-son relationship theme, to the wonderful underwater world throughout, this is really an adventure through an ocean of stunning visuals and storytelling.

Grade: A

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57 out of 82 people found the following comment useful :-
Great stuff., 6 June 2003
Author: sketchy (j6524@hotmail.com) from pembroke,massachusetts.

One of the best animated films I have ever seen. Great characters, amusing animation, and laugh-out-loud humor. Also, watch for the little skit shown after the credits. It's all great stuff that simply must be seen.

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29 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Another Disney/Pixar Classic, 22 January 2005

Author: Matthew Williams from England

Those guys and girls at Disney/Pixar have done it again, they've created the perfect underwater world, full of fascinating Disney characters.

A truly enchanting story of a father (Marlon) who loses his son (Nemo), and with help of his new found friend (Dory) ventures out into the ocean to try to find him. On this epic voyage he gets to battle sharks, surf with some turtle dudes, dice with some jellyfish and survive an encounter in a whales stomach.

All the characters are vibrant with Disney charm, but my favourite is Dory, the comic relief, probably one of the funniest Disney characters ever written and superbly voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, pure genius.

All in all this is another success for Disney and Pixar, It brings out the child in all of us.

Solid family fun 8/10

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35 out of 46 people found the following comment useful :-
Pixar Remains the Best Family Film Industry Out There Today..., 28 July 2003
Author: MovieAddict2008 from UK

Pixar Animation Studios has a very good knack for making thoughtful, intelligent and humorous family films (note that I didn't say kid films). "Toy Story" 1 & 2 and "Monsters, Inc." are some of my favorite family films; "Finding Nemo" isn't one of my favorites, but it isn't disappointing like "A Bug's Life," and it is thoughtful, intelligent, humorous and incredibly watchable, just like the other Pixar films.

As always, Pixar takes a world of something and completely builds their story around it. In "Toy Story" they gave life to toys and created the world through their eyes. In "Monsters, Inc.," they showed us the monster world. In my review on "A Bug's Life," I said that the reason the film didn't work very much is because it was about bugs, and not about something mystical like toys or monsters that bring back childhood memories. Well, I guess I was sorta wrong, because "Finding Nemo" is all about fish, nothing too mystical about fish, and I still loved it.

This tale takes place underwater with the fish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), whose spouse and baby fish eggs get eaten by a vicious shark in the beginning. All but one egg which Marlin names Nemo.

Years later Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould, Elliot's son?) is a bit older, and heading off to fish school for the first time. But haunted by the fact that his spouse and offspring were all killed years ago, Marlin is extremely over-protective of his one remaining family member. Nemo, sick of being treated like a baby, proves how brave he is by swimming near a fishing boat, only to be captured by a scuba-diving dentist. And so Marlin heads off to find Nemo, with the help of his newfound companion Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), who has short-term memory loss and forgets things sooner than she can carry whatever she is doing out. (Like when she is showing Marlin the way towards a fishing boat and suddenly forgets why Marlin is following her.)

Pixar doesn't let down the audience on this film. There are a few things that one can always expect from Pixar films: They can expect something (such as toys) to be given their own world. They can expect that world to be given careful attention to detail. And they can expect humor.

"Finding Nemo" gives fish their own world, and the underwater realm they live in is paid careful attention, painstakingly captured on film with computer graphics. And the humor is always there. All the characters are funny. I especially like the sequences from the inside of a fish tank in the dentist's office, with a bunch of fish including Gill (Willem Dafoe's vocal talents), who constantly tries to escape. By doing so, Gill has suffered major injuries, including landing on the dentist's tools and getting sliced up. This is, of course, a parody of escaping POWs. The fact that Willem Dafoe was in the great war movie "Platoon" might have something to do with that.

This is taken from my "Monsters, Inc." review: "Pixar once again not only expands our mind, but our very worlds. I respect their company and commitment values very much, as you can read in my 'Toy Story' review. They stick to the values that made Disney films so family-friendly back in the fifties and sixties: Respect for the audience, respect for quality, and respect for the audience's INTELLIGENCE, something Disney, who has recently coughed up a bunch of lousy, thoughtless sequels, has forgotten. Now, I know that LEGALLY Disney is co-creator of 'Toy Story' and 'Monsters, Inc.,' but they really are not. They just give Pixar the money and get their name branded on the front box of the film. And even then, I have heard multiple claims that Disney is very mean-spirited towards Pixar (read into sequel trouble for 'Toy Story 3') and gives them the bare minimum.

With "Finding Nemo," I still stick towards what I said. Pixar Animation Studios is probably the best family film company out there right now, I really hope they seperate from Disney some day and form their own production company. They know what interests both kids and adults, and it's almost creepy how they can make their films so engaging and fun to watch. This is one to take the kids to, and afterwards, maybe even sneak back into again by yourself.

5/5 stars -

John Ulmer

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27 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
amazing visuals, 28 November 2003
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

Has there ever been a better-looking feature-length animated film than `Finding Nemo'? We doubt it. With its shimmering underwater landscapes - be they in the vast immensity of a limitless ocean or the cramped confines of a dentist office aquarium - the film sports a look unlike anything we have ever seen before. The fish tank setting, in particular, is a veritable wonderland of eye-popping, many-hued visual splendor.

Although the script by Andrew Stanton doesn't scale the comedic heights of, say, `Aladdin,' `Shrek' or `Toy Story 2,' it still sparkles with enough wit and inventiveness to entrance youngsters and beguile the grownups who will be joining them in their viewing. I hasten to point out that the screenplay is blessedly free of all the double entendres and off-color humor that have blighted so much alleged `kiddie' fare in recent years. This is a film on e can watch with one's children and grandchildren and not once have to blush or turn away in embarrassment while doing so. Creators of children's films please take note (and take note, too, of its phenomenal box office take).

Like many tales designed for the junior set (`Dumbo,' `Bambi' etc.), `Finding Nemo' taps into the fear all children have of being separated from their parents - and the concomitant fear all parents have of being separated from their children. It is upon this common ground that members of both generations will meet in their emotional response to this film. In this case, it is little Nemo, an adorable clownfish, who is plucked out of the ocean and plunked down into the saltwater aquarium of a dentist in Sydney, Australia. The subject of the film's title is Marlin, Nemo's overprotective, worrywart dad who swims his way towards the continent to find and rescue his little tyke. Along the way, this Nervous Nellie parent learns a little something about giving his son the freedom a boy needs to grow up and become a man, and Nemo, himself, learns a thing or two about just what kind of a fish his dad really is.

Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres are brilliant as Marlin and Dory, respectively, the latter a befuddled, daffy and utterly good-natured fish who helps Marlin in his epic quest not only for his lost son but his own definition of filial love. Those familiar with these two fine comedic talents in their live-action performances will actually be able to see many of their distinctive inflections and facial expressions reflected in the animated characters they are portraying.

As directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich, and executed by an army of wonder-working animators and technicians, `Finding Nemo' takes PIXAR technology to its ultimate, final level of perfection - till the studio's next release, that is.

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35 out of 48 people found the following comment useful :-
"Finding" A Flight odf Fancy, 5 June 2003

Author: Andrew Howard (lhseaglerunner@hotmail.com) from Rochester, MN

Remember back when you were little.you know, back when tall to you was about as high as a mailbox? In those days, Disney animated films (e.g. `Lion King' and `Beauty and the Beast') were some of the coolest things out there and were movies to watch over and over (much to your parents' chagrin). Now, animated movies aren't exactly the `coolest' things to see, but an exception can be made for the uber-hip Pixar movies, the most recent of which being `Finding Nemo'.

After losing all but one of his brood, Marlin (Albert Brooks) an over-protective clown fish that strangely lacks a sense of humor, has resolved to protect his one (slightly disabled) `child' remaining, Nemo (Alexander Gould). But disaster strikes as Nemo is taken by a Sydney dentist and plopped into a fish tank where he is comforted by a host of other captive fish (William Dafoe, Vicki Lewis, Allison Janney, et al). But back in the big ocean Down Under, Marlin has resolved to search out his one remaining progeny.

Along the way on his quest, Marlin acquires a tag-along `friend', Dory (Ellen DeGeneres)-a fish with, well, the memory capacity of a fish. The two must surmount hurdles like a group of sharks (Eric Bana, Barry Humphries and Bruce Spence) that have (mostly) sworn off eating other fish, a nasty swarm of jellyfish, a bird-brained flock of seagulls, and others.

This is the bridge! Well, in a way. Back when I was younger, one of my favorite films was `The Incredible Mr. Limpet', which, for the uninitiated, combined live-action with under-the-sea fish animation. What Pixar has done here was bring back that film to my mind and start me thinking, because they have created a wondrous undersea environment (with `normal-looking' fish instead of 1960s animated fish).

My favorite feature in this movie chock-full of sweet treats must be the sharks. I have always been partial to the shark family, but what has been done in creating three humorous sharks (what a movie concept), just sent paroxysms of laughter through me. Another thing that (mostly) works is Ellen DeGeneres' fish (character?) that provides a fairly constant source of laughter with her antics (although a couple gags do wear on the viewer with time). On the whole though, there is not a single bit of shoddy voice-acting or animation in it.

Compared to `Monsters Inc.', `Finding Nemo' is something of a revival for Pixar. I like how they have stepped up their efforts to make an altogether pleasing film without any big flaws. The thing that I did not like with `Monsters' was the inclusion of a single key (but EXTREMELY annoying) character. Director Andrew Stanton has done an excellent job at making the film work and be (basically) non-annoying to most of the general public (and this critic).

I suppose life has come full circle-now that I am (relatively) old as a high school graduate, animation is cool again, thanks to high-powered computers, at any rate. `Finding Nemo' is one heckuva movie and a good one to take anyone you know to, trust me on this-nine out of ten.

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37 out of 53 people found the following comment useful :-
Who said fish are boring?, 11 January 2004

Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

"Finding Nemo" is a wonderful animated adventure movie that simply is irresistible for young as well as older persons.

The most excellent thing about "Finding Nemo" is the perfect timing, just like in "Monsters, Inc" the jokes are extremely well placed in a quick pace and are good for more then just a few laughs.

There are some very fun and great characters which brings me to the only problem I have with this movie. There are too many minor characters, I would have really loved to see some of the characters getting a bigger role with some more importance to the story instead of meeting character after character that are only on screen for no more than 5 minutes (such as the sharks). Sure it's good for the sense of adventure but it leaves some missed opportunities to make the story even more fun.

I think it's pretty obvious that the story is inspired on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy since it uses lot's of elements from it and it has the some feeling of adventure and excitement so it's really not a big thing that the story isn't very original, the original and fun way the story is told in compensates for this.

The voice cast as in many animated movies is impressive but the one that stood out was Ellen DeGeneres as Dory that you love to hate.

Irresistible movie for the whole family with great jokes and lines and some memorable characters and situations.

Mine, mine, mine!

9/10

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44 out of 83 people found the following comment useful :-
Thoroughly enjoyable, but the sum does not equal the parts., 2 June 2003

Author: saska-3 from Redmond, WA

Fresh off a viewing in a packed theater of kids and parents, my initial impression of "Finding Nemo" was that I had a great time throughout, but don't necessarily remember why. The film is similar to the "Toy Story" pacing, in that we follow two different protagonists in their attempt to return to one another. In brief summary, Marlin the overprotective father clownfish must overcome his own fear of open ocean to try and find his only son, Nemo, who has been captured by a diver and transplanted to an ocean-view dentist's office fish tank.

The visual impact of "Finding Nemo" is unparalleled in animated film. At its best, it compares to the experience of seeing the sweeping landscapes of "Fellowship of the Ring" for the first time - not until we own the DVD and my son has watched it a dozen times will I really have an opportunity to see the details crammed into the lush backgrounds of the coral reefs. It was noticeable, however, that frequent close-ups in open water were used to reduce the amount of time spent rendering those brilliant backgrounds. In comparison to Pixar films like "A Bug's Life", where every moment of the film includes rich textures and detailed background perspective, this seemed jarring at times. It should be noted that this is true to what the ocean looks like - if you're not diving in a coral reef, you are probably seeing a lot of floating detritus and gray water - but it's worth mentioning that the fish tank environment of Nemo and his fellow captives is, at times, more interesting than the open ocean.

Pixar took chances (or else saved money) with many of the voice actors used in the film. It was refreshing not to instantly "know" a voice was familiar in the case of many of the characters - all of them did a serviceable job, although the well-known actors also turned in some of the best performances. Ellen DeGeneres had no fear as the voice of Dory, gleefully pulling off vocal pratfalls that would have been hampered by someone else's sense of dignity. I can think of only one other actress - Julia Louis-Dreyfuss - who I think would have been able to do Dory well. Kudos to Ellen. Willem Dafoe is also noticeably brilliant as Gill, and it's a bonus that the animated character he plays is gorgeously realized. John Ratzenberger does a hysterical turn as the school of fish we all saw in the previews.

I am surprised at the number of characters whose voices are not credited in this film. I wanted to know, among others, who voiced Mr. Ray the schoolteacher and the trio of parents with whom Marlin banters.

I laughed out loud frequently and heartily throughout the film, but at the end, I looked back and wondered how those moments of amusement added to the story. Many people have commented that they loved the 12-step program for sharks ("Fish are our friends, not food!") but in the final analysis, it added very little to the arc and seemed out of character (I realize I'm stating the obvious). The frequently-dropped comedic digressions were the weak point in this picture, especially compared to "A Bug's Life", where the funniest moments of the film are all critical to the progress of the protagonist and impact the end of the story.

My 2 and a half year old son was frequently frightened to the point of crying out and grabbing on to me during the movie, and he followed the primary issues easily. At a particular moment in the film when things seemed hopeless, I heard dozens of young children beginning to cry. If your child is very affected by scary or dramatic moments in movies, you may want to talk with them about "pretend" versus "real" and prepare them for the eventuality that everything will turn out all right well before you go into the theater. His final analysis was that "the fish movie was good!" - so take it under advisement if you have kids of similar age.

I give "Finding Nemo" an 8 out of 10 on the strength of its visual lushness, its enjoyable voice work, and its moments of perfectly timed humor. It does not, in my opinion, match the strength as a *film* of earlier Pixar offerings, but even in its innocuous state, it's higher quality than most of the family films I've seen in the past 3 years.

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