June 4, 2003 -- “Finding Nemo” is a beautifully-drawn animated film about a little fish trying to get home and an overprotective father fish trying to find his son. The artwork is gorgeous and the characters are strong. The story dates back several thousand years to “The Odyssey,” at least. It is similar to “E.T.,” “Lassie Come Home,” and “The Incredible Journey,” among many others.

The story starts with a couple of clownfish, Marlin (voice by Albert Brooks) and his son, Nemo (voice by Alexander Gould). Marlin has lost his other children and wife to predatory fish in the coral reef where he lives. He is overprotective of Nemo, hoping to spare him the same fate. Nemo, fed up with his father's fussing, swims into deep water one day and is captured by a diver and put into a fish tank in a Sydney, Australia dentist's office. Marlin is determined to find his son. He sets off on an odyssey to find Nemo. Along the way he meets an array of interesting characters, including Dory (voice by Ellen DeGeneres), a blue tang who has a problem with short-term memory. Dory likes Marlin and tags along on his long search.

Other characters include three sharks going through a 12-step program to get them out of the habit of being mere eating machines. A group of laid-back surfer dude turtles also helps the two fish find their way to Sydney. There is also a school of moon fish which form themselves into interesting shapes, a whale, large flocks of very funny seagulls, some friendly (and not-so-friendly) pelicans and numerous other creatures encountered by Marlin and Dory during their long journey. Meanwhile, Nemo encounters another collection of creatures inside the dentist's fish tank. Fish in the tank include a moorish idol fish named Gill (voice by Willem Dafoe), who has often tried to escape back to the ocean, a starfish named Peach, Bloat, the blowfish, a yellow tang called Bubbles, a royal gramma named Gurgle, a shrimp named Jacques, and Deb, a black and white humbug damsel fish. The fish in the tank plan their own escape even as Marlin and Dory journey toward them.

The story has a lot of moral and philosophical overtones. One of its messages is that you should not let fear rule your life. Another is to believe in yourself, your family and your friends. Another is that it sometimes takes a lot of courage to obtain one's freedom. The story is mainly about a father's love for his son, but it is also about growing up and facing the world head on. There are no real surprises in the story, but it is compelling because of its interesting, well-defined characters, enhanced by some big name Hollywood voice talents (Ellen DeGeneres is especially good as the forgetful Dory). The film was made by some of the same Pixar Studios/Disney team members who made other recent popular animated features. The film is directed by Andrew Stanton (“A Bug's Life”) and Lee Unkrich (“Monsters Inc.”) and was written by Stanton, Bob Peterson (story supervisor for “Monsters Inc.”) and David Reynolds (“The Emperor's New Groove”). The music is by Thomas Newman (“Road to Perdition”). There is a very nice rendition of “Beyond the Sea” over the credits, sung by Robbie Williams. The artwork is the real star of this film however, as it demonstrates another quantum leap in computer animation. The water effects are stunning and the three dimensional look of the animation is uncanny. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2003 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.