An ongoing series looking back at the feature films from Pixar Animation Studios
Finding Nemo is a film I personally keep close to my heart. It’s my earliest cinematic memory, and it still holds up on repeat viewings over the last 11 years. It’s witty, it’s emotional, it’s imaginative, and it’s incredibly enjoyable. You understand the fear that Marlin (the superb Albert Brooks) has for the world around him, and it has character development for both Marlin and the titular Nemo (Alexander Gould), whilst companion Dory (the incredibly hilarious Ellen DeGeneres) gives the film the grand boost into enjoyment.
All the characters, whether featuring for a majority of the feature film or in minor segments, are joyous pieces of screen presence. Every actor fits the character they’re voicing; you can’t imagine anyone else voicing them. Whilst the standout stars are Brooks and DeGeneres as Marlin and Dory - another great double act for Pixar - the Fish Tank Gang are just as brilliant, thanks to the large variance of personalities between each member. Even the minimalistic characters, such as Bruce (Barry Humphries), Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson) and Crush (director Andrew Stanton) are enjoyable, filled with gags and gravitas.
The story may be a bit repetitive, with simple coming across a different species every so often, but with each meeting comes something new. The sharks bring in a niche prospect of vegetarian sharks (“Fish are friends, not food!”), the anglerfish is incredibly fearsome amongst the dark depths of the ocean abyss, the jellyfish cute and bright but dangerous with every touch, and the turtles being as free-flowing as the East Australian Current. Each segment brings something new, and the breaks to the Fish Tank Gang allow a bit of a breather from Marlin and Dory’s escapades.
The animation is a big improvement on Monsters, Inc., with superbly designed seafloors and the likes of kelp and anemones being incredibly beautiful. Even the water particles show just how precise the animators were during the film’s production. Add the floating of the fish themselves - they don’t exactly have feet - it shows how far forward they are in comparison to the competitors in the genre. To compare it with competitor Dreamworks and their 2004 film Shark Tale, they used their back fins as legs for numerous scenes - they didn’t have the skill.
Finding Nemo is one of the all-time greats. It’s incredibly funny, it has some of the best animation seen in Pixar’s pre-Disney-ownership days, and it has characters so brilliant that I’m more than willing to see them return in 2016 sequel Finding Dory. Finding Nemo very much deserves a 10/10.
Next Time: Honey, where’s my super suit?!
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