Finding Nemo (2003)

"Finding Nemo" (2003) Review by Marshall Garvey Rating (0 to 5): 4.5 Grade: A+ Featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett, Allison Janney, Austin Pendleton, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Geoffrey Rush Directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich Produced by Graham Walters Written by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds Original music by Thomas Newman Walt Disney Pictures 100 minutes Rated G (Great pick for any age)

Pixar owes its greatness to the fact that it takes us to an imaginary world that we could not visualize. These worlds range from ones where monsters scare children for a living to ones where toys actually DO walk and talk and even have personalities that resemble ours. It takes simple, uncomplicated subjects like monsters, bugs, and toys and weaves them into almost flawlessly constructed movies that not only light the screen with vibrant animation, but also enchant viewers with inventively crafted stories that let them use their imaginations. "Finding Nemo" takes another familiar subject-fish-and spins it into a film that manages not only to be one of the best films of the year, but also one of the greatest animated movies of all time.

The film begins with two fish-Coral (voiced by Elizabeth Perkins) and Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks)-moving into their brand new sea anemone home in a nice neighborhood. Marlin is overjoyed; not only does the anemone provide a great view of the endless ocean, but it also rests upon a harrowed rock where they can keep their eggs (many of which Marlin hopes to name after himself). Just as they settle in, though, a barracuda attacks them, and Marlin is left unconscious. When he wakes up, Coral and all of the eggs are gone-except for a slightly cracked one Marlin finds at the base of the rock. Now that it's all he has left of his family, Marlin swears to protect it with his life. The fish, later born with a lame fin because of the damage done to its egg, is named Nemo.

Next we see a young, excited Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould) trying to arouse his sleeping father, for it's the first day of school and he's not keen on missing it. Marlin is reluctant to go, however, and insists more on being safe. So first they look both ways and make sure not to talk to strangers. Even when they arrive at school, Marlin still won't leave his son and let him go on the class field trip (worse, he can't even tell a good joke to the other parents, although they believe he can with his being a clownfish). Not long after Nemo leaves, however, he wanders off with a few friends to the edge of the reef, where they spot a dark, mysterious shape in the distance ("I think it's called a butt" suggests one of them). It's actually a fishing boat, which Nemo decides to swim to and touch to show his bravery, even though it's against his father's wishes (Marlin does, of course, show up eventually). As he's swimming back, though, a scuba diver rises from behind and puts him in a plastic bag. Soon, the boat speeds off with Nemo on it, and Marlin pursues it as far as he can. Sadly, it leaves him in its wake as it takes his son away to Sydney, Australia.

Panicking, Marlin heads straight into the fish traffic mainstream for help and ends up bumping into a memory-challenged fish named Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), who not long after agreeing to help him starts to ask why he's following her. This memory loss attribute is actually factual, as are many of the details given to the characters in the film (In one scene, for example, a young sea horse tells his friends that he's H2O intolerant).

During their journey, Marlin and Dory run into a great white shark named Bruce (voiced by Barry Humphries) who instead of eating both of them takes them to a rusty mine field where he and his pals Anchor (voiced by Eric Bana) and Chum (voiced by Bruce Spence) hold meetings inside a submarine. At these meetings they discuss how to further bond with fish and live in peace with them, and even swear under their oath, "Fish are friends, not food". Even so, Bruce suddenly sees Marlin and Dory as his food when he smells a bit of Dory's nosebleed. All of a sudden, the two find themselves darting around the submarine, trying to hide in different chambers as Bruce zeroes in on them. They aren't eaten, thankfully, as Dory gets the idea to release a torpedo, which drifts slowly and then arcs down upon a water mine and -- well, you can guess.

Over in Sydney, Nemo is dumped into a dentist office fish tank full of several other fish that have been institutionalized by their surroundings. There's one fish that spends hours staring at a treasure chest and screams "My bubbles!" whenever the lid lifts open to let a small burst of bubbles out. There's a crab named Jacques (voiced by Joe Ranft) who's solely accustomed to cleaning. There's even a starfish named Peach (voiced by Allison Janney) who's been up on the side of the tank so long she's memorized different dental procedures and even how long it takes for the dentist to go to the bathroom (4.2 minutes, to be exact). Of all these fish and a few others, though, only one other than Nemo has seen life under the sea: a scar-faced tropical fish named Gill (voiced by Willem Dafoe). Gill is like a cross between Sgt. Barnes and Sgt. Elias from "Platoon", a fish who has lost faith in life in a tank, yet also cares for everyone else that surrounds him. Many times he has devised plans to escape, but they have all failed. Like Nemo, he too has a lame fin, and grows to care deeply for the young clownfish (Nemo is even ushered in as "Sharkbait" at a ceremony on top of Mt. Wanna-Hock-A-Loogie, a small volcano inside the tank).

However, Nemo's life is in grave danger, for the dentist that captured him plans on giving him to his niece Darla (voiced by LuLu Ebeling), who's kind of like a cross between Boo from "Monsters Inc." and Sid from "Toy Story". She's a sweetheart in her uncle's eyes, but to everyone in the tank she's a catastrophic nightmare (she once killed a fish by shaking its plastic bag too much).

To prevent Nemo's foreseeable death, Gill concocts a plan to make the tank so dirty that it would have to be cleaned by hand, during which they would roll out the window in their plastic bags and head across the street to the Sydney Bay. Firstly, though, the filter system would have to be jammed, and Nemo is the only one who could slip in, stop it, and swim out of the suction tube. On the first attempt, he manages to jam the wheel with a pebble, but as he swims out it becomes dislodged, causing the filter to suck him back in. With the help of his friends, he manages to get out. Afterwards, however, everyone's hopes are left shattered, and Nemo refuses to go back in. Later, though, he summons up the courage to do it again, and succeeds, and soon the tank is covered with scum so thick even Jacques has to resist cleaning it. But when a new filter is placed in that's so advanced it can even scan the tank and everyone who lives in it, the whole scheme is foiled, and Marlin and Dory are soon the only ones who can save Nemo.

As I watched "Finding Nemo", I was amazed at how fluent and lavish both the story and animation was. While "Rugrats Go Wild!" was a droll and forgettable experience, "Finding Nemo" was one of the greatest times I've spent at the theater in quite a while. Rarely before had I seen a film so imaginative that I indulged in every second of it and absorbed its color and brilliance. First off, it showed me a world not only of great visual splendor, but one that showed much creative effort and unique perspectives. For example, we see Marlin and Dory accidentally swallowed by a whale that looks like a cavernous drop on the inside, a cluster of jellyfish that looks like a bunch of pink balloons, and a small reef that looks like a lively metropolis. The film even reminded me of "Blade Runner", another movie that excited me with the world it presented onscreen. Then again, what else would you expect from the visionaries at Pixar?

One of the things I liked most about "Finding Nemo" was the characterization of the fish tank residents. The way they're presented is much like the way the patients are in the Milos Forman classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", with each one having different personality traits that come as a result of their confinement. Gill is the Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson's character in "Cuckoo's Nest") of the bunch, always trying to lead his companions against the conventionalities of their given lives. I was surprised at how deep this and the reference to "Platoon" were, much unlike the overused and easily recognizable references of the "Rugrats" movies, which are often enjoyable but a bit too obvious. The film also has a discernible but still funny knock of "The Shining" where Bruce, trying to hunt down Marlin and Dory, sticks his face through a door and says, "Here's Brucey!"

The film's pairing of the determined, no-nonsense Marlin and the forgetful, slow-witted Dory as the heroes is wonderful and makes the film's story work well, and both Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres provide wonderful voice talent for their respective characters. The chemistry between the two in certain moments is also a key to the film's drive, namely the scenes in which Dory tries to communicate with a whale by moaning in a low tone even as they're close to dropping into its stomach. Another display of this comes when Marlin and Dory find a scuba mask with the dentist's address on it, which they eventually lose. Then, for a while afterwards, Dory constantly repeats the address, "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney", to herself so that she doesn't forget.

"Finding Nemo" is a splendid family treasure that, like the other surprising Disney gem "Holes", is thoroughly enjoyable for people of any age. It's a film that I would more than easily pass off as flawless in every area (it even reinvents butt jokes). Even if its story were weak, it would probably still be worthy of at least ***1/2 stars solely for its lavish animation. But hey, if it's Pixar, then chances are there probably isn't a single flaw. And that's the truth.

Note: This review is late due to my three-week vacation. This review is also purely of my doing, and I do not copy off other reviewers.

So, what does this rating system mean anyway? *****-A masterpiece of filmmaking that should be seen at all costs ****1/2-A fabulous movie. An absolute must catch. ****-An excellent show. Be sure to see it. ***1/2-A good film. Recommended. ***-Decent movie that could be a lot better. **1/2-Average movie with a number of flaws. **-Pretty bad with a few saving graces. *1/2-Bad. Don't see it. *-Awful movie. Stay away. ½-An atrocious abomination that MUST be avoided. 0-Death may come.

Please keep in mind that not all of the star ratings and grades speak all the volumes for a film. For example, I may heavily recommend a ***1/2 stars film, even if it isn't worthy of **** stars.

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X-RT-RatingText: 4.5