61) Finding Nemo
Director: Andrew Stanton
Year: 2003
Plot Summary: A father-son underwater adventure about a fish and his son Nemo, a boy clown fish, who is stolen from his home in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and taken to a fish tank in a dentist's office in Sydney. His timid father and a blue tang fish named Dory with short-term memory loss must follow the East Australian current in order to get to Sydney and take Nemo home.
Like in Pixar's later effort, Up, Finding Nemo opens up with a scene of utter heartbreak that, therefore, instantly makes you care about the film's main character. From this moment on, because you have such strong emotions towards him, the little fish's adventure across the sea is both gripping and involving viewing. Most of all though, it's very emotional and you'd be heartless not to feel even slightly moved by Marlin's plight to rescue his one and only remaining son and keep the promise he made to ensure his safety.
It's a simple story - in fact, it's as basic a rescue/escape narrative that you will find - but Finding Nemo is made up of complex themes that, at times, many of the young viewers will struggle to comprehend. Marlin resembles the issues that both a father and a single parent will face in their upbringing of a child; the conflict between protecting your child and allowing independence, the need to teach them about the way of the world, how they become the centre of your life and the desire to be adored and admired by them.
Thankfully, whether children can grasp these complex internal issues is irrelevant. After all, from the minute the title hits the screen, there are barrels of laughs to be found in Finding Nemo which are all brilliantly written with a level of intelligence that you'd struggle to find in any film, not just in a kids film!
Furthermore, each character, whether its the laid back Crush or the menacing-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside shark Bruce is as fascinating as the next. They all have great moments and splendid lines of dialogue in each of their scenes. Moreover, every one of them is crucial to the story. The aforementioned Crush is able to teach Marlin about the importance of letting children occasionally make their own mistakes and Bruce helps him overcome his fear of things in the ocean. And that's not even mentioning the terrific voice acting from the cast!
But most of all, along with Wall-E and The Incredibles, is Pixar's most beautiful film to look at. The vibrant colours and the crisp animation make every shot marvellous and, when complemented with the mesmerising score, Finding Nemo excels itself into a work of art.
Heartwarming, funny, beautiful and even pretty tense and scary, Finding Nemo is a ride through the ocean that is almost as brilliant as an animated film can get.
5/5
4 comments:
Hi, i've just come across your blog today. As a fellow film lover i've really enjoyed reading it and i will be coming back very often. Good luck with your challenge. =]
This is my favorite pixar movie and i agree that its a really well written and beautifully animated piece of art. The only other that comes close is wall e or maybe up.
It's enjoyable I guess. But it has this uncomfortable freedom about it that doesn't feel like a fully formed film, whereas most other pixar's are tight. Toy Story 2 has the same problem.
Hi Jordan! Welcome! Thank you for checking it out. :)
May I ask where you found my blog? :)
I'd say it's a good choice for your favourite, but nothing will ever beat Toy Story in my opinion. :) I also agree with the Wall-E opinion but Up has always kind of disappointed me. It doesn't really maintain the level of brilliance that it achieved in its opening scene. Plus, talking dogs are never a good idea.
I found it on google when i was looking for a review of my son, my son, what have ye done? =] And yeh wall e is an awesome movie. But you should reeeeaally watch up again cause i think its certainly one of their best.
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