Dir.
Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich , US, 2003, 101 mins
Voices:
Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Barry Humphries, John Ratzenberger
Take a successful animation studio who have already given us the Toy Story films, A Bug's Life and Monsters Inc, get them to make another film and what do you get? Another brilliant movie. Their fifth offering, Finding Nemo, written and directed by Andrew Stanton, is a pure visual feast, appealing to both adults and children with its winning combination of comedy, drama and, of course, fantastic characters and settings.
Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) is a red and white clown fish who, after experiencing family tragedy, is at pains to bring up his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould) with much care and caution; too much care and caution for the adventurous Nemo, who, despite his one under-developed fin, is desperate to explore the ocean and begin school.
But, as the title suggests, Nemo's exploration goes wrong and he is caught in a fishing net by a scuba diver, prompting Marlin to forget his fear of the big blue and embark on a search to find his beloved son. Accompanied by the lovable Dory (comically voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), who suffers from short-term memory loss, the two fish begin a physical and emotional journey, encountering a fabulous assortment of characters en route, including vegetarian shark Bruce (Barry Humphries), a member of Fish-Eaters Anonymous whose mantra is: 'Fish are friends, not food', the supercool sea turtle Crush (voiced by the director and writer Andrew Stanton) who loves to say 'dude', and a rather scary forest of jellyfish.
Meanwhile, Nemo has ended up in a fish tank in a Sydney dentist's surgery, where he quickly makes friends with his quirky but friendly tankmates, including a cleaning-obsessed shrimp and the group's leader, Gill (Willem Dafoe). Inspired to return to the ocean by Nemo's arrival, Gill hatches an elaborate escape plan, made all the more urgent by the imminent arrival of the dentist's niece, the brattish Daria, who will be taking Nemo away as her new pet fish. but the story of Marlin's search has also travelled and has reached the ears of Nigel the pelican (Geoffrey Rush) so can he get the news to Nemo? And can he stop the seagulls from pouncing on Marlin?
Pixar have achieved new heights with Finding Nemo, creating an underwater world that is fantastic in the truest sense, yet manages to be completely believable. Talking fish, vegetarian sharks and surfer dude turtles persuade even the most rigid imaginations to enter this colourful new arena and to simply enjoy the characters and story. The film also touches on issues ranging from a parent's fears for their children, to being a single parent as Marlin struggles to bring up Nemo.
The film avoids gut-wrenching sentimentality and is even a little scary in places (if you're a young child or a jumpy adult). The storyline never falters. The Great Barrier Reef is the perfect setting, allowing Pixar to recreate coral reefs and an abundance of underwater creatures, while even the scenes above water or in the dentist's fish tank, provide plenty of opportunity for the animators to show off their craft. As the ads say, you've got to 'sea it' to believe it!
Meera Dattani
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