Finding Nemo (2003)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Andrew Stanton
Lee Unkrich (co-director)

Writers:

Andrew Stanton (story)
Andrew Stanton (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. That's a lot of space to find one fish.

Plot:

A father-son underwater adventure featuring Nemo, a boy clownfish, stolen from his coral reef home. His timid father must then travel to Sydney, and search Sydney Harbour find Nemo.

Plot Keywords:

Missing Child | Explosion | Short Term Memory Loss | Overprotective Father | Pixar Animated Film

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 34 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Albert Brooks	...	Marlin (voice)
Ellen DeGeneres	...	Dory (voice)
Alexander Gould	...	Nemo (voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Gill (voice)
Brad Garrett	...	Bloat (voice)
Allison Janney	...	Peach (voice)
Austin Pendleton	...	Gurgle (voice)
Stephen Root	...	Bubbles (voice)
Vicki Lewis	...	Deb / Flo (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Jacques (voice)
Geoffrey Rush	...	Nigel (voice)
Andrew Stanton	...	Crush (voice)
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Coral (voice)
Nicholas Bird	...	Squirt (voice)
Bob Peterson	...	Mr. Ray (voice)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/6 | Italy:T | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Denmark:7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (bw) | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:G | Japan:U | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:G (certificate #39772) | Greece:K | Thailand:G

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Though never mentioned in the film, it is revealed by the directors in the commentary that Crush and his crew of thrill seeking turtles are headed for Hawaii. Also mentioned in the commentary is that the young turtles' shells are modeled after Hawaiian shirts.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Bloat (Long Spined Porcupinefish/Diodon holacanthus) and Jacques (Cleaner Shrimp/Lysmata amboinensis) shouldn't be in the same tank because invertebrates are the Diodon holacanthus' main food.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Mmm.
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Mm-hmm.
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Yes, Marlin. I... No, I see it. It's beautiful.
Marlin: So, Coral, when you said you wanted an ocean view, you didn't think you were going to get the whole ocean, did you? Huh?
[deep breath]
Marlin: Oh, yeah. A fish can breathe out here. Did your man deliver, or did he deliver?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in A Cinderella Story (2004)

Soundtrack:

The Girl from Ipanema

quite a catch

Pixar Studios have done it again. I have to say that these guys are totally good in computer animation, as well as in storytelling. Rarely do those qualities come together but here they are, delivering unto the audience once again something that one can only be drowned with wonder. Such is the marvel of Finding Nemo.

The story is about Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould), a young clownfish who is fed up with his dad Marlin's (Albert Brooks) excessive paranoia over him. He swims to a place where his dad forbids him and ends up being captured by a scuba diver. He is then placed in a fish tank in a dental clinic somewhere along the harbors of Sydney. Thus the quest of Marlin, along with Dory (a hilarious forgetful blue tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) to find Nemo before it's too late.

The story is a simple one but where the film more than makes up is on the overwhelming sense of detail and rich, lavish colors and textures as if we aren't really watching an animated film at all. Scenes such as Marlin bringing Nemo to school while swimming through corals and anemones, to the aquarium where Nemo was taken to, are nothing short of breathtaking, and undoubtedbly one of the most outstanding animation ever to hit the screen.

The world of "Finding Nemo" is simply alive with lovable creatures swimming about their daily lives under the ocean, darting across the screen in playful manners. The viewer almost literally dives into another world for nearly two hours and one cannot help but be completely captivated.

The music and screenplay also blend very well with the visual feast that it produces such a high quality movie. From its basic storyline, to the father-and-son relationship theme, to the wonderful underwater world throughout, this is really an adventure through an ocean of stunning visuals and storytelling.

Grade: A