When Finding Nemo came out I was around 6 years old and I absolutely went nuts over it. This Is not only my favorite Pixar Movie but it’s My favorite movie of all time. It's a timeless gem in the world of animation and it's a movie that I believe everyone has to have seen at least once in their life, maybe even twice. This was the first ever movie I've ever seen in the movie theater and I’m all the more grateful for it because it was the movie that cemented my love for Pixar Animation Studios.
Marlin (Albert Brooks) is a clownfish in the great barrier reef in Australia who is about to become a parent with his wife Coral. Unfortantley a barracuda fish attacks the family and kills Coral and all the babies leaving Marlin devastated. However, one egg managed to survive and Marlin named the lone clownfish baby Nemo (Alexander Gould). Because of the attack, Marlin is over protective with Nemo and is nervous when Nemo is ecstatic to start school for the first time. Marlin decides to follow Nemo in fear of what might happen to him which embarrasses Nemo in front of the class. Nemo swims toward a boat in anger but soon gets captured by a scuba diver and gets carried out of the ocean. Marlin gives chase but loses sight of the boat until he bumps into a forgetful blue tang named Dory (Ellen Degeneres) who agrees to aid Marlin to help find Nemo. Meanwhile Nemo must work together with a group of fish called the tank gang led by a moorish Idol named Gill (Willam Defoe) to escape the fish tank before Nemo is given away to the dentist's niece Darla.
There are basically two plots going on at the same time. The first plot is about Marlin and Dory navigating the ocean while coming across colorful characters as well as grave dangers in order to find Nemo. The other plot is about Nemo getting help from Gill and the Tank Gang to escape a fish tank to get back home as well as avoiding Nemo being given away to Darla. Both plots work great together as both have a common goal to get Nemo and Marlin reunited with each other. Every scene is paced perfectly with enough time to show and establish everything you see on screen. It’s actually genius that they switch between the two plots and each end on some sort of cliffhanger in one plot that you can’t wait to see what happens in the other plot. They also take full advantage of the idea of a movie taking place in the ocean by adding many elements that are unique to the underwater world. I love it when movies take full advantage of their settings by showing every possible outcome they can in a given world.
The Characters are one too many to count but they are all memorable and each have a moment to shine when the time is right. Marlin will surely be relatable to a lot of parents because of how he has to learn to let go of his son. They give just the right amount of human quaillties to make him understandable but also flawed. Dory is lovable, funny and really good for challenging Marlin’s character sometimes. Nemo is adventurous and full of heart. I like how they give him a subtle arc of learning to be dependent and not rely so much on others for help. Even Gill is possibly the most complex character in the movie just for how he almost seems like a leader but is actually flawed and sometimes puts himself before others. There are many other memorable characters that are also lovable like Bruce and Mr Ray but it would take too long to explain all of them.
The Animation is beautiful and really colorful. This movie came out in 2003 and it’s still surprising how much the animation still holds up. The colors really play a big part in the visuals to show emotion or how lovely or dangerous an environment is. Speaking of which, every environment our characters visit is created with the greatest attention to detail and given a lot of personality. Everything in the ocean from the Great Barrier Reef to the East Australian current is just outstanding to look at and even the Fish tank has a lot of personality just in its presentation alone. I also love how a majority of the movie is set in Sydney Australia and how they included many details that are usually found in that area. If I did have to nitpick I would say some of the animation has a few noticeable glitches in specific scenes but they don’t distract from the overall enjoyment of the story.
I can't go one talking about this movie without mentioning how amazing the music score is. The music was this time done by a different composer other than Randy Newman for a change. This time we’ve got Thomas Newman (Randy Newman’s Cousin), and his score is probably some of the most memorable and amazing music I've ever heard from a Pixar movie. Every bit of music captures the emotion of every scene and a lot of it is so catchy that I bet a lot of it will be stuck in your head. The lovely melodies can range from soft and somewhat bouncy to loud and dramatic. It’s quite possibly some of the memorable tunes in any Pixar movie to date.
This movie has left a huge impact on my life and it just keeps getting better and better with every viewing. It’s one of the few movies that I can claim is perfect and that’s all thanks to it’s adventurous story that is fun and action packed, extremely lovable characters, great animation that still holds up to this very day and a memorable music score. It’s been one of my favorite movies since childhood and even today it’s still all that and a lot more.
(Final Grade A+)