After a tragedy robs him of his wife and all but one of his offspring, clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) is incredibly protective of his young son Nemo (Alexander Gould), in fact, he is incredibly overprotective of him, not really allowing him to do anything on his own.
When Nemo is taken one day by two men on a boat, Marlin – without a second thought – swims after the boat as fast as he can. But he is not fast enough, and now his son is gone.
While swimming after the boat, Marlin runs into a blue fish by the name of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who suffers from short term memory loss (at least, she thinks she does). The two of them head off on an adventure across the ocean to find Nemo and bring him home again.
Meanwhile, Nemo finds himself in a fish tank in a dentist’s surgery in Sydney. The other occupants of the tank have been trying to escape for some time, and Nemo’s arrival – and desire to be back in the ocean where he belongs – merely adds fuel to their fire.
Under the direction of Gill (Willem Dafoe), a fish who has injured himself on one of his many attempts at escape, the rest of the fish try one scheme after another to try and get out of their ‘prison’.
I think that’s enough plot description for now. Let’s get straight into the review itself.
The first thing I have to say is that computer animation capabilities have come a long way from Pixar’s first film, Toy Story, only 8 years before Finding Nemo was released. The oceanscape in the film is absolutely spectacular, full of colour and full of life. Also, the nuances that can be displayed with computer animation have vastly improved (look into Dory’s eyes when she says the line ‘I’m home’ towards the end of the film and you will see what I mean).
The casting of this film – as with many other Pixar films – is truly inspired. In particular, Ellen DeGeneres as Dory is fabulous. She brings so much to the character, and her performance is fantastic. (It was only going to be a matter of time before Dory became the star of her own film; stay tuned for a review of Finding Dory later this year).
Other notable cast members include Brad Garrett as a puffer fish (in the dentist’s aquarium) and Barry Humphries as a shark who has sworn off eating fish (remember, fish are friends, not food!).
Director Andrew Stanton (who co-wrote the screenplay with Bob Peterson & David Reynolds) and co-director Lee Unkrich have created – in my mind – a true masterpiece of cinema, a film that stands up on its own against the best live-action comedy or drama film.
For the longest time after seeing this film (initially in the cinema, later on DVD repeatedly) I would call it Pixar’s best film. In fact, every Pixar film I have seen since I have compared back to this ie. ‘the best Pixar film since Finding Nemo’. I think that’s just about the best recommendation I can make for this film.
Seriously, if you haven’t seen it yet, you need to do so immediately. You will thank me for it. And if you have seen it, check it out again; no harm can come from watching a film over again, especially one as brilliantly executed as this.
9 1/2 out of 10.
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