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    Finding Nemo

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    Pixar’s done it again. “Finding Nemo” delivers excellent visuals, a compelling story filled with intelligence and memorable characters. Anyone can enjoy this film.

    The tale follows overprotective father Marlin (the voice of Albert Brooks) on a trip across the ocean to find his lost son, Nemo (Alexander Gould) Marlin meets up with Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a good-hearted regal blue tang with short-term memory loss that can help him decipher the only clue left behind by Nemo’s kidnappers: a scuba mask.

    Although I don't want to understate how great the visuals of the film are, the most important part of this story are the characters. Marlin starts off as a little bland, the kind overprotective father you see in a lot of stories, his character shows a tremendous amount of growth as the story progresses. You can tell this guy has been scared and paranoid his whole life and barely wandered away from the coral reef he was living in. Now, as he swims through the ocean he discovers that there's more to life than just his backyard. As for Dory, her defining characteristic is her absent-mindedness and at the beginning of the film, that's enough to make her interesting. Her character also shows depth as you get to know her more. She isn't just a recurring joke. The two voice actors have great comedic timing and some good chemistry too. You never think of them as actors pretending to be fish, they're just talking fish. There’s a funny one, and a tight laced one too. You love them. A strength found in this story is that you witness Marlin and Dory growing as individuals and as a team. You come to care about them not only as individuals, but as friends, a sentiment that is echoed in Nemo’s story as well. The guppy is not just a plot device, he's a real character that you are cheering on all the way, but telling you how would give away too much.

    I’ve praised the principal cast, but there are so many memorable characters in this film that it wouldn't surprise me if none of these made your top-five list. Every character is unique and iconic due to their look, the part they play in the story, their personality or their little ticks. The way real-life animal characteristics are used in tandem with human traits, mannerisms or accents is fantastic. This film is like the coral reaf. You examine all of these individual creatures and there’s no way you can ignore the beauty of them individually, but when you zoom out and see how they all fit together to make this thriving world in perfect unison, it’s kind of breathtaking. Some of my favorites? The three sharks that Dory and Marlin encounter, most notably Barry Humphries as Bruce, the Great White Shark. Another star player: Crush, the sea turtle voiced by Andrew Stanton. Geoffrey Rush as a pelican named Nigel, Vicki Lewis as Deb, a fish who thinks her aquarium reflection is her twin sister, a flock of seagulls that are at once hilarious and threatening, Nemo's teacher (a spotted eagle ray voiced by Bob Peterson), a school of Moonfish voiced by John Ratzenberger and… oh heck, just watch the movie.

    The huge crew of sea animals would have been enough to carry the movie but there's a whole other element to them that shouldn't be forgotten, it's the design of the fish and the animation. Water is a difficult element to animate but you won't be able to tell from this film. The fish seem to move effortlessly and completely realistically in this ocean that's been created by computer. The backgrounds are lush, the plant-life is colourful and varied. Every creature is unique and mixes that right amount of human features to allow speech while keeping essential animal features. How good does it look? There’s an option when you pop the Blu-ray into your player to turn the main menu into a screen saver. I encourage it so you can get lost in the details until you’ve had your fill and then be able to focus on the story.

    I've already mentioned what's in here, with the characters, the drama of losing your only son and the spectacular animation; but I want to also mention what isn't in the movie. Notably absent from this film is any fat to trim. You know what I’m talking about, the typical Hollywood plot points we’re all sick of seeing, the stuff thrown in there because we’ve seen it in other films. There is not only no romantic sub plot but there's also really isn’t a villain in the film. Sure there are some threats but the dangers don't think of themselves as villains. Marlin and Dory encounter plenty of dangerous animals, but it’s all in a very natural fashion that is so refreshing. It captures the feeling of a real adventure.

    “Finding Nemo” is an absolute treasure, a film whose appeal will last for as long as there are people to pop it into their Dvd player or implant it directly into their brain using 50th century technology. It can be enjoyed without shame by adults and children alike. It’s smart, exciting, funny, gorgeous and memorable, what more could you want? (Blu-ray, July 20, 2013)

    10
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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.6.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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