Year: 2003
Director: Andrew Stanton
Country: US
Language: English
Finding Nemo, the highest grossing animated movie at that time, had a rather interesting effect on pet owners across the globe. Due to the film's theme of "freedom" many children flushed their fish down the toilet, hoping it would eventually end up in the ocean. Others released their venomous fish directly into the ocean, ruining the ecological balance of a nearby area. Demand for tropical fish exploded right after the film's release, especially for clown fish and blue tang, the main characters' species. Unfortunately few people knew how to take care of these fish and ended up killing them by accident. In many areas the population of clown fish dropped by 75%.
After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish (Albert Brooks) sets out on a journey to bring him home. He later finds a forgetful companion named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who helps him in his adventure.
Winning an Academy Award for "Best Animated Feature" at the Academy Awards, Finding Nemo received great praise upon its release and proved to be a great financial and critical success. I would agree with all the positive attention Nemo has received; this has to be my favorite Pixar film. It's charming, chaotic and funny. The animation is full of lush beautiful color and is incredibly detailed. Each character has a magnetic personality and is wonderfully voice acted.
The story is rather simple, but the execution is intelligent and well conceived. Finding Nemo is an adventure flick at heart where stunning visuals compliment masterful storytelling. The film works well because it taps into the primal fear all children have of being separated from their parents - and the concomitant fear all parents have of being separated from their children. Its themes are rather complex considering the demographic it is aimed at, but this complexity also ensures that many generations can appreciate Nemo in various ways.
Finding Nemo is a hearfelt picture that works well on multiple fronts. It's silly and entertaining, but can also be powerful tearjerker. Under its comforting narrative arc, it presents a stark vision of the sea world as a treacherous jungle that, for all its beauty and excitement, is an extremely dangerous place to live. Praise it! 4/5
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