World Class

Rating: 10/10 (30 September 2014)

Finding Nemo is Pixar's greatest movie to date. Everything in the movie is meticulously chosen to add to the atmosphere and send a great message to the viewer. This movie has been out for over ten years and people still recognize all of the characters from it instantly, showing how memorable the movie really was. This movie was one of the first animated films that really wowed people in terms of scope and execution since the first animated Disney films. The key factors that made finding Nemo an instant classic were the brilliantly chosen voice actors, and the atmosphere that the movie was able to bring to the ocean.
Every character in the movie is written well, but it takes more than a good script to make a good movie. All of the voice actors create their own memorable characters that fit each one perfectly. Brad Garrett as Bloat the puffer fish and Ellen DeGeneres as Dory are the two standouts. Every actor delivers in this movie, but these two fish seem to mesh with the actors even better than the rest. Dory really feels like a lovable idiot and Bloat has a voice that matches his name perfectly. These are two parts that are impossible to imagine a better actor being matched up with them. The combination of great actors with great animation makes each character come alive, even ones that are seen for only a few seconds as the quote points out. Nemo' schoolteacher, Mr. Ray, is an example of this. He is a stingray, and thus able to use his sides to wrap up students and protect them, as well as take them around the ocean to learn. The fish fits the character as well as the actor, Bob Peterson. The fish was picked to fill a specific role in the movie that the creature would be good at, making everything seem more believable. Even though he was only seen at the start and very end of the movie, he is a memorable character because both Mr. Ray and Mr. Peterson fit the role so well. The animation helps not only the actors and characters, but also the atmosphere.
Pixar are well known for their animating chops, but they are legendary for their ability to use the skills effectively to capture the best atmosphere. Finding Nemo pushed the limits of all animated movies and looks better than most movies today. The ocean is vast and filled with thousands of different sea creatures and obscure locations. In Finding Nemo the water can feel like any number of things, intimidating when in the minefield, claustrophobic in the middle of the "jellies", and safe when in the sea anemone. The ocean itself is represented perfectly in Finding Nemo because it changes throughout the movie. Everything in the story relates back to the ocean, stressing its importance even further. The movie also uses an animal as the atmosphere. Marlin and Dory are nearly eaten by a whale, and instead of making the whale a character it is made into a part of the scenery. It doesn't talk or even really try to eat Dory and Marlin, they just so happen to be unlucky enough to be amongst the krill that the whale is eating. The inside of the whale is like a hurricane with water and huge bristles that send Dory and Marlin everywhere. The duo has no effect on the whale whatsoever, but the whale has a huge impact on Marlin and Dory, since it nearly kills them. This is a great scene because it is not only well animated but relates back to the story perfectly. The ocean is dangerous and the movie wants to show that, it also wants to show how small and seemingly insignificant two random fish are in the ocean, thus making their long journey seem even more impressive. Other perils in the movie are also based solely on the scenery, the jellies are basically just a bunch of obstacles, the East Australian Current takes Marlin and Dory to Sydney, and the minefield and ship are both major obstacles that don't move on their own. These are all dangerous things that are attributed to the ocean based on how they are presented in the film. This creates a sense that the ocean itself is the interesting place, not just each individual stop along the way.
Yes, the story is good, but all great movies are great at the seemingly small things. Finding Nemo executes the acting and atmosphere so well that the story could have been awful yet it would still have been a very enjoyable movie simply because it had so much polish. This movie is so well animated that it still looks great after ten years, imagine how different movies from twenty years ago looked when Finding Nemo was released. Finding Nemo is a master class in filmmaking from one of the greatest studios in the business.