Visually stunning with an emotionally resonant story

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2015)

Twelve years after its release, Finding Nemo still holds up beautifully in terms of animation. The water effects and the way its variety of colourful marine creatures navigate its bright blue depths is beautiful to behold. Finding Nemo isn't just about style though. As expected with a Pixar entry, there's depth here too (and not just in terms of the ocean). Nemo teaches children about being resourceful and the strength of parental love; while surely holding resonance for parents or anyone in a close mentor role to someone young.
The voice cast is fantastic. Brooks and Gould give powerful, emotional performances while DeGeneres became a fan favourite with her humorous performance as forgetful blue tang Dory (expect a sequel focusing on Dory in 2016). As expected, there's some good jokes and fun performances in Nemo although it's not quite as sophisticated as other Pixar offerings like the Toy Story trilogy (1995, 1999, 2010), Monster's Inc. (2002) or The Incredibles (2004). Respectively, the story is fairly formulaic and the humour gears more towards a younger crowd. Nevertheless, Nemo makes up for its shortcomings with its emotionally resonant storytelling, stunning visuals and dedicated vocal performances.