Do I even need to talk about why this movie rocks ?

Rating: 9/10 (15 April 2015)

Well, apart from possibly, say, the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo has taken the world by storm as Pixar's biggest hit. And to be honest, it deserves that credit.
First of all, this is up there with "Basil" as one of the mist f***ed up openings for a kids film. I mean, you open up with a mother all but one of her offspring being eaten by a vicious predator. I like kids films that can do that, not always trying to be family friendly. Apart from that, the film is really awesome.
The strength from the film comes from its characters, there are too many to count and normally that would hurt a film but here, there are all so different and memorable. Albert Brooks is great as Merlin, who, in my opinion, is one of the great film dads. You really end up feeling for this guy and yeah he can be annoying in how introverted and protected he is but its all coming from a place of legitimate pain that the audience is introduced to early on, thus you are put on his journey. Dory is freaking hilarious. You'd think the memory loss story line would get old but it is cleverly worked in so that it is fresh in every situation. The other characters are all so fun and none of them were annoying, you enjoyed watching all of them. The additional voice talents of Willem Dafoe, Geoffry Rush, Eric Bana and many others help the cause as well. My favorite characters where the turtles, that is just how I have always envisioned turtles speaking.
The film is set in modern day Australia, again using modern day settings (and a unique one at that) and there is no feeling of manipulations. You never feel that the film is trying to be "cool" no need for catch phrases or pop cultural references, just a new setting that allows for some nice shots. The film still has a timeless feel.
If I had one issue with the film, its that the climax feels a little forced. Without giving away too much, there is an incident that happens at the end where a character tries to prove themselves and it just didn't feel needed.
Overall, Finding Nemo is one of my favorite animated films ever and is fit for kids, teens, adults, hell its just fit for the whole family.