Another Pixar triumph!

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2003)

This might be my most anticipated new film in ages. After being mightily impressed by Monsters Inc both as a technical exercise and as a piece of outstanding storytelling, I realized that Pixar is on a major roll, and has yet to produce a dud.
In fact, ALL of Pixar's films have raised the bar both in computer animation AND in family movies.
While FINDING NEMO doesn't quite reach the heights that MONSTERS INC. did, it's still a very impressive and entertaining film in its own right, and certainly meets the calibre of Pixar's other movies.
Let's get the one weakness out of the way; after creating a story with a very convincing central relationship in Monsters Inc between Sully and "Boo", the characters in FN aren't quite as well-drawn. Not that they're bad, and not that there aren't some great moments, but I don't think we get to care about these guys quite as much as the denizens of Monstropolis.
As for the strengths, they're here in abundance. The first is the dazzling animation. Set almost entirely in the ocean, FN displays incredibly real creatures, backdrops, and aquatic textures. It's lovely, and very easy to "immerse" one's self in (pardon the pun). There are also the typical fantastic Pixar characters like Bruce the shark and Gil.
Everything Pixar has done has been an "instant classic", to march out that hoary old cliche. The reason they've been able to achieve this so consistantly is because they've never lost sight of how important STORY is; the technology has always existed in Pixar films to support the story, and never the other way around. FINDING NEMO is no exception.