Funny, touching, Pixar.

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2010)

What more can one say about one of the most remarkable studios in Hollywood's history. Despite the profit-munching monolithic beast that is Disney, constantly peering over Pixar's shoulder to ensure profits are aplenty in every new feature, this never seems to distract such a remarkable studio from making pieces of pure art. That is what Finding Nemo is, art. From the glorious animation that brings the South-West Pacific alive on-screen, to the peaceful, pitch-perfect score, combined with the art of creating great characters and story, something that Pixar has always excelled at, creates a beautiful film experience.
Finding Nemo is soaked in brilliance. Comedy is something that Pixar has always kept in its films but used fairly sparsely with a merciful aversion to the cheap pop-culture references that the likes of DreamWorks use habitually. That said, Finding Nemo is probably the most prominent example of a Pixar work with so many laugh-out-loud moments. Most of these of course centre around the exquisite Dory, the fish who couldn't remember. Her lapses in short-term memory and confidence in her ability to "speak whale," provide the most glorious moments of comedy I have seen in any film.
But no "great" film can survive on comedy alone. Pixar, in every single film have excelled at giving their works heart. Finding Nemo, along with Up (and from what I've heard about Toy Story 3, being in the UK I have yet to have seen it) is Pixar's most heartfelt and moving story. The moment, where Marlon having finally found Nemo, fears he has lost him once more at the bottom of that net, is so incredibly powerful, and for a second you do think "no, surely not." Indeed it does have a happy ending (it is Disney) but that is perfect. Such a heart-breaking ending, although brave would simply have been wrong, however the choking feeling I felt when I saw Nemo tangled, limp and lifeless in that net is testament to the power that Finding Nemo possess and the brilliance that is Pixar. However, for me, the most powerful moment of this film is the ending. With Marlon saying goodbye to his son as he swims off into the ocean, away from his dad, who, since the devastating loss of Nemo's mother at the beginning, has struggled to let his son go, be free and grow-up, we see he has finally reached the point where he can let go, with a soft, introverted "bye son." The emotional punch this packs as "THE END" flashes up as Nemo swims away, is very heavy. The character arc is complete and Marlon himself has come to terms with the pain and suffering of the past, and has moved on.
This of course is a human story, with fish. Pixar has made a film about fish that moves us on every human level from comedy to deep tragedy, and this is proof that Finding Nemo is immortal and magnificent.