An underwater coming of age story in gorgeous splashes of color...

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2005)

The underwater visuals here are as gorgeous as anything Disney ever did in PINOCCHIO, and the colors are dazzling enough to keep anyone hypnotized by the lushness of it all.
The slender story about an outgoing clown fish, Nemo straying far from his over-protective father (voiced by Albert Brooks) and getting scooped up by a scuba diver (to be deposited in a fish tank), is played for laughs all the way through. Despite all the humor, there are plenty of tense situations that might frighten the very young. The writers have made sure that the plot is a virtual obstacle course full of forces that have to be overcome before the boy becomes a hero who saves the day.
Along the way, Nemo's closest pal is the daffy, amnesiac Dory, a bluefish with a terrible memory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in what has to be the film's best voice-over. Her lines are all guaranteed to remind you of the comedienne herself and she comes close to stealing the film with her antics.
The movie is slanted at the youth market, of course, and kids and their parents will probably both be enchanted and satisfied with the quips that come fast and furious. I had to use the caption feature on my remote to catch all of the one-liners.
On an artistic level, the underwater seascape is fascinating to observe and the jaunty background score keeps the pace flowing nicely.
My favorites: the seagulls all shouting in unison "Mine!" whenever prey was cited and a whole army of them getting their beaks caught in the mast of a ship.