A flipper picture for all ages

Rating: 7/10 (2 August 2017)

'FINDING NEMO' was directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, and stars Martin Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Alexander Gould. ​Due the tragic death of his wife, Marlin(Albert Brooks) tries to protect his son, Nemo(Alexander Gould) with his life. But after an argument, Nemo gets taken by divers and Marlin must venture through the ocean to get his boy back.
The late 90s to Early 00s was a golden age for Pixar. A string of hits from Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug's Life and Monster's Inc - and then we got this movie. This movie continued Pixar's tradition of milking money out of us but did it in a distinctly unique way. A simple adventure movie at first glance that really shouldn't have held the test of time but it remains one of the most popular and beloved animated features of the 21st century. And after seeing it, I can see why.
As stated prior, it is PART a simple, fun adventure flick. This part is done exceptionally well and is enjoyable whenever they cut to it. The other half of this movie is were it shines, for me. We see Nemo meet a new group of people in a fish tank and attempt to escape from it. Unfortunately, we don't spend much time here at all. Focus is instead put on Marlin and Dory's 'buddy adventure'. Again, I like their adventure a lot and can 100% understand why focus was shifted to them, I just wish we got more focus on Nemo and co. Obviously, this is just personal preference and I can't mark the movie down for that.
I actively dislike the climax of this movie and it was clearly rushed. It is very lazy and I wish more effort was put into it. Time is not an excuse; they should have organised themselves better or pushed release dates back.
Obviously, Ellen DeGeneres's performance in this movie is amazing. I can't say much more about it that hasn't been said so I will just say she's awesome in this movie. Albert Brooks is often overshadowed in this movie by DeGeneres and doesn't get the respect he deserves. DeGeneres is definitely the standout of the film and I wont take that title away from her but I 100% think that Brooks is overlooked with his performance which is unfortunate because he is genuinely great in the film.
One thing I am delighted with about this movie is the fact the directors and writers don't force a romance between Dory and Marlin. You can argue that it may be a bit weird, considering the voice actors of the respective characters but when has that stopped Hollywood before?
Alexander Gould was competent as Nemo but I honestly think Nemo is such a dull and bland character which is very strange considering his name takes up 50% of the title.
Side characters are a huge strength of this movie. From the Fish Tank Gang to Brucie to Crush - all the side characters in this movie are strong, funny and memorable. They are all interesting in their special ways and all keep this movie from slipping into mediocrity.
Finding Nemo was a revolution for CGI animated movies animation wise. Does it hold up? Yeah - it does. The water effects are surprisingly good and the design of the fish is good. Pixar's human creation facilities are also much better in this movie(in anticipation to 2004's 'The Incredibles') which makes them look less my plastic dolls, and more like living, breathing human beings.
The cinematography and editing is also pretty good.
Pixar is a master at making movies funny for both younger and mature audiences. I'll say 40% of jokes in the movie made me elicit a chuckle, which is pretty dang good to be fair. Toilet humour is present and I will NEVER condone subjecting children to it. Thankfully, it is in short supply so it isn't TOO bad.
There is SOME emotion in the film and there is KIND OF an arc but it feels so artificial and computer generated. It doesn't feel genuine at all.
'Finding Nemo' is an enjoyable movie from beginning to end and I can 100% recommend you see it. It is from the golden age of Pixar, so I'll rate this film 7 'Awesome Handshakes' out of 10!