Everyone Loves Nemo!

Rating: 6/10 (20 June 2007)

Being a film that titillated female viewers, children, and even some men alike, "Finding Nemo"'s awe-inspiring animation and wonderful voice work may have caste the illusion that this well-made little film is something of a masterpiece. In reality, Nemo floats well, but there's not much beneath the surface, making it an enjoyable but over-hyped cgi flick.
The film borrows heavily the pacing formula of the brilliant "Toy Story", and that's not really a bad thing. What gives the film it's mass appeal is undoubtedly, aside from the stunning graphics, the characters. Although I couldn't really connect with them, I can see why so many enjoy watching them. Dorry is the conventional half-wit (Sid from Ice Age, Donkey from Shrek) who for no real reason other then for conventional cinematic interest, finds herself accompanying Marlin on his journey to locate his missing son out of the vast ocean. Just a small twist, she has short term memory loss. I comment frequently on the use of the suspension of disbelief. I don't usually have a problem with it, depending on the context and how often it's used. Here, the unreality of the film leaps out at me with it's teeth barred. Not everyone who boats lives by the shore, and even though Marlin was lucky enough to have his son's captor live so close to the ocean, just how was he planning on getting up there without the help of a winged sympathetic fish-a-vore? Still, the film has enough whimsy for that not to get too problematic, but it allows the writer a lot of area in creating the story, and I wasn't as impressed with the results as others, aside from the films sporadic strong points.
Dorry is bubbly and fun for many to watch. Just like with the tepid "Ice Age", it takes more then a character who's easy on the eyes and ears to become a character worthy of layering. She doesn't really improve or change much over the course of the film, she just occasionally in a very Disney-like fashion unintentionally helps Marlin escape some near fatal situations. Marlin has the task of forming a friendship with her, because she can grow a tad bit annoying. There's Nemo, who's blow up at his father seems rather unwarranted. I'd assume Nemo knows his siblings were killed by the hundreds, and I'd think he'd at least sympathize with his father for being so overprotective. He can still get upset, but to use the word "hate"? And of course there's the tank gang, another hoot to watch (each having a cartoon personality), and the serious Gil.
Back to the story, it's basically our heroes almost getting eaten, and nemo's attempts at an orthodontist's office to escape his aquatic prison. Some of the sequences succeed better the others. The film also revels in not demeaning animals who happen to be carnivorous, another plus. The film also quite well provides more then shallow entertainment for everyone, and I mean everyone. As long as you're not to young to watch a movie, "Finding Nemo" is accessible. That's the film's strongest quality, but aside from that, it really isn't anything much more. Some of the emotion seems trite and ill-proportioned, moving back and forth from believable to not so much. Being a kid's flick, it certainly is better then many other films out there. It just doesn't tackle that much in order to be considered over so many other films, which is usually the case. The story is very linear and it doesn't amaze that well outside of itself. The animation not only delivers, it delivers a natural biome that in itself is one of the most amazing places on earth. The animation on the fish is glorious, capturing the realistic way in which real fish move and partnering it with comedic human movement. The animated reef with it's human makeover, however, is even more brighter and colorful then most actual reefs. The film is like an inviting turquoise pool with a temperature of 85 degrees. And with a riveting score and perspective camera angles, the film launches itself away from other shtick to become noticed, but in my opinion, not really all the praise is worth it.