The little fish movie that could.

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2008)

My Take: Simply magical, down to the last computer-animated detail.
I was at least 13 or 14 years old when this came out, and only now am I reviewing it. But that can't stop me, I have to lay out my sentiments for this clever and occasionally brilliant animated achievement. Not only is it the best, so far, in Pixar's portfolio of animated films, it's one of the very best animated films ever made, period. FINDING NEMO is a well-told fairy tale adventure, but a well-told story is only a bonus compared to the film's awesome look and feel. The movie is visually stunning, with images that flow like living paintings, some of which almost but leaps out the screen. The movie is beautifully crafted, and sometimes, I almost didn't care about anything else. Almost.
On the contrary, the story is quite simple. After a tragedy introduced in the opening scenes, Marlin the clown fish (voiced by Albert Brooks) becomes too over-protective of his last son Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould). Every move he makes is always under the watchful eye of his over-protective father, who couldn't afford to lose him. To prove that he can walk with his own two feet (or is that swim with his own fins?), Nemo approached an anchored divers boat and is abducted by two curious divers and taken far off the Great Barrier Reef. Marlin, guilty for his loss, is determined to find his son, captured by a dentist and placed inside a too-small-for-a-fish aquarium in the dentist's clinic. Along his side is a joyous yet forgetful fish named Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) who gives a helping fin a long the way, whatever she can remember.
This is quite an adventure too. Not only are we introduced to a closer-than-life-like reef, we are also introduced with a clever and elaborate band of characters, including a trio of sharks who swore their lives to be vegetarians (until the call of the wild kicks in), a couple of surfer-dude turtles, a charade-playing school of fish and many other wonders. The animation here is, by far, the most brilliant ones I have ever seen. A colorful and life-filled reef, a forest of jellyfish and a crystal-clear aquarium filled of plastic ornaments have never looked more pristine in this lavish and elaborate adventure. But other than its brilliant design which is considerable enough to recommend the picture, the film is not without a good story, and it is told well. The characters have a great deal of features and characteristics. This is most evident on the character of Dory, who not only has the showmanship of the voice who dubbed her, but also the delight we expect from a true family film.
If the story may not apply to you, or you might find it cliché, then FINDING NEMO will still do as a brilliant eye-candy, with one of the best sights I have ever seen in an animated film then and now. Sometimes, sitting in front of a theater or even the small screen and just let the elaborate visuals flow right through you is more than enough to see a movie. Sometimes it's a movie like this one that reminds you the fun that going to movies are.
Rating: ***** out of 5.