Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2006)

It's been seven years since Pixar unleashed Toy Story 2, the first full-length computer animated feature film, on the world, and what a wild, whimsical ride it was. Working in tandem with Disney (an association perilously close to ending), Pixar has provided several equally wondrous rides -- Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., all of which contained themes and characters perfectly suited to the hyper-realistic computer-generated style of animation. Pixar's films feature carefully crafted narratives, simple but not simplistic, offering an ebb and flow of action-stoked set pieces that, at best, stoke our adrenaline while keeping our funny bones on vibrating overdrive.
For it's 2003 release -- and perhaps greatest -- achievement, Pixar looks into the majestic depths of the ocean. The result -- Finding Nemo -- is a movie of extraordinary visual spectacle, astonishing emotional depth, and brilliant voice acting (Ellen deserved an Oscar nomination). It's every bit as inventive as the Toy Story franchise, every bit as charming as Bug's Life, every bit as colorful and vibrant as Monster's Inc. But it's even more compelling, more emotionally driven than these precursors. Everything, in a sense, has led up to Nemo, the best of all possible computer animated worlds.