The best Pixar film yet!

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2003)

Yes, it was THAT good!
First off, the animation was superb. We are talking total immersion in this oceanic adventure. No pun intended. Okay, it was. But still.... The amount of detail to each individual fish, shark, whale, seagull, anemone and turtle is astounding. If not for the human-like facial expressions/exaggeration and characteristics you would almost think you were watching a National Geographic special. Only better! And the water! Of course you have to make it believable that you are watching a movie about being underwater...and they sell it. Very realistic and imaginative depiction of ocean life down to how the sunlight streams through the water.
Okay, the eye-candy out of the way (wow, animation never looked so good!) the voice-acting is fantastic! Albert Brooks as Marlin (Nemo's Dad), Ellen DeGeneres stealing the show as Dory (she was extremely funny), and of course other big names like Geoffrey Rush, and Willem Dafoe and even Eric Bana of soon-to-be HULK fame lent their voice talents to this grand story.
If you don't know the story by now, it's basically this: Nemo is a clown-fish that accidentally ends up being taken from his home. Marlin, his over-protective father sets off to search for him in the big blue, and along the way picks up help from very interesting characters along the way, not the least of which is Dory.
During the first 15 minutes of the film you are introduced of course to the characters and then a tragedy occurs leading us to the events of having to find Nemo. Even though this film like all Disney fare, is intended for kids enjoyment, it has some grown-up themes and plenty of things for adults to enjoy. Pixar has demonstrated their ability to make a film on kids and adults level alike with their other efforts.
I was surprised but how successful and seamless a story this was, considering that it was director Andrew Stanton's first time at the helm of a Pixar studio's film... but he has carried the tradition of perfection with flying colors. Most movies, animated and non-animated alike, usually never get it so right.
The music is a superb mixture of orchestral music and appropriate tropical instrumental music to set the mood and tone of the story and it's various moments. Instead of Pixar favorite Randy Newman doing the score for yet another Pixar flick, the reins were handed to Thomas Newman, who is none other than Randy's cousin as well as the son of Alfred Newman, who is famous in his own right for his film scores before his death in 1970 resulting from emphysema. His (Alfred) most recognized work, and perhaps most insignificant, is the theme you hear during the FOX 20th Century studio trailers before one of their movies. At any rate, Thomas Newman has composed a fantastic score that sets the mood wonderfully, and yet never really stands out above the events of the movie. And why should it? The rendered animation is a sight to behold and carries the story well enough on it's own along with the stellar voice cast.
I give this movie 10 stars!