Mine! Mine! Mine!

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2005)

"Finding Nemo" is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful films you are ever likely to see. Next time you watch it, try this for an idea. Press your mute button and watch it without sound for a while, particularly the scene where Mr.Ray (Bob Peterson) takes all the little fish, including Nemo (Alexander Gould), through the coral reef towards the infamous drop off. It's still as enjoyable!
The film starts off quite darkly, which is odd considering the nature of the rest of the film - quite light-hearted. It is, however, an essential part of the story, explaining how the fear of Marlin (Albert Brooks) towards the ocean came about, and also as a result the over-protectiveness he has over his son, Nemo.
The storyline itself is pretty simple: Nemo gets captured by a scuba-diving dentist, Marlin swims off to rescue him. What helps the story is the many different and fantastic characters that he meets along the way to "P Sherman, 42 Wallabe Way, Sydney". This is of course where he meets the fantastic Dory (played here brilliantly by Ellen DeGeneres). Dory is quite possibly one of the funniest characters in a Pixar movie EVER. Her short-term memory loss is an inspired comedic characteristic that results in some great lines. For example:
"It (the memory problem) runs in my family. At least I think it does. Hmm. Where are they? Can I help you?"
There are other good characters in this story, though. there are the three friendly sharks, whose motto is "Fish are friends, not food". This proves to be their undoing, particularly Bruce's (Barry Humphries - you know, Dame Edna Everage?), resulting in a good chase sequence through a sunken submarine and mine field. We have the school of fish who enjoy making exciting 3d moving pictures (voiced singularly by John Ratzenberger, Pixar's lucky mascot). And of course you cannot forget the "Righteous! Righteous!" sea turtles.
Nemo meets interesting characters in the dentist's aquarium as well, including Gill (Willhelm Daefoe), who is constantly trying to get back into the ocean from whence he came. The rest are all pretty much bonkers - a cleanliness obsessed fish, a smelly blowfish, and a schizophrenic fish whose "sister", Flo, appears every time she looks through the glass of the aquarium.
Finally we have the non-swimming characters. The dentist is probably responsible for the scene where more people became scared of them then Laurence Olivier's performance in "Marathon Man". His removal of the tooth of the "Prime Minister" is a great line that doesn't register first time around. This is probably because Nigel (Geforry Rush) has just crashed into the window. Very funny, and also a rather interestingly detailed knowledge of dentistry. Finally there is the movie's token "villain" of sorts - Darla, the dentist's niece, and now famous for been associated with the "Psycho" theme for young people.
The movie is enjoyable every time you watch it. Throughout it we see the change in attitude towards the ocean in Marlin's behaviour and dialog, and Dory is always there beside him to provide yet another witty comment. (My girlfriend particularly likes the one about men asking for directions). It is also interesting to note that the final opponent to the success of this magnificent quest is humans themselves - in this case, fishermen. Just as in "Bambi" with the hunter and his mother - sniff - we are portrayed as heartless predators who are tampering with the beauty of nature. The fact that there is no dialogue or anything at all characteristic about the two fishermen makes the anonymity of them even more sinister.
Overall, a brilliant movie. Watch it. Watch it again. It rocks! And remember, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming..."
9/10