A let down

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2004)

I just have to mention this first to anyone who's about to read this comment - I am not reviewing "finding Nemo" just as a movie for children, but as an adult who loves Pixar's animated movies and knows that other adults love them too. So, let me start by saying this is the 1st Pixar movie that I wasn't impressed with, and I actually never thought this could happen. So far their movies have been simply amazing and breathtaking, and the animation in "Finding Nemo" never ever embarrasses this statement. There were however a couple of problems that I simply couldn't forget.
-the character of Marlin. He's just to obnoxious and mistrusting to be anywhere near likable, let alone the quiet "hero" of the movie. I was sure that sooner or later he'd realize that he just has to loosen up and trust people, but he sadly never does. Even in the last scene where Nemo tries to save those fish he does't let him at first. and I know that he's just being protective and all, but isn't that just the whole point of the story, put in words by Crush the turtle; "You don't really know? Like when they know you'll know, ya know?". Him being over protective is just stupid but he never realizes his mistakes, which is the biggest reason why this movie blows. It just doesn't make sense - throughout the whole movie he just bitches about stuff that Dory suggests and even after realizing on many occasions that she was right he doesn't learn.
-Pixar is much more that this movie. Had they been their usual self they would have made it into one of the best movies of all time. I'm not kidding, throughout the whole movie I expected and guessed how the characters were going to evolve and roughly what was going to happen, but hardly anything if it did, which was a shame because I came up with some great stuff in my mind. I should have written about it immediately after the movie because I forgot most of it. Most importantly, they should have changed the scene where Bruce chases Marlin and Dory. Why you ask? I'll tell you why. It's because of a certain movie called "Jaws". And to make a counter effect Pixar could do some good by not portraying every single shark as a vicious killer. Granted Bruce & co have the vegetarian thing going on, but after smelling blood he turns into the usual killing machine and it just ruins the whole concept. The scene should have looked something like this. After smelling the blood, getting his killer eyes and his killer cravings back he should have said, in a controlled, yet tempted fashion, something like: "daaaarn mate , your AB- sure gives me the munchies!" Then. for a moment, he'd be very very tempted and start munching his mouth. And then Dori'd see what he's thinking and she'd smack him on his nose so he'd just kind of snap out of it, first excusing himself, but then saying "Hey Dori, you wouldn't mind doing me a small favor, would you?" Dori: "Sure:). Just name it" Fade to black for half a second. We see them both moving slowly in circle, Bruce just behind her, with a kind of hypnotized and silly goofy-happy look on his face, kind of praying, yet knowing that he must not hurt her(a kind of therapy if you will). And Dori is all worked up and having fun because she's leading him around in circles as if he was hunting her, but knowing very well that he just needs to work on his veggy thing some more. And that's how you do it!
-next, what on earth were the writers thinking when they just left the tank fish to save themselves. It had to be the saddest and most shocking thing in the whole movie for me because it was so mean of Nemo & co to forget his buddies.
Pixar really should have though this one through. They could have made a movie that was environmentally (even politically!!!)conscious, be a breakthrough movie where sharks weren't killers first, friends later, showed how animals are easily mistreated by humans(OK, they actually have this one), show how parents can be overprotective and not realize when their children should have the right to make their own decision, show how children shouldn't disobey parents too often, just about anything they could think of. The saddest part is that they have every single thing I just wrote in the movie, they just don't use them to their fullest potential or miss them completely.
Otherwise a fairly decent movie that probably looked amazing in the cinema. 7/10