More focused than "Monsters, Inc." and "A Bug's Life," but less meaningful than "Toy Story 2" (very minor spoilers)

Rating: 9/10 (8 July 2003)

"Finding Nemo" is an enjoyable, compelling effort from the Pixar team. The story is simple, the plot is breezy, and Ellen DeGeneres as Dori provides quite a few laughs. Unlike the clever-but-meandering "Monsters, Inc.," Pixar used the simple journey archetype for its story, and the movie is better off for it. The characters are more engaging and memorable than in "A Bug's Life."
Unfortunately, the movie doesn't ever come close to "Toy Story 2" levels of brilliance. There is no real core or deeper meaning to the story, and the characters are less rounded and fairly two dimensional. The climax and the payoff of actually finding Nemo are underwhelming.
3 out of 4 stars