Movie Review: Finding Nemo
Rated by 18 members
The movie is a visual feast. The play of light on the water is breathtaking. The characters imagined by Pixar in Monsters, Inc. were quite inventive, but they have nothing on the even more fabulously inventive Mother Nature. This movie will make an ichthyologist out of anyone, because all of the characters are based on real-life ocean species, each one more marvelous than the one before. While preserving their essential "fishy-ness," Pixar and the talented people providing the voices have also made them each wonderfully expressive, and it seems only fair to say that they create performances as full and varied as have ever been on screen.
There are some scary moments in this movie, including the off-screen death of Marlin's wife and future children. It's handled very discreetly, but still might be upsetting to some viewers. There are terrifying-looking creatures, but one of the movie's best jokes is that even the sharks are so friendly that in an AA-style program, they keep reminding one another that "fish are friends, not food." There really are no bad guys in this movie -- the danger comes from a child's thoughtlessness and from natural perils. There are no angry, jealous, greedy, or murderous villains as in most traditional Disney animated films.
Another strength of the movie is the way it handles Nemo's disability. But best of all is the way it addresses questions that are at the heart of the parent-child relationship, giving everyone in the audience something to relate to and learn from.
Fans of Nemo will also enjoy A Bug's Life , Monsters, Inc., and other animated movies with underwater scenes such as The Little Mermaid , Yellow Submarine , and The Sword in the Stone .
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