4. Finding Nemo (written by Marisa Carpico)

Release Date: May 30, 2003

Voice Talents: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush

Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

First Time I Saw It: In theaters and then dozens of times on cable. I remember thinking at the time that I enjoyed the movie more than Monsters Inc., but liked A Bug’s Life better. I don’t feel the same way now.

Its Impact on the Pixar Brand: By this point, Pixar’s reputation for quality entertainment was firmly established. Monsters Inc. proved that the studio could make emotionally meaningful, visually interesting, funny films that weren’t named Toy Story. This movie was expected to be good and was; it’s still the second highest grossing Pixar movie. The animation had always been cutting edge, but Nemo showed how far the technology had progressed from the relatively simple shapes of something like A Bug’s Life or Toy Story. With constantly-shifting water, anemone and thousands of fish to render, this movie is still the studio’s most visually arresting.

Why I Love It: While the truly gorgeous animation (which is just now starting to show signs of age) is a big part of what makes this move great, it’s matched by the script. Finding Nemo is a really funny movie. Whether it’s the way the seagulls only say “mine” or the tag right before the credits of the tank fish sitting in their little bags in the harbor flush with victory until Brad Garrett’s character says “now what?” the movie is filled with humor that skews smart and sophisticated—not that there aren’t some equally funny sophomoric gags. The young fish mispronouncing “boat” as “butt” will never not be adorable and hilarious. Still, in a film full of great characters like surfer turtles and vegetarian sharks, Ellen Degeneres’s Dory is the standout. The running joke of her forgetfulness could quickly become tiresome, but Degeneres plays the character’s enthusiasm and confusion with total earnestness, making it impossible not to get swept up in her boundless optimism.

Best Moment: While the humor is what makes Finding Nemo enjoyable, its emotional complexity makes it great. At its heart, the film is a about not letting fear keep you from living told as cautionary tale against what’s now called “helicopter parenting.” For Marlin (Brooks), that means leaving the safety of the reef to remember that the world isn’t just a dangerous place that’s best avoided. For Nemo (Gould), that means doing things for himself and realizing that his dad isn’t just the over-protective loser he’s always known. That moment of realization comes late in the film. After failing to jam the filter, Nemo has lost hope until Nigel (Rush) appears at the window to tell him about his dad’s epic journey across the ocean. As Nigel speaks, the music rises, drowning him out so instead, we and the camera focus on the look of wonder admiration on Nemo’s face as he realizes how great his father is. The story of his father’s bravery in turn makes him brave and he immediately dives into the filter with renewed determination. It’s the perfect expression of what, at its best, a relationship between parent and child can mean. It is by far the movie’s best scene—or it’s when Dory says, “Wow, I wish I could speak whale.”

[php] wp_link_pages(array(‘before’=>’

‘)); [/php]

============================================================================================================================================