Finding Nemo

What's the Plot?

Marlin (Albert Brooks) is an overly cautious clown fish, who after a terrible incident, lost everything dear to him except his one remaining son, Nemo (Alexander Gould). Now, Marlin smoothers his son with protection to ensure that nothing will ever happen to him, that is until it's time for Nemo to attend school. Whilst out on a "field trip" to the edge of The Great Barrier Reef, Nemo is caught up in the net of a diver and taken away while all Marlin can do is to look-on horrified. Unable to keep up with the diver's boat, Marlin refuses to give up the search for his son until he finds someone who claims that they know where the boat was going. Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) turns out to be less than helpful when Marlin comes to realise that she cannot remember anything for more than a few minutes at a time but she refuses to stop trying to help him find Nemo. When a clue points towards Sydney, the two fish embark on an epic journey hat will involve sharks, poisonous jellyfish, shipwrecks, dangerous currents, surfing sea turtles and a whale, while Nemo himself tries all that he can to escape his new home in a dentist's fish tank. Between the two of them, everything will happen that can as father and son battle to be reunited against all odds that the sea, and men, that can throw at them.

The Review

Pixar are still unstoppable it seems. Their unprescented assault on the sense's of the viewer - melting the heart with their characters whilst blinding the eyes with their stunning visuals - goes una"bait"ed (pun intended) with their latest offering of a very "fishy tale" indeed. As seems standard with the films from the crew that gave us Toy Story etc., the quality of the script has been given as much care as the visuals of the movie. So, yet again, Finding Nemo is a true delight to look at with the once-thought impossible medium of water well-and-truly nailed, so much so that after a few minutes you've accepted the fact that what you're watching is a movie about fish and just sit back and enjoy the story-telling.

From the colourful inhabitants of the coral reef to the unsettling dark colours of the shark-infested submarine wreck and the midnight-black abyss, the imagery is as good as, if not superior to the last effort. But as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within proved, great visuals do not a great movie make, and it's here that Finding Nemo truly excels. The fine balance of humour and interest to keep both the kids and the adults entertained is still evident as has been in previous works', but it is fair to say that this time round, alot more has been served up for the accompanying adults than their siblings.

Or to phrase it another way, here's far more jokes for the adults and I had tears streaming down my face from laughter throughout the movies' criminally short running time. The true scene-stealing star is DeGeneres' forgetful fish who amongst trying to talk "whale", following the "pretty light" down into the abyss and scalding men who always seem to have a thing about asking for directions, delivers the biggest laughs time and time again in another triumph from Pixar that is truly worthy of repeat viewing for children of ALL ages! THE best family film of the year by nautical miles. Go sea it now.

STEVE'S SCORE