Winner - Best Animated Feature
WALT DISNEY PICTURES / PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS (2003)
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Director: Andrew Stanton
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Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe
Pixar had previously rolled out some films you may have heard of - Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc. - and next was the turn of a fish. Not just any fish. A clown fish!
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Finding Nemo is of course for kids, but it is also for adults too. There is dialogue and moments during the movie that will wash right over the little ones heads and enough comedy for the big kids too. This is something that Pixar handles well in all of its productions, and this is no different. The writing is tackled very well, allowing for children to follow what’s happening and who is who, and allowing adults to watch it without having the feeling it’s too ‘kiddyfied’.
The casting director should be applauded; the voice acting is spot on. The actors really get into their roles and give fabulous performances, making you care about what happens to these fish. Albert Brooks is marvellous performing Marlin, providing an array of voice emotions and nuances to really give the character the vital personality he needed. Ellen DeGeneres, similarly, is wonderful as Dory and really understands the needs of the character – to say someone is entirely convincing as an amnesiac aqua dweller may seem weird, but it’s simply saying it how it is.
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The animation is fantastic as you’d expect from Pixar, and again I was impressed by the level of detail throughout, the underwater setting looked fantastic and very believable – a lot of work has gone into recreating what lies beneath the waves, and it pays off for a visual treat. Watch in HD for the full experience.
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Finding negatives is a struggle I find regarding this movie, as it delivers on almost all aspects that it needs to, if I was to be pedantic, I would argue that the film is predictable is parts and in it’s outcome, however that would be doing the film too much of a disservice.
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I very much enjoyed the film, and if you have young children then I’d highly recommend having a family movie night and Finding Nemo will not disappoint- especially as the key message is LISTEN TO YOUR FOLKS KIDS! (well, one of the messages...)
Great fun and yes, the time flies watching it.
August 11th 2016