Even though I don’t watch trailers anymore, I’m pretty sure that before this movie came out I still was doing so and can remember watching it several times. It was the fifth Pixar movie and after impressing audiences with their technology for fur used in Monster Inc, it was the first look into the world of Finding Nemo, which was jaw dropping to see. In 2003 computer graphics already had come quite some way, but it wasn’t the level yet it is now and much pioneering was done. Creating a convincing water world therefore was something special. With the release of the sequel, Finding Dory (which I will see next week), and the availability of the original on Netflix it was the right time to revisit this wonderful animated movie.
Clown fish Marlin (Albert Brooks) lives at a beautiful spot in the ocean, together with his son Nemo (Alexander Gould). After a traumatic event Marlin has become very protective of Nemo and isn’t really willing to let go. But when Nemo has to go to school he has to. Initially that first day of school seems to go fine until Nemo faces his father and decides not to listen. The result is that he is caught by divers, ending up in a fish tank in Melbourne. Marlin decides to search for his son and on his way meets Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who keeps forgetting everything. Together they go on a mission to find Nemo where they end up in various dangerous situations. Will they be able to find him?
It must have been more than ten years ago since I’ve last seen this. I always remembered this as a good film, but I had forgotten how great it was. Everything is right about this film and there isn’t one scene which feels like it shouldn’t be there. The humour is great and it´s an adventure where you can´t wait to find out where Marlin and Dory will end up next. DeGeneres is one of the highlights as Dory (my daughters were talking in whale language afterwards) and it’s very understandable that this character is the focus of the next film. The way in which the world has been realized is incredible, with both realistic environments and the way in which various animals are used. The movie has had a spot in the IMDB top 250 for a long time and rightfully so and it’s a must see if you have never seen it before.
