Finding Nemo 3D

Posted on September 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm

A+

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Some scary fish with lots of teeth, characters in peril, child separated from parent
Diversity Issues:	Excellent treatment of characters with disabiltiies
Date Released to Theaters:	September 14, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00867GHS8

“Finding Nemo” is an ideal choice for a 3D re-release. Its Pacific Ocean setting is majestic, immersive, not intrusive, in evoking the vast sweep of the water and bringing us into the world of the tiny fish characters. Digital and stop motion animation give 3D technicians more options and control in adapting the original material than live action or hand-drawn animation. That is why the highlight of the recent 3D re-release of “Beauty and the Beast” was the ballroom scene, one of the earliest uses of digital technology in a hand-drawn animated feature. Here they are brilliantly used to evoke the emotional experience of the story. As Marlin, the little clownfish (Albert Brooks) looks for his young son Nemo (Alexander Gould) we feel the bleakness of the ocean’s overwhelming size and power. And when Nemo is captured, we experience the claustrophobia of the small aquarium.

It makes even more compelling what is still my all-time favorite Pixar film. In the tradition and spirit of stories from The Odyssey to “The Wizard of Oz,” it is the story of a journey that will introduce travelers to extraordinary characters and teach them a great deal about the world and even more about themselves.

Marlin is a fond but nervous and overprotective father who lives with his son in an anemone in Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. On the first day of school, Nemo is excited, but Marlin is very fearful. When he orders his son not to swim too far away, Nemo, angry and embarrassed, impetuously swims toward the surface and is captured by a scuba-diving dentist from Sydney who wants to give Nemo to his young niece as a birthday gift.

Marlin is determined to get Nemo back. But that means he must overcome his fears. He has some help from Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a cheerful blue tang who has short-term memory loss. They search for Nemo together, despite stinging jellyfish, exploding mines, and creatures with many, many, many, teeth.

The visuals are dazzling, from the play of light on the water to the vivid variety of creatures guaranteed to make an ichthyologist out of anyone. While preserving their essential “fishy-ness,” Pixar and the voice actors have also made them each irresistibly engaging. The adventures expertly balance thrills and wit, filled with heart and wisdom. It is unusual, especially in a family film, to find a character with a disability, especially one who is neither a saint or consumed with learning important lessons from dealing with limitations. “Finding Nemo” has three characters with disabilities (Nemo has an under-developed fin, Dory has memory impairment, and a fish voiced by Willem Dafoe has scars and an injured fin). All are just accepted as part of who they are.

Even better, this is a film without a real villain. No one acts out of malice or jealousy or greed. The dentist and his young niece are clumsy and clueless, but not wicked. Even the sharks are vegetarians.

An adorable new “Toy Story” short with Rex the dinosaur challenged to get into the party spirit and turns a bubble bath into a rave is a nice bonus, though parents may want to talk to kids about not succumbing to peer pressure. The addition of 3D is a plus, and it is pure pleasure to see this spectacularly beautiful film on the big screen to appreciate fully every jewel-like color, and every detail of fin, feather, plankton, shell, current, and sunken ship. But what matters most here is the story, a an epic journey filled with adventure and discovery encompassing the grandest sweep of the ocean and the smallest longing of the heart.

Parents should know that this film includes some tense moments and peril. Some of the fish have very scary teeth and younger children may be upset when the mother and other eggs are killed by a predator (offscreen) in the beginning of the film. There is brief potty humor.

Family discussion:

If you like this, try: your local aquarium and other Pixar classics like “Monsters, Inc.” and “A Bug’s Life”

A Father’s Day Tribute to My Favorite Movie Fathers

Posted on June 18, 2011 at 8:00 am

My updated gallery of the greatest movie dads is now up, with some new additions including “Up” and “The King’s Speech.” Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, especially my own magnificent dad and to my kids’ wonderful father!

Finding Nemo

Posted on May 21, 2003 at 1:10 pm

Pixar Studios may have the most advanced animation technology in the world, but they never forget what matters most in a movie: story, characters, imagination, and heart. “Finding Nemo” has it all.

It is an epic journey filled with adventure and discovery encompassing the grandest sweep of ocean vastness and the smallest longing of the heart.

Marlin (Albert Brooks) is a fond but nervous and overprotective clown fish. A predator ate his wife and all but one of their eggs. The surviving egg becomes his son Nemo (Alexander Gould), and when it is time to start school, Nemo is excited, but Marlin is very fearful.

Nemo has an under-developed fin. Marlin has done a good job of making Nemo feel confident and unselfconscious. They call it his “lucky fin.” But it still makes Marlin a little more anxious about protecting Nemo, and it still makes Nemo a little more anxious about proving that he can take care of himself.

On his first day of school, Nemo swims too far from the others and is captured by a deep sea diver, a dentist who keeps fish in his office aquarium. Marlin must go literally to the end of the ocean to find his son and bring him home.

And so, in the tradition and spirit of stories from the Odyssey to “The Wizard of Oz,” Marlin takes a journey that will introduce him to extraordinary characters and teach him a great deal about the world and even more about himself. He meets up with Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a cheerful blue tang who has a problem with short-term memory loss. They search for Nemo together, despite stinging jellyfish, exploding mines, and creatures with many, many, many, many teeth.

Meanwhile, Nemo has made some very good friends in the dentist’s aquarium, including a tough Tiger Fish (Willem Dafoe) who helps him plan an escape before the dentist can give Nemo to his careless eight-year-old niece, whose record with fish portends a short lifespan.

The movie is a visual feast. The play of light on the water is breathtaking. The characters imagined by Pixar in “Monsters, Inc.” were fabulously 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 is handled very discreetly, but still might possibly 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 each other that “we don’t eat our friends.” There really are no bad guys in this movie — the danger comes from a child’s thoughtlessness and from natural perils. The movie has 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, frankly but matter-of-factly. But best of all is the way it addresses questions that are literally at the heart of the parent-child relationship, giving everyone in the audience something to relate to and learn from.

And there is another special treat — the chance to see Pixar’s first-ever short feature, “Knick-Knack,” shown before the feature. It shows how far the technology has advanced, but it also shows that Pixar’s sense of fun was there right at the beginning.

Parents should know that even though there are no traditional bad guys in this movie, there are still some very scary moments, including creatures with zillions of sharp teeth, an apparent death of a major character, and many tense scenes with characters in peril. At the beginning of the movie, Marlin’s wife and all but one of their eggs are eaten by a predator. It is offscreen, but might upset some viewers. There is a little potty humor. The issue of Nemo’s stunted fin is handled exceptionally well.

Families who see this movie should talk about how parents have to balance their wish to protect their children from being hurt (physically or emotionally) with the need to let them grow up and learn how to take care of themselves. They should talk about Nemo’s disability and about everyone has different abilities that make some things easier for each of us to do than for most people and some things harder. How do you know what your abilities are, and what do you do to make the most of them?

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the other Pixar films, “A Bug’s Life,” the “Toy Story” movies, and “Monsters Inc.” They will appreciate other movies with underwater scenes, including Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Pinocchio,” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” and “Yellow Submarine,” with innovative animation, a witty and touching script, and, of course, glorious music from the Beatles. Families with younger children will enjoy reading “The Runaway Bunny,” and families with older children will enjoy “Amazing Fish” from the outstanding Eyewitness series.