Reviews: Finding Nemo

[JoBlo]

JoBlo's 6/10 review of FINDING NEMO can be found here: http://www.joblo.com/findingnemo.htm

And what did you think of the movie? Add your comments below.

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[lighthammer]

Not a bad effort from PIXAR but no where near the classic TOY STORY series, and a step behind MONSTERS INC..The animation and voice work is near flawless with WILLIAM DAFOE giving the best character voice in the movie..

It wasnt also overly-sentimental and was quite a "MATURE" pixar flick..

i give it 7/10

[Doc Holliday]

Usually a colaboration with Disney and Pixar equals a fun movie that hits on more levels then just what a 10 year can understand. Finding Nemo did that to an extent, but fell short IMO.

To give you an understanding, I drug my 3 year to the movie. Trust me, I wanted to see it as much as he did. He dug Monsters Inc, and Ice Age, and almost every other animated movie (Besides Stallion of the Cimerron). Half way through Finding Nemo, he turned to me and said, "Daddy, I want to go home." Bad sign there.

The characters were nice, but I really never got into them personally. Pixar has always made non-human entities seem all so human to me, and made me feel for them on all different levels. Not so here. The only character I really had fun watching was Dory (Ellen DeGeneres). She really pulled off the best performance in this movie. Albert Brooks and the rest of the cast was just OK. It didn't have the star power of a Toy Story (Tim Allen and Tom Hanks) or Monsters Inc. (John Goodman and BIlly Crystal), and it really brought the whole movie down.

Where Pixar out did itself was in the animation. To replicate underwater life the way it did was outstanding. It seemed like the real deal when watching it. The Fish moved in the way you expected to do so, and never got into the realm of the unreal.

Through out the movie though, I was supposed to care about a father searching for his son. I got more into what my own son was doing most of the time. He even tried to fall asleep on me, but couldn't get comfortable enough.

In the end, it was nice animation with a weak cast and a slow story that never really got me interested. The dialouge was slow, Marlin, the dad seemed to give the same reaction over and over.

Final grade, a poor 5/10. Wait for video. I really was looking forward to this one.

[dxwwf3]

10/10

Everyone should know whenever Disney and Pixar teams up, the result is a homerun everytime. Wonderful movie as anyone would expect. Funnier than Monsters Inc., (even though Inc. really wasn't a comedy) and just as enjoyable as any of the previous efforts. Congrats on a job well done (as always).

[Jon Lyrik]

Pixar makes five awesome movies and nothing less. How do they do it?

How do they do it? These guys have made 5 modern classics (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo) and a handful of memorable shorts [Luxo Jr., Tin Toy, Knick Knack (which is shown before the movie), Geri’s Game, and For the Birds], and without a single one that gets less than an 8 on my scale (in fact, the only one that is lower than 10 is Luxo). Either my critical side is too soft, or Pixar is the currently the best movie studio around. Finding Nemo is just as good as the previous movies, and that is not a small feat. What I mean is, a film like this can easily screw up by having its visuals overwhelm the story and become a stiff, cold, heartless movie (a la Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), but Pixar has put as much into the story as they did in the animation.

Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) is a clown fish that is really protective with his son Nemo (Alexander Gould). He is very precautious because he lost his wife and all of their eggs except for Nemo’s a while back. On Nemo’s first day of school, he follows a few classmates out of the area and is caught by an Australian dentist (Bill Hunter) right in front of his father’s face. The shocked Marlin chases the boat until he loses track of it. Marlin stumbles into another fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) that has short-term memory and can read the address on the Dentist’s mask that Marlin found. Both of them follow the address after help from Crush (Andrew Stanton), a sea turtle that sounds like a stoner surfer dude and also stumble into several other characters.

Separated from his father, Nemo ends up in a fish tank with several other sea creatures, including another fish named Gill (Willem Dafoe) who is trying to help him and the others bust out of the tank before the Dentist gives them all to his horrifying niece who kills all the fish the minute she gets them.

This is NOT just a kiddie flick. As all Pixar films are, this is film that can be enjoyed by any age. Whether you’re 3 or 300, you’ll adore this film. It has a certain charm that most family films lack, and it is far from the brain dead, cheap-laughs cack that generally clogs up the genre. Kids will love it, and adults will love it.

I’ll keep it simple. The script is funny and exciting and has plenty of heart. The animation strikingly shows the murkiness of the ocean and is colorful and detailed. The voice work is superb, the standouts being DeGeneres, Dafoe, Brooks, and Geoffrey Rush in a small but funny role as Nigel the Seagull. Gary Rydstrom, the sound genius behind all of Pixar’s films and other sound-reliant films like Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report and T2, has created another great sound mix.

Overall, it is a really entertaining and well-done film, and another excellent entry into the Pixar canon. As for later Pixar projects: there is a movie called The Incredibles slated for late 2004, and you can see its trailer at the beginning. Looks damn good, and I’m also hoping that Cars (2005) will be good too. Oh yeah, and I heard Finding Nemo 2 is going to be made too, definitely one I’ll check out. 10/10.

[DieHardBruceFan]

I strongly believe that FINDING NEMO is one of the best animated films ever made. Its brilliance is subtle in areas and outright in others. Animated films don't get much more beautiful than this either. Great voice acting, a good soundtrack and sound, on top of the provoking of genuine emotions make this film a treat. The humor is great because it doesn't insult the adult audience's intelligence and the plot is not as contrived as so many animated films are. FINDING NEMO is just as good as anything PIXAR as ever done, and better in some respects. GO SEA IT!!!

[REAL_XYZ]

The animation was fantastic. The ocean is always hard to animate and I think Pixar did a superb job.

I thought the voices matched most of the main characters very well.

The story was predictable, but the animation made up for it.

I say....9.5/10.

[moviemuffin]

Finding Nemo Review
©reel-reviews.net
Rated G Running time 101 minutes

Starring the voices of: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett, Allison Janney, Austin Pendleton, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Elizabeth Humphries

Directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

Virtually every film critic in North America is raving about this movie. I hated it.

Maybe I expect too much from a film. But I also saw it a second time with a 9 year old named Liz who seemed underwhelmed, didn't laugh very much, and came home to head for the television in absolute silence. She never once quoted the film back to me, never once said "remember the part where..." and seemed unaffected completely by it. I know what she does when she sees a good movie, and that's not it. Now, I'm sure if you took a poll of every kid who left the sold out theater that day, they all would have said "I liked it." Some may have even said "I loved it." But I also know that what they really loved was getting to go to the movies, eat popcorn, make a mess, and see a cartoon, even if it sucked.

And it really did suck.

Worst of all, it's wildly inappropriate for very young children in spite of its G rating. The movie opens with the violent death (by barracuda) of Nemo's mother and all his siblings. Her death is never spoken of again, never addressed, and yet looms as a shadow over his life via his father's neurosis. Nemo's dad is a neurotic control freak who over-shelters his physically disabled son (Nemo has a stunted fin). His freakish control over the little guy causes Nemo to make a very unwise choice that gets him caught by scuba divers, placed in a fishtank, and threatened with death when he will be gifted to the niece of the dentist who has kidnapped him. She is a fish killer.

Doesn't that sound cozy and uplifting?

Marlin, Nemo's dad, voiced by Albert Brooks, goes on a wild journey to reclaim his son with the help of another differently-abled fish, Dora, voiced here by Ellen DeGeneres. I was very uncomfortable with the way disabilities were mined for emotional impact but not really addressed in any concrete way. Nemo, to be sure, manages wonderful things with his "lucky" small fin, but his physical impairment issues are skirted over, so that children don't really get a chance to learn the wonderful and very valuable lessons they might. Dora's memory retention issue might have also provided fantastic material for kids with learning disabilities: she seems to retain things she reads. Again, a goldmine was ignored, and Dora is simply made to look silly and a little sad.

DeGeneres is the only deeply funny element in the film. She has wonderful delivery, and her voice has an endearing quality anyway. Brooks seems annoyingly self involved, shrill (I keep finding myself calling him shrill), and at times unkind. The fishtank cast, which includes Willam Defoe, Brad Garrett, and Vicki Lewis, have a few smiles but not any serious gut-chuckles. They are a more balanced crew. Oh, and I did get a kick out of the seagulls. I live on the ocean. Trust me, seagulls are stupid and annoying. Forget that Jonathan Livingston garbage.

Finding Nemo has some pretty underwater scenes, but nothing spectacular. None of the CGI effects are new. Monsters, Inc was more impressive in this department. The story would be fine if it addressed ANY of its own issues, and helped very little viewers deal with the scarier stuff. It doesn't, and it fails. As I said, I saw this one twice. Both times younger children left the crammed theater crying because they were scared (two the first time, one the second). At no time in either viewing did I hear uproarious laughter. At no time did a child cry out with glee. Albert Brooks noted in a recent interview that his 2 year old son had to be removed from a premiere of his dad's film because it scared him.

Be a better parent than Al. Keep your little ones home and wait for something better. I know everyone is saying it rocked-- I say it tanked. This fish has gone bad-- don't risk it.

[Puck Bond]

Finding Nemo is another gem of a film from Disney's Pixar animation studios. A fun, heartwarming tale of a father searching for his lost son amidst the vast ocean waters and coral reefs of Australia. It features beautiful and sometimes eye-popping animation...that illustrates the murkiness of the ocean water, yet is bright and colorful and just dazzles the eye. The film also features incredible voice-work by Ellen Degeneres, Albert Brooks and Willem Dafoe. The story involves a little clown fish named Nemo...an adventurous little bugga who gets whisked away on a boat while exploring the ocean on his first day of school. His over protective and timid father Marlin, voiced by Albert Brooks now must brave the vast ocean to save Nemo from a fish tank and certain death in the hands of a frightening young girl. Along for the ride is Dory, voiced by Ellen Degeneres....absolutely hilarious as a forgetful blue fish and the standout of the movie. She provides constant laughs throughout the movie...especially when she tries to talk "whale". While Marlin and Dory try to get to Nemo, we meet Nemo's new friends in a fish tank...the leader called Gill, voiced by Willem Dafoe, there are other funny fishies named Bloat, Bubbles and Flo, a very cute starfish named Peach, voiced by Allison Janney and a tidy up shell-fish named Jacques.
There are other various forms of marine-life that we meet along the fun and dangerous journey...a pelican named Nigel, voiced by Geoffrey Rush and a hilarious bunch of seagulls..."Mine, mine!" and that's what they sound like too! We take an enjoyable ride with a very laidback turtle named Crush, voiced by Andrew Stanton(Writer and director of the film) and we also meet 3 sharks, who are in a self help group to avoid eating fish...the leader is a Great White named Bruce(I wonder what film they got that name from). This is a film that can and will be loved by people of all ages, especially children but adults will find it enjoyable too. I loved the references to horror movies like the already mentioned Jaws...there is also a refence to The Shining and Hitchcock's classic Psycho. Overall, Finding Nemo is another winner from Disney's Pixar animation studios. The story is all too familiar Disney with the simple story of a single parent searching for his child, but the warmth, humor and character with which this movie carries it out is a pure treat and a delight to watch. The ocean has never looked so beautiful and the voice work of Ellen Degeneres, Albert Brooks and Willem Dafoe are all great! It's a must SEA!

[croman]

I have to say that I just absolutely loved this movie.

My Kids loved this movie so much that they made me take them back a second time.

I thought the animation was by far some of the best in the history of animated features. I just can not wait til it becomes available for purchase and I can play this on the HDTV.

I found alot of the little "jokes" quite funny (gotta love the tank initiation scene) and I was laughing almost all the way through the movie.

10/10 here!

Btw, a little tidbit of information for you which I found kinda funny.

After we got home the 2nd time from watching the movie, my daughter wanted to watch Monsters Inc. At the end of the movie she starts yelling NEMO! NEMO!

Well come to find out, when he takes Boo back to her room for the last time and says goodbye, they pick up toys off of the bed. I am sure some of you have noticed that there is a Jesse doll from Toy Story 2. Well he also picks up a Nemo toy. Found that quite funny.

[outsyder]

This movie was truly one to behold. The animation is always top quality by Pixar, which seems to be on a streak of Hitchcock proportions when it comes to success in Hollywood. I can honestly say that it is a movie that everyone wil enjoy.

The characters were very memorable as each had their own unique trait or feature, such as Nemo's "lucky" fin or Gil's scars (Funny that Willem Dafoe plays a character with a scar across his face, as in Platoon). At points, the film did become repetetive, yet it always seemed to relate that to a new situation. Considering most of it takes place in the ocean, it is difficult to really accent the change in location. However, Pixar pulled through.

Beyond the obviously cliched story lies much else, as many "mini-stories," if you will, pop up. Such as the pelicans's first encounter with the seagulls in the movie and the jellyfish field, although they provide their own importance to the film.

I was surprised i enjoyed the film as much as I did. I saw it today along with JCPhoenix, who absolutely loves the term "Porcelan Express," in regards to what the tank fish call the toilet.

I give it an 8.5/10, taking off marks for some frequently repeated gags.

[randythetool]

Somewhere in Northern California, there's a building. On that building, there's a sign that reads "Pixar." In that building there's a room with a sign that says "Restricted: Authorized Personnel Only." In that room, an army of ten year olds pitch stories to Pixar's development team, and we get "Finding Nemo," which takes all the great ideas of little kids, and gives them a movie that may not be exactly what they were thinking, but it's still a good time. Oh yeah, and it's computer animated.

That it is computer animated, I suppose, goes without saying. Also included in the "goes without saying" category is the fact that the computer animation is fantastic. Underwater is a pretty hefty task for animation, and Pixar's team shines through admirably. It's clear that Disney's era of cel animation is at or near its end, and Pixar's computers are the wave of the future. A part of me still longs for the golden days of Disney, but everything has to end at some time.

At any rate, "Finding Nemo" is about a single father clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), and his son Nemo (Alexander Gould) who has a gimpy right fin. Marlin's history with the deeper parts of the ocean have been quite dangerous, so he's more than a little overprotective of his only son, to the point of smothering. At Nemo's first day of school, he wanders off and is caught by a frightening-looking human. Now Marlin must embark on one of those journeys of self-discovery to find his son. Soon after, he picks up Dory (Ellen Degeneres), the hilarious scatterbrain who possesses an important talent (hint: it's not speaking whale). Nemo finds himself in the fishtank of a dentist, who believes he has rescued Nemo (interesting, that). He finds that he is destined to be the birthday present for Darla, his niece, who is historically cruel to pet fish (a la Sid from "Toy Story").

The other fish in the tank include Gill, a seen-it-all fish from the ocean (which, apparently earn bragging rights among petstore fish) voiced by Willem Dafoe, who plays the role with just the right touch. He's tried to escape the tank before, and he tries to again, with Nemo around (he also possesses a useful talent). While in the tank, Nemo learns that maybe his dad has the right idea most of the time, and is just trying to be a good parent. Back in the ocean, Marlin is learning that he can't control everything that happens to his son, and maybe if he lets go, things will be all the better.

The film's only real flaw is that it doesn't (pun alert!) dive deeper into the hearts of its characters. "Finding Nemo" doesn't go for meaning, or create major drama in its fish, but it's not that kind of movie. It's one where the fish take deep breaths underwater before coming up to the surface.

7/10

[dxhc99]

Personally as I said in my review for Pirates I dont like Disney movies. But, Pixar movies are usually good. I liked both Toy Story movies and Monsters Inc. (i didnt see a bugs life). Finding Nemo is both Toy Story movies and monsters inc put togetther and shaken until great. this is a funny movie for adults, kids and teens, like me, alike. Can u believe it I liked 2 Disney movies this year. Very funny performence by Ellen Degeeneres as the Short Term Memory Loss striken Darla (think thats the name). All the other actors were good but she shone through the rest. I say bring on Haunted Mansion (only thing different about it is Eddie Murphy is in it) and the Incredibles next year.

Toy Story: 8/10
Toy Story 2: 7.5/10
Monsters Inc.: 7.5/10
Finding Nemo: 8.5/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: 9/10

[Sigur509]

10/10


So far, the best of the year. A very good and well thought out film, Pixar never fails, always having great films, that both kids and adults will/can enjoy.

Toy Story(8/10)
Toy Story 2(9/10)
A Bugs Life(8/10)
Monsters Inc(10/10)

[AlisonStvnsn]

rating- 8/10

finding nemo was hillarious! i laughed for hours after the mvoie and mainly just because of dory. pixar is pretty damn genius for being able to make yet another wonderful film people of all ages can enjoy. this is the ultimate family film. the characters were heartwarming and i really ended up loving them. i could also relate to all the characters which seemed weird to me at first becuase of the fact it was an animated disney movie. the animation was great and eveyrthing seemed pretty lifelike. the only thing i didnt like was the fact that you know the ending before you even watch the movie....but thats what you get with disney. i hope for some sort of sequel to this involving a lot of dory and more of that sea turtle who was only in one scene which disappointed me as well. if they added the sea turtle more it would have been even funnier and much more intersting.

[Ellie]

When I first heard about "Finding Nemo", I thought that "ok, now they're starting to push it: animation-style such as this one has been discovered and now the copy-paste family series are going to roll" or something like that. So, I was quite sceptical about the movie.
But I just loved it. Of course, it had its clicheés and somehow silly jokes, but that made it all so sweet and lovely to watch, plus I had some big laughs also. The best one I remember immediately, was the scene where that little girl with braces (Darla?) opened the door and the backround music was the same from "Friday the 13th".. I laughed my ass off, honestly. Plus the seagulls were hilarious.. my'n, my'n, my'n.. :D
The animation is great, it seems totally real. Definitely a *thumbs up* movie.

[MovieMan75]

"MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!" Oh, man, what a funny movie. Just an absolute entertainment riot from beginning to end. I usually watch half of a DVD before I head out to my college classes and then watch the other half later, but I just was so engrossed in this silly, charming little diddy that I watched it all straight through. Excellent voice acting, spectacular animation, and interesting characters and stories really took me. I just felt like a little kid watching this movie again. A very pleasing, hilarious, and above all, clever movie. Pixar has done it again.

My Rating: 8/10

[Heavenley]

I'm not usually into animated movies, however, this one was just a winner.

Absolutely gorgeous animation, lovely vibrant colors, the ocean was beautiful and cool to watch. The characters were endearing and entertaining. Cute story, and just great fun to watch. Pixar has a winner with this one.

A definite gem for kids and adults.

10/10

[m ali]

I was very dissapointed by finding nemo. I thought it would be as good as toy story 1 and 2 and monsters inc but i was wrong. The story is boring the movie is boring and it is not even that funny. Finding is not that bad but it is not too good either. 5/10

[Vicious]

i didnt realy like this movie i mean it was OK but imo wasnt as good as other CG movies ive seen like toy story and shrek and monsters inc but it wasnt bad

il give it 5/10 nuff said:D

[willem84]

2nd Best Animated film of the decade, underneath "Spirited Away."
This movie contains everything you want in a family-friendly animated film. It's enjoyable to both young and old alike. Roger Ebert, once agian, is right.


8/10

[Genghis Khan]

This was a pretty good movie. Finding Nemo is another hit for Pixar and I had fun with it. Everyone I go to school with can't stop talking about it though and that really annoyed me. But eventually I had to see it and find out what the hell everyone was taking about. It was a good movie, not great, but good. I have to make a comment about Dory. She is probably the funniest charater in a Pixar movie so far and THAT is saying something. The stoner turtles were also a nice touch (dude, I love it when people say Whoa and Dude in movies). Overall, I enjoyed the movie but it was not as good as everyone says. 7/10.

[e_lateralus]

I just saw this the other day and found it to be much better than I had anticipated. It was funny, well animated, the voices fit the characters, and (yes I do love them) it had a happy ending.:D

[kdawg]

I loved Finding Nemo from beginning to end. This movie looked incredible, and the voices were perfect. A great job by Pixar and my favorite of all the Pixar films.

Finding Nemo-8.5/10

[LoomisFan]

Christ, I hated this movie. It was an incredibly popular movie, supposedly the year's best, so I thought that it might be fun to go see it. The thing is, people were talking about shit like, "Oh man! That surfer dude turtle cracked me up!" The thing is, I hated that little shithead even in the frickin' TV spots! Anyways, I went to see the flick and found it to be one of the WORST movies I've seen in quite some time, animated or otherwise.
On the positive side, the animation was great and our dear Ms. Ellen D., while she didn't crack me up, it was nice to hear her doing a voice. There were only a couple of occasions that I chuckled even a tiny bit.
All in all, an INCREDIBLY overrated film that I could not stand. 1/10.

My ratings------
Toy Story: 9/10
Toy Story 2: 7/10
A Bug's Life: 7/10
Monster's Inc.: 5/10
Finding Nemo: 1/10

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I really liked this movie, I'd go as far as to say it's in the same league as TOY STORY when it comes to animation movies. Unlike these other syrupy, kids animation movies, this one was actually filled with clever humor. It's something you can enjoy without worrying about being too mature.

8.5/10

[Cronos]

i really enjoyed Finding Nemo, although not as good as the Toy Story films it tops most of the animated films from the last decade. its a very funny film although it took two viewings to see most of the humour and jokes. the animation itself is wonderful and the film looks great with excellent use of colour. although i didnt find anything in the film to be sad (i heard it would be) it was a lot of fun and a film i will go back to again and again

9/10