Finding Nemo (2003)

Directed by: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | 100 minutes | drama, comedy, animation, adventure | Original voice cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett, Allison Janney, Austin Pendleton, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Joe Ranft, Geoffrey Rush, Andrew Stanton, Elizabeth Perkins, Nicholas Bird, Bob Peterson, Barry Humphries Eric Bana, Bruce Spence, Bill Hunter, LuLu Ebeling, Jordan Ranft, Erica Beck, Erik Per Sullivan, John Ratzenberger

If you missed your chance at the original release in 2003, you can still see Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo’ in cinemas ten years later. Walt Disney Pictures is re-releasing the classic animated film, this time in 3D. Just like the studio did before with ‘The Lion King’ from 1994. Are the classics from the animation genre an ordinary cash cow for Disney or is it just the movie buff here? The truth lies somewhere in the middle. ‘Finding Nemo’ is such a delightful explosion of color and detail that it is a joy to see this topper of its genre on the silver screen again. But whether the 3D effects really necessarily add something to this already high-quality film, you may well question that. But of course ‘Finding Nemo’ doesn’t get any better either.

An underwater road trip, that’s the best way to describe the adventure in ‘Finding Nemo’. The young clownfish Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould) has been living alone with his overprotective father Marlin (Albert Brooks) in an anemone since the tragic death of his mother. Adventurous as he is, Nemo regularly scares his father. One day the young fish is so tired of his father’s excessive protection that he literally pushes his limits. He swims a little too close to the participants of a diving expedition and is captured – in front of his father. The diver sees the beautiful orange clownfish as a nice addition to his already colorful collection of aquarium fish. Marlin is near despair and decides to go after his son. He gets help from an unexpected source when the forgetful surgeon fish Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) comes to his rescue. Together they brave the dangers of the ocean; For example, they come face to face with three sharks (who have just switched to a vegetarian diet but are struggling to stick to it), a school of electrically charged jellyfish, the friendly and very relaxed sea turtles and a gigantic whale. Meanwhile, Nemo tries to escape from the aquarium with the help of his new friends, but it turns out to be no easy task.

As we’d expect from Pixar, ‘Finding Nemo’ looks to be a run for the money. The underwater world with its colorful inhabitants is of course ideal for an animation film. It is special to see how much attention has been paid to how the fish look; although not all of them are portrayed completely truthfully, great care has been taken to imitate the animals in as much detail as possible. Of course, characters have also been created to provide the comic relief. The hilarious sharks for example, but also the hungry seagulls and of course the forgetful Dory. In addition to the animations, the perfectly cast voices are also a great asset. Albert Brooks’ worried and desperate Marlin and Ellen DeGeneres’ tousled but sweet Dory make a great comedy duo. Other big names in the voice cast include Geoffrey Rush (as Nigel, the helpful pelican), Willem Dafoe (as the embittered aquarium fish Gill), and Allison Janney (as the nurturing fish Peach).

From a narrative point of view, ‘Finding Nemo’ may not touch on new themes and the message the makers want to convey is quite thick, but the color splendor is so overwhelming and the characters so captivating that you don’t lose any sleep over it. And that moral that is so thick on it, should not spoil the fun either. It’s much more fun to let yourself be carried away by the adventure and pick up the countless references to other Disney and Pixar films along the way. The fact that the film can now be seen in 3D is especially nice for the new generation of film viewers, who can now also see this classic on the big screen. Because even though the underwater world lends itself perfectly to this technique, ‘Finding Nemo’ was of course unsurpassed in 2D!