By Todd Garbarini
It's hard to believe that Pixar Animation
Studios’ Finding Nemo, which was
released on Friday, May 30, 2003, is now ten years-old. One of the most popular
animated films of all time, Finding Nemo
is a delightful excursion into the world of undersea life with plenty of
colorful characters to go around. Employing the voice talents of some of
Hollywood's best-known and most respected performers, Finding Nemo aims to not only entertain us but educate us, as well.
It succeeds extraordinarily well in
doing both.
Despite the years of science that I've
accumulated under my belt by way of elementary, intermediate, and high school,
I must plead ignorance and admit to never having heard of a clownfish (scientifically
known as Amphiprion ocellaris) prior
to Finding Nemo. Director Andrew Stanton reportedly saw these water
dwellers in an aquarium in Florida and their vibrant look helped provide
inspiration for the film. The
aptly-named Marlin and Coral are two such fish, parents just starting a family.
Unfortunately, a barracuda attack leaves Marlin alone except for one remaining
fish egg out of roughly one hundred which he decides to name Nemo, a name that
his wife Coral liked prior to her untimely demise. As a result of this attack, Nemo suffers from
a malformed right fin, making him the runt of the litter, so to speak. Due to this perceived limitation, Marlin
becomes just a tad overprotective and overbearing and follows Nemo wherever he
goes, looking out for him. When Nemo
goes off to school to learn the ways of underwater sea life, his father finds
it very difficult to let him go off on his own. This frustration leads Nemo to rush off into unchartered waters where he
is swooped up by humans, possibly to never see his father again. Marlin sets out to rescue him, and is
befriended by Dory, a well-intentioned regal blue tang who suffers from
short-term memory loss. They join forces
to locate Nemo after a clue that reveals he is in Sydney, Australia. Along the way they encounter some crazy
characters, such as a shark who is swearing off eating fish; a group of
jellyfish; a group of sea turtles caught up in the East Australian Current; and
a pelican who is trying to help Nemo. Added
to this mix are a few human characters, specifically a dentist whose fish tank
is home to a motley crew of sea life all trying to help Nemo (who is now a
prisoner in the tank) get home. One of
his patients is his niece, Darla, a pre-prepubescent nightmare sporting metal
braces and is the film’s answer to Toy
Story’s Sid, the kid down the block who loves to destroy toys.
The film is beautifully animated. Pixar
has certainly come a long way from its early days; more money, of course, means
better technology and the underwater world of Finding Nemo really comes to life here in a way that 1989’s The Little Mermaid only hinted at. The nuances in the plant life are exquisite,
and the banter between the characters is laugh-out-loud funny. The underrated Albert Brooks, whom I liked so
much in Taxi Driver (1976), Broadcast News (1987), and Drive (2011), voices Marlin with a
fatherly exuberance and concern. Ellen
DeGeneres is his equal as Dory, the forgetful fish. Also on hand are Willem Dafoe, Allison
Janney, Austin Pendleton, Geoffrey Rush, and Elizabeth Perkins. In the same way that Jaws (1975) made oceanographers and marine biologists out of
wide-eyed children in the audience fascinated by the Carcharodon carcharias, Finding Nemo his more than likely inspired
more than a few future Jacques Cousteaus.
As to be expected, the Blu-ray is a
revelation, and Finding Nemo has
never looked better on home video. There
is a clarity, sharpness and depth that truly amazing to see. The film comes in two flavors on disc: a
three-disc set and a five-disc set (this contains a 3D version of the film). The first Blu-ray disc extras contains the
following extras in high definition: a cute, three and-a-half minute short from
1989 called Knick Knack; a
five-minute loop called “Aquarium†that allows you to run continuously on the
monitor; “CineExplore,†a feature that
allows you to view the complete film while hearing comments from the filmmakers
with superimposed storyboards on the screen; “Finding Nemo: A Roundtable Discussion†is a seventeen-minute discussion
among the filmmakers reminiscing ten years after the film’s release; “Reinventing
the Submarine Voyage†at Disneyland, runs roughly fifteen minutes and looks at
the underwater sea rides; alternate opening (three minutes); and “A Lesson in
Flashbacks†which runs eight minutes wherein the director recalls how the film
was originally conceived. The second Blu-ray contains the following extras all
ported over from the original 2004 DVD release, which are all in standard
definition with the exception of “Aquariums†and “Art Review†(an eight-minute discussion
of concept design); “Making Nemo†is a 25-minute documentary on the making of
the film; “Exploring the Reef†is exactly what the title entails; “Studio Tourâ€
which takes the audience behind the doors of Pixar for five minutes; several
outtakes, deleted scenes, and publicity pieces; and “Mr. Ray’s Enclyclopedia.â€
It is interesting to note that Pixar
was more focused on The Incredibles (2004)
during the making Finding Nemo,
believing that the former would be the huge hit and the latter would do minimal
business. Universal Pictures did the
same thing in 1974 when they were making The
Hindenburg and gave the green light to Jaws,
thinking that the star-studded disaster film by Robert Wise Allen would be the box
office champ while the film about a Great White Shark was their “little
picture.â€
Finding
Nemo is a big picture of the little
clownfish that could.
Click here to order Blu-ray 5-disc set from Amazon