Something funny, something fishy

Little Nemo isn’t like the rest of the fish on the reef. He doesn’t have a mom, and his overprotective father is always trying to keep him safe. But the biggest difference between him and the other clownfish is that his right, “lucky,” fin is smaller than his left.

In Finding Nemo, this slight disadvantage doesn’t discourage the title character from doing anything he wants. Rather, it’s his father Marlin’s (voice of Albert Brooks) fear of letting his son live on his own in the ocean that makes Nemo (voice of Alexander Gould) different. So when Marlin tries to keep Nemo safe again, this time embarrassing him in front of his new schoolmates on the first day of school, Nemo decides to spite his dad and swims out to touch a boat in the distance.

On his way back to the reef, successful after touching the boat, Nemo is captured by divers searching the reef. Nemo panics; Marlin panics; everyone panics. But when the panic is over, Nemo is gone. Now, Marlin must follow the boat to rescue the only fish in the whole sea he cares about — his son.

But after a while, it’s hard for a little clownfish to keep up with a boat, and Marlin loses sight of his enemy. Fortunately for him, the divers leave behind a diving mask with an address. At the same time as Marlin discovers the mask, he also finds a new friend and companion, Dory, (voice of Ellen DeGeneres) who will, from now on, follow him for the rest of his journey.

While Marlin and Dory are trying to find the address, Nemo is dunked into a fish tank of an Australian dentist. The rest of the aquarium fish warmly welcome him. Soon, the fish find out that Nemo will be a gift for the dentist’s niece, an infamous little girl known to have previously murdered fish. The aquarium fish decide that Nemo must somehow be rescued.

Produced by Pixar Animation Studios, the creators of Monsters Inc. and the Toy Story series, the film has the signature humor and character development as its other films. However, the story has a new twist and is well written, developed and animated.

The film’s animation is impeccable — its bright and vibrant colors and extreme detail for all the characters make it seem almost like a real action movie as opposed to animation.

The enormous number of characters in the film, including fish-friendly sharks, surfer sea-turtles and a moonfish fond of impressions, adds depth and dimension to the film that no other Pixar production has ever had.

This film is perfect for families, but just like Shrek, it is not confined to suit just the young audiences. A definite contender for the next Academy Awards, the film is funny, well-scripted, well-animated and on top of all that delivers a good message that both kids and adults will understand and appreciate.

Rating: A

Comedy, G, Running time: 101 min.