Pixar Playlist #5 - Finding Nemo

Ladies and Gentlemen, whether you like it or not, the Pixar Playlist

And we’re reaching the end of my Pixar Nostalgia now. Finding Nemo was released in 2003 and seemed to be the brainchild of Andrew Stanton, who used various experiences of his own, including visiting the dentist and enjoying the fish in the fish tank, and realising that he’d become an overprotective father.

I don’t have any technical innovations that came directly from this film (don’t worry, we will get to some with the Incredibles) but if you want another example of the dedication Pixar had to their craft, the artists behind this film took lessons in scuba diving so they could see the coral reef for themselves. Later, the animators would take crash-courses in marine biology to make the movements of the fish right. That is really impressive, and immediately this is superior to Shark Tale.

This movie hit it big for Pixar, making its biggest box office at the time at $940m on its $94m budget. And it has a highly impressive 99% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

But where does it rank in Pixar’s lineup, let’s take a look.

Finding Nemo’s opening is tragic as a clownfish named Marlin and his wife Coral move into a place together, they have several hundred eggs waiting to hatch and seem happy, but an attack by a barracuda resulted in Coral and all but one of the eggs being killed.

The final egg hatches to be a fish who’s named Nemo and Marlin vows to protect him. The problem is as he approaches his school years, he starts taking that a little too far, to the point where Nemo begins his rebellious streak. This leads to him being captured by a diver and Marlin to set out on a quest to rescue him.

The first thing I can praise is the aesthetic. This film looks beautiful, full of bright and vibrant colours, lots of varied designs, I don’t doubt for a minute the animators studied marine biology. And despite it coming out over 15 years ago, the animation holds up. The only critique I could levy at it is the same problem with the human characters that has been a thing since Toy Story, but they play such a minor role in the story it’s not really important.

Marlon and Nemo look adorable, there’s a reason this film to an increase in demand for clown-fish, even if it goes against the entire message of the film. All the characters have a fairly realistic look, albeit with some exaggerated features and movement.

As an adult, it’s easy enough to identify with Marlon. Everyone feels protective of their children, and have to eventually let them fend for themselves. The extremes Marlon goes to are justified by the opening sequence and it never feels like he’s being overly aggressive in pursuit of this action. Even so, Nemo’s position is also justified, even if I feel like someone in his position would likely find making friends a little harder than Nemo did. Still, he’s young so this is a minor point.

Nemo is presented with a disadvantage, his damaged fin. I hesitate to say it but it’s case of them telling us this is an issue with very little evidence to back it up. Still, it being constantly told that something is an issue is enough to keep Nemo in that mindset. So, having an adventure on his own helps him realise his own strengths. It also kinda helps that almost no-one is overly judgemental about his fin. Which come to think about it is also a bit weird but I’m really stretching.

So, let’s talk about our comic relief for this movie, Dory. She’s a character that experiences short term memory loss. She’s mostly a chirpy character but does have her uses, including her ability to read human and speak to whales. I’m not entirely sure how she got these abilities but… Her general naivety makes for some good comedic moments but she’s not beyond having an emotional moment either. I really liked the fallout when Marlon believed that Nemo was dead. I really liked how her character evolved, even if she was mostly used for comedy.

There is some nice diversity in the side characters. From the various fish and surfer dude turtles Marlon encounters, to the other fish in the tank with Nemo. All of them had just enough character that I wouldn’t call them bland, if they made jokes, they were fine, and if they serviced the plot, they did so in a way that made sense.

Finding Nemo is some of Pixar’s finest work, telling a classic story with incredible design and animation. It’s by far my favourite of the Pixar films I’ve seen so far.

#1 Finding Nemo

#2 Toy Story 2

#4 Toy Story

#4 Monsters Inc

#5 A Bug’s Life