inding Nemo is the only (so far, though Cars looks like a good bet to change that) Pixar movie thus far that I haven't really enjoyed. I didn't dislike it; I was just sort of bored with the wacky roadtrip shenanigans Marlin and Dotty got into on their way to the pre-ordained rescue of Nemo.  I never had any doubt they'd save him and live happily ever after, so none of the chase scenes along the way did much for me, regardless of how cleverly-structured they were. To me it felt like Pixar spent an incredible amount of effort trying to spice up a very bland recipe, and that they'd have been better served redoing much of the "we'll go here, and then we'll go here" plot, rather than sticking numerous excellent short sequences into a fundamentally boring journey.

That being said, it wasn't an awful movie, and I enjoyed it a lot more with my second viewing. I don't think it's great; it's a bit too simple and targeted at children for me to really get that much out of it, but it's not bad, and for the audience and purpose it was made for, it's damn near perfect.  Here are my scores after a second viewing:

Finding Nemo, 2003
Script/Story: 6
Performances: 7
Action: 7
Humor: 6
Eye Candy: 10
Fun Factor: 7
Replayability: 7
Overall: 7

The following was written after my first ever viewing of the film, on DVD, in early 2004.

March 16, 2004

I recently saw Finding Nemo for the first time, since Malaya and I finally got around to watching the DVD, about a month after we bought it used for $12 at Blockbuster. I was going to write a full review of it, to go along with all the others this week, but when thinking about it, I realized I didn't have anywhere near enough to say to fill up a decent page of discussion.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very good either. I'd certainly put it below Toy Story 1 and 2, Shrek, and Monsters Inc. in the CGI movie Pantheon.  It wasn't even as good as A Bug's Life, though it was about as good as or slightly better than Ants or Ice Age. Finding Nemo looked astonishingly good, probably the best looking CGI ever (since the technology keeps advancing, and it's the most recent entry, that's not a big surprise), but the plot was uninteresting, since you never doubted for an instant that Marlin would find Nemo, and they'd live happily ever after.  Putting all of the tragedy of the sacrificing mom and eaten eggs at the start and having nothing but happiness, with a few minor setbacks, after that was a plotting mistake, IMHO.

Nemo had a lot of interesting and colorful characters, but since Nemo and his dad weren't among their ranks, I was frequently bored.  Dotty was the only sort of interesting major character (I liked all of the fish in the aquarium and the pelican, but they were all supporting actors.) but I was more often bored or annoyed by her verbal antics and memory issues than I was amused.  Mostly I watched the pretty colors and waited for Marlin to finally find Nemo, while learning when to let go of his child, and waited for Dory to get all better and live with them, and all of the other fish to escape the aquarium. And of course he did, and she did, and they did, in the end.

I'm not saying that I wanted heartbreak and failure for a conclusion, but even though I knew virtually nothing of the plot, I was never really impressed or engaged in the film. If I'd been in a theater I'd have been checking my watch, wondering how much longer I had to wait before I could see the pre-ordained ending and leave.

I liked the small stuff the best.  The three sharks on their 12-step starvation program.  The way the squid papped out some ink whenever startled.  The undersea mine field and explosion and submarine disaster. The awesome glowing toothy carnivore fish.  The civilization the aquarium fish had constructed for themselves. The screwball seagulls with their endless, Secret Cow Level-esque chorus of "Mine mine mine mine!" and the crabs trying to evade them. (I must admit I thought the seagulls were inexplicably saying "Mike.  Mike." at first, until Malaya pointed out that "Mine." made a lot more sense.  All the small stuff was great stuff.

Which made it all the more a pity that dad was so monotone "I must save my son and I'm stupidly single-minded.", Dory was so hit or miss manic, and Nemo was every determined yet vulnerable child character in an animated movie ever, since the mediocrity of the main characters and the straight line plot were what dragged it down, in my opinion.  I was really bored by the surfer/stoner dude turtle also, who got far too much screen time for is jokeless existence.

Of course the movie made a fortune and most critics loved it (188/190 on RT), but I just read the only two negative reviews listed on Rotten Tomatoes (Film Threat and Zertinet), I found myself agreeing with most everything they said.  It's not bad, but it's just nothing special, and follows the same pattern and style of their earlier, superior work without quite equaling it. 

The problem with “Finding Nemo” is not in its visuals or effects. Actually, the most impressive thing about this film is the world it has managed to create and the convincing atmosphere it sustains. One must also note Thomas Newman’s beautiful score, which only adds to the mystery and majesty of this underwater world.

But while the imagery is impressive and the father-son story touching, there is something artificial about “Nemo.” It is a difficult issue to put my finger on, but it is always there and always apparent.

The problems start with the voicing. Brooks, as Marlin, brings a constant manic energy to the part that is rendered ineffective by the film’s end. DeGeneres has several funny lines, but she also fails at achieving anything remotely memorable.

The movie unfolds as almost all cartoon films now unfurl: Hero meets up with wacky sidekick, encounters strange creatures during the mission, and ends up revealing to the audience a universal truth about human emotions. Now, granted, every film ever made could be summarized with such a broad umbrella, but after “Toy Story” and “Shrek,” a film like “Nemo” must do more to stand out from the pack.

And finally, there is a lack of emotional growth present in the other children’s films listed here. True, Nemo learns some self esteem on his mission. As Marlin swims about the ocean, he realizes that Nemo deserves more freedom. These lessons, however, occur instantly and transparently. Never once did I believe that I was seeing true growth – simply the flip of a page in a wooden script.

None of this is to say that “Nemo” is a bad film. For families, it will be wonderful and several moments surprised me with their subtlety and humor. I am only attempting to isolate why I left this film with a shrug, while I left “Shrek” wanting to dance.

A great film, whether it is a children’s fable or a wartime epic, should not require excuses.

That about sums it up for me. But hey, at least there weren't any ridiculous musical numbers.  And as always, YMMV. If anyone really loved it, feel free to let me know why.  I won't ridicule you or anything, I'm just curious to hear from someone who thought it was as good or better than the other excellent CGI movies we've had in recent years, and why.

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