Fishes tales are generally about the ones that got away and Finding Nemo is certainly, on a very literal reading, no exception. It's also fair to say that a plunge beneath the surface of the latest animated offering from Pixar Studios is not only a heady visual experience; it also has genuine depth and emotion.
Not to overplay the point but Nemo, The Italian Job and Together from China - all debuting in the U.S. this week - each have plots that turn on the relationship between a father and son (albeit one is a father figure). In the case of Finding Nemo, tragedy underscores the birth of the title Clown Fish and the sometimes over zealous protective attitude of his single parent. It also provides the basis of a bond that will endure and overcome a seemingly impossible separation and a deeper understanding between the two.
All that's to be found within this ocean-going saga that has more adventurous exploits and acts of daring than a chapter from an Indiana Jones notebook. And the filmmakers at the helm deftly balance the trenchant sentimentality and the exhilaration of the chase without interrupting the story flow, over emphasizing the wizardry of its digital animation or pulling back on its humanity.
While the new film doesn't have the sort of visualized feral terror of Bambi or Dumbo, it nonetheless begins with something of an equally jarring psychological jolt. Imminent Clown Fish parents suddenly find their comfy nest invaded by an ocean predator and when the sand settles mama and 399 of her 400 eggs have disappeared. Marlin, the father, is left alone to care for Nemo, born with an abbreviated left fin. Like his human brethren, he has heightened anxieties about his son swimming into harm's way.
Nemo cannot comprehend the source of the fretting and fussing and engages in a foolhardy act of defiance that lands him in the fish tank of a curious Scuba diver. From that point, Marlin must pursue a perilous quest worthy of Odysseus while Nemo conspires with tank mates to bust out and make for the open sea. They would each be an impossible dream were it not for the human spirit.
For about a half-century, Disney and others have waded into feature animation in an alchemic pursuit of what made Uncle Walt's early efforts so satisfying. No one has come closer to recreating that formula than Pixar and with just five films in less than a decade. Like some deft sleight-of-hand, it involves finding the right metaphor and a visual style that combines classic and contemporary elements that are constantly changing and difficult to maintain considering that the most elaborate efforts have three year production schedules.
Finding Nemo strikes a particularly resonant chord in its handling of the fragility of family and the pain and awkwardness of adjusting to change. It's also Shakespearian in attitude, serving up high principals and low comedy for its variegated audience and spectacle for all. Director Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote the script, adopts a translucent quality for his images that nicely approximates life beneath the waves and infuses the film with a dream-like nature.
Quality, humor and passion are the sort of things one associates with bygone classics. If that makes this film old fashioned one should lock the door and throw away the key to Pixar's animation lab and slip pizzas under the door to its brain trust.
A Buena Vista release of a Pixar Animation Studio film. Produced by Graham Walters. Director, Andrew Stanton. Screenplay, Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds, based upon a story by Stanton. Camera, Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky. Editor, David Ian Salter. Music, Thomas Newman. Supervising Animator, Dylan Brown.
Voices: Albert Brooks (Marlin), Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), Alexander Gould (Nemo), Willem Dafoe (Gill), Brad Garrett (Bloat), Allison Janney (Peach), Austin Pendleton (Gurgle), Geoffrey Rush (Nigel).Reviewed: May 29 , 2003
