Product Description

From the Academy Award(R)-winning creators of TOY STORY and MONSTERS, INC. (2001, Best Animated Short Film, FOR THE BIRDS), it's FINDING NEMO, a hilarious adventure where you'll meet colorful characters that take you into the breathtaking underwater world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to Marlin (Albert Brooks), his worrisome father, and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, to make the epic journey to bring Nemo home. Their adventure brings them face-to-face with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more. Marlin discovers a bravery he never knew, but will he be able to find his son? FINDING NEMO's breakthrough computer animation takes you into a whole new world with this undersea adventure about family, courage, and challenges. Take the plunge into FINDING NEMO, a "spectacularly beautiful animated adventure for everyone" -- David Sheehan, CBS-TV

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2003-11-04
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .50 pounds
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. --Bret Fetzer

DVD features
It's not that the folks at Pixar are geniuses when it comes to DVDs... well, come to think of it, their fifth DVD set shows these folks are wizards. It's not just that the two discs are packed with watchable extras that hardly reiterate the same information; it's how they are handled--funny, inventive, with a light touch--unlike many PR-driven discs. A good place to start is the filmmakers' jolly commentary track, which branches off into 31 minutes of behind-the-scene stuff, deleted scenes, and curious anecdotes (they can also be watched separately). Pixar's first making-of documentary is a most concise and interesting 25-minute examination that also sheds light on how the company works. With a digital-to-digital transfer, the film looks great and is available in widescreen or reformatted to full screen. The "Family Fun" disc includes another Pixar made-for-the-DVD gem, the 7-minute "Exploring the Reef" with Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jacques's son) being upstaged by Dori and Marlin; it's a hoot and teaches a fact or two you will remember about reefs. Both discs feature lovely menus that can be turned into virtual aquariums for your TV (by removing the text) featuring the knockout colors of the film's settings. Watch long enough for some shenanigans from the film's characters and vocal talent. Genius, pure genius. --Doug Thomas

From The New Yorker
The latest flood of wizardry from Pixar, whose productions, from "Toy Story" onward, have lent an indispensable vigor and wit to the sagging art of mainstream animation. Whether the new movie, directed by Andrew Stanton, will add much to that resuscitation is another matter. Albert Brooks provides the voice of Marlin, a non-amusing clown fish who sees his young son, Nemo, borne off in a diver's net. Not to be daunted, and plainly unfazed by the threat of both sharks and sentimentality, Marlin sets off to rescue his only child. You'll never guess how it ends. The technical skill on show is beyond question, but, as yet another computer-generated seascape ripples past, you may be tempted to ask whether that skill is driving the story; Marlin just drifts from one semi-heroic feat to the next, and the characters seldom get their hooks, or their jaws, into you with the pointed, snippy comedy that we have come to associate with Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Also, not to be impolite or anything, but how expressive is a fish, until it hits a grill? With the voices of Geoffrey Rush, Barry Humphries, Willem Dafoe, Allison Janney, and-the funniest of the shoal-Ellen DeGeneres. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Walt Would Approve
Recently, I saw Albert Brooks on Late Night with David Letterman, talking about Finding Nemo. Brooks, who stars as the voice of Marlon, the daddy fish, had taken his son (who, I believe was about five years old, the equivalent human age of Nemo), to the premiere. After about five minutes, Brooks said his son leaned over to him, and quietly said, the way a grownup might, "I cannot watch this movie," and walked out. Late in the movie, the son returned, having obviously been crying. Leaning over, Brooks assured his son, "You are not Nemo."

Such is the power of this fish story about father and son clownfish who become separated, and must struggle to find their way back to each other. Marlon is a loving but neurotic and overprotective father; Nemo is a frustrated young fish who wants to be independent and see the world, and resents his father for preventing him from doing so. We see an ocean (read: the world) that is a terrible, heartless, and yet joyous place that we frail fish must confront, as best we can, because there's no alternative.

The animation was done by the wonderful folks from Pixar, who are the closest thing to the reincarnation of Walt Disney. There is simply no comparison between the animation of the typical, visually flat, politically correct, contemporary animated movie (many of which are produced by Walt Disney Pictures!) and Nemo. In Nemo, the ocean floor looks like the ocean. And the characters are all ... characters. They are all physically distinctive, wonderfully written, and performed by gifted actors who - if you'll pardon the cliché - will alternately make you laugh and cry. Of particular note are Barry Humphries as Bruce the Shark, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel the Pelican, Willem Dafoe as Gill, Allison Janney as Peach, and of course, young Alexander Gould as Nemo. Ellen Degeneres, in particular, steals every scene she's in, as Dory, a gregarious fish whose memory leaks like a sieve. But this is Albert Brooks' movie. The Academy should give this man a special Oscar for the most moving voice work my wife and I have ever heard.

Thomas Newman, of the musical Newman clan (Alfred, Lionel, Randy) has produced a score that is subtle and unobtrusive much of the time, but at dramatic moments takes over, and is more impressive, with repeated viewings. He deserves his fifth Oscar nomination for Nemo.

Andrew Stanton's (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc.) screenplay, written with Bob Peterson and David Reynolds, brims with intelligence and wit (e.g., in an AA-style group of recovering - and frequently lapsing - sharks, the members intone, "I am a nice shark, not an eating machine.... Fish are friends, not food"), and Stanton's direction does not waste a scene. Every moment in Nemo will either charm you or move you. In fact, as my wife remarked, for all of its many comic scenes, this is one of the most moving movies you'll ever see. We've already seen it several times with our three-and-a-half-year-old son, who loves it, and yet with each new viewing, we notice things we'd previously missed.

Though I wish Nemo would win all of the big Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay), I doubt Academy voters will choose it over its live-action competition. And yet, I will be very surprised, if a better picture -- live action or animated -- is released this year. Finding Nemo is truly a find.

Originally published in The Critical Critic, October 17, 2003.

Pixar's getting in a habit of constantly outdoing themselves
Finding Nemo is the fifth installment for Pixar Studios, the most reliable studio in Hollywood today, and it is my personal favorite. The first obviously outstanding aspect of the movie is the animation. From the breathtaking wonder of the Great Barrier Reef, to the cold, sterile fish tank, the animation is top notch and truly state of the art. The water, which has always been the bane of animation, is picture perfect, and the animators have captured the rolling but constant ocean and the light refractions perfectly. But animation itself doesn't make a film. Finding Nemo's strongest aspect is it's warm, witty, heartfelt, and funny story of a father's quest to reclaim his son. The kids will love the vibrant characters and funny situations, and so will the parents. However, the parents will be able to enjoy the film on a level far more than the kids will. The story is about losing a child, and the desperate quest to be reunited, which will hit the parent right in the gut. This is the story's dark side, which has, thankfully, not been sugar coated by the creators. Overall, lets just say Halleluja, Pixar, you've done it again!

The Coolest Movie I have Ever Seen.
YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE.

There. Now that I've said that, I should tell you that this is NOT solely a childrens' movie, but will be enjoyed as much (if not more) by adults. The cleverness of Pixar will never cease to amaze me. Only they could take a concept like a full-length movie about fish and make it totally believable. This film succeeds n being very, very funny. Heck, I'm 16 and saw it in the theater with only my mother. The two of us were laughing hysterically throughout the entire thing!

There's alot of sadness and emotion in this movie and some absolutely terrific voice acting--the voice cast is top-notch. There are some touching moments and subtle messages to be heard by all, not just kids. I look forward with anticipation to the DVD release of this wonderful movie. The suspense never lets up; encounters with jellyfish, a whale, and a deep-sea lanturn fish make every moment exciting.

As we know, every Disney/Pixar film is associated with its own special "short." Well, this one is the best yet, and the short film sets you up for the great feelings you'll have while seeing "Finding Nemo." I won't give away the storyline, but it involves a cute snowman, a water globe, and some tropical souvenirs that completely ready one for the overwhelming tropical-ness of the feature film.

One thing I can't get over is how true-to-life these characters are. The attention to finding a unique species for each fish is incredible and adds a whole new, educational, dimension to the movie. There are some memorable characters in "Finding Nemo." First and foremost is Marlin, the lovable clownfish who is an overprotective father to his adventurous son, Nemo. Then there's Dory, the regal blue tang with the memory problem. She provides much of the comic relief but is also an immensely "real" character. Bruce is a mako shark who wants to get rid of the typical image of sharks as mindless eating machines. Crush is a 150-year-old sea turtle with a cool-surfer-dude attitude. Nigel is a helpful pelican. The whole thing takes place in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

And then there are the aquarium fish, who invite Nemo into their 'club' when he gets scooped from the sea. He goes through the initiation ceremony at Mt. Wannahockaloogee, complete with tiki statues and all. The animation is awesome. Their group includes Peach, the lookout starfish; Deb, a delusional fish who thinks her reflection is her sister; a French shrimp, a puffer fish, a yellow tang, and a royal gramma. They are led by Gill, a moorish idol who longs to return to the ocean.

This film is excellent; it deserves a sequel...

Overall this is one film that nobody should miss--parents, kids, or otherwise. I hope this review has convinced you to go get yourself a ticket to "Finding Nemo."