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Review by Harvey Karten
2½ stars out of 4
When I was last in Cancun, I noted that the college students
who lined the town wall-to-wall were not particularly interested in
snorkling, despite the preponderance of tropical fish in certain
areas of the booming Mexican tourist town. Human contacts
were all-important to them to the extent that they wanted nothing
to do with activities that did not involve close connections with
the opposite sex. Even those who are avid snorklers, however,
might never go back to that activity after seeing the latest Pixar
Animation Studios adventure, Disney's "Finding Nemo," which is
written and directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, co-written
by Bob Peterson and David Rynolds with music by Thomas
Newman. Why so? On the big screen, the fish and their salty
environs take on larger-than-life proportions with even greater
color than exist in reality, and what's more they speak English.
While much of their dialogue seems awkwardly improvised and
insipid, there's no faulting the stunning visual effects which
remind us of previous adventures with the technology, John
Lasseter and Andrew Stanton's "A Bug's Life, Mr. Lassiter's
"Toy Story," and Peter Docter's "Monsters, Inc." While all three
previous Pixar offerings gave the adults dragged by their kids to
the cinema much to cheer with some sardonic humor that must
have gone over the head of any kid lacking Mozart's genius,
there is surprisingly little dialogue this time around that could
match up to the wit and cleverness of the others.
Then again, the young ones do not go to "Finding Nemo" to
hear Elizabethan orratory or the brief operatic sounds that
introduced the Sydney Opera House toward the conclusion, but
to marvel at the myriad of colors and the plot lines, and this
movie does give impetus to their imagination given the fear that
little kids have of being lost or abandoned by those on whom
they depend.
Using the lead voices of Albert Brooks in the role of Marlin the
clownfish, Alexander Gould's as Marlin's titular son, and Ellen
DeGeneres as Dory, the female consultant, "Finding Nemo"
takes place downunder in the nabe of the Great Barrier Reef not
far from Sydney Harbor. When a sudden swoosh of 'cudas
gobble up eggs and fish so swiftly that the kids in the audience
could scarcely see them, Nemo is left with only his dad, Marlin,
to guide him. Marlin, played according to neurotic type by Albert
Brooks, is so overprotective of his son that he hesitates even to
send him to his first day of school. When the rebellious
Nemo who shows the vulnerability that lies beneath his
bravado swims past a safe zone, he's scooped up and lands in
the fish tank of a dentist, told specifically to watch out for the
tooth doctor's orthodontically-challenged little niece.
"Finding Nemo" is a coming-of-age story centering on an
adolescent fish who tests the waters (so to speak) and
discovers that he'd best chill with his neurotic dad lest he wind
up once again in the tiny quarters of a fish tank with others
who'd like nothing better than to escape a fate worse than root
canal. The picture is loaded with adventures, some redundant,
wherein sea creatures demonstrate their specialties and
eccentricities. Jacques, for example, is the movie's bottom-
feeder, cleaning the gunk eliminated by his pals while another,
who thinks the reflection in the fish tank is her identical twin
sister, could be cast for the third episode or Dumb and Dumber.
While "Finding Nemo" is a miracle of visual splendor, opening
up the summer season like other spectacular but dialogue-
challenged fare like "X2" and "The Matrix Reloaded," the
redundancies and less-than-inspiring talk threaten to sink the
expedition.
Copyright © 2003 Harvey Karten
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