9 out of 10
 

Disney and Pixar studios have done it again. They have combined amazing off screen programming talent, a beautiful heartwarming script and exceptional voice acting cast in this stunning underwater adventure. The cast includes Albert Brooks as Marlin (Nemo’s father), Ellen DeGeneres as Dory, a fish who suffers from short term memory loss and Willem Dafoe who voices Gill, a fish held captive in a dentist’s office aquarium.

The story begins with Marlin The story begins with Marlin losing his wife and the newly spawned children in a barracuda attack. All but one of the eggs parish. This leads Marlin to become very protective of his only son. A few years later it as time for Nemo to enter into school, amid second thoughts from his father who believes it is far too dangerous. Nemo wanders off during a school excursion, and to Marlin’s horror, gets captured by divers. Marlin embarks on a perilous journey to find his son. Along the way he is aided by all sorts of water creatures. His first encounter is with Dory, who provides some wonderful comedic action and dialogue throughout. She decides to tag along, and adds an element of risk as she is willing to try just about anything. We find out that Nemo hs been placed in an aquarium with other fish in a dentist’s office. The office is across from the harbour in Sydney, Australia. They band together to formulate a plan to escape after Nemo tells them his heart wrenching story. Marlin Meets up with some stoned out turtles and some sharks who have formed a support group for sharks who do not eat fish, they are friends, not food.

The film has several ethical and moral values: trust, friendships, family, as well as the dangers of being overprotective. There are times when Marlin hesitates in trusting Dory, who has no choice but to trust this fish that keeps reminding her about elements she forgets. Marlin eventually realizes that all he can do as a parent is teach his son the proper values, be there for him, and trust Nemo to make the right decisions.

Pixar did a wonderful job creating the underwater scenery. The whole time there is a murkiness, like being underwater, and you don’t realize it until there are scenes of the surface and everything is much more vibrant. Which is not to say that the visuals aren’t stunning. This film works on so many levels and it was a real treat.