Around the period of 2002, one of the most talked-about movies of the time was also one of Pixar’s earliest and most successful movies even to this day, Finding Nemo. When it was released in theatres, everybody was enthralled with this little tale about a clownfish father traversing the harsh ocean to find his recently taken son, with audiences and critics falling in love with it. With wonderful characters, story, message, and animation, it’s a movie that has not lost any of its timeless appeal. Set in the great blue open ocean, after losing his wife and all but one of his children, a clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) is extra protective of his last son named Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould) in fear of something happening to him. To no ones surprise, something happens to him as he is taken away by a diver and kept in a Dentist office in Sydney Australia. Desperate to find his son but terrified of the ocean, Marlin and a fish with short term memory lost named Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) start their long and dangerous trek across the ocean, coming across many friends and foes along the way, all in the hopes of reaching Sydney and finding Nemo. Its almost pointless to list all the great things that came from this film; everybody remembers the set-up, everyone remembers the characters, they remember lines, they remember exact scenes, its another one of Pixar’s finest works; one that appeals to both adults and children in a fun but interesting way that isn’t held back by kid movie restrictions.

The set-up for the film is one that, while great in presentation,  is not that different even for back then. Its essentially a travelling story except the focus in not primarily on the one that got lost but shares the screen with both the lost and the one searching for the lost. Not only does that help keep the movie fresh and allows it to keep moving along at an even enjoyable pace, but it also manages to highlight one of the film’s strongest aspects, the way it connects with adults. For most kids movie to have anything to do with adults was already a pretty strong rarity outside of Disney and Pixar, but for this movie to have its message focused solely at adults is refreshing and a pretty cool take for something very early on in Pixar’s history. The message for the movie is standard,  but an effective one that is shown very clearly through the actions of the character’s and the journey that in folds in front of them. The only time the film starts to lose some of its good pacing is when it has to spell out the message; something that is clearly not necessary as it does it perfectly well visually instead leaving certain moments as only needless padding. Regardless the majority of the movie is very engaging; both the father and the son having very simple but understandable goals that audiences will want them to accomplish by the end, and this length apart will only make the evitable reunion that much sweeter because of it.

A film’s story is only as strong if the character themselves are equally as memorable and more importantly tolerable enough to get through this long journey, and thankfully all these characters are likeable, colorful, and very memorable. It is good to know that a sea full of such vibrant creatures equals out to very vibrant characters not only in how they talk (all of them being very well voiced acted) but also in how they’re animated. Each different character has a distinct design and even way of moving. The people behind this film took an extra care into giving the film a nice realistic touch without going too overboard with trying to make the characters look realistic fish looks, so the fish will have appropriate bodies and swimming patterns, but with much more human and expressive eyes and mouths, which works great in this context. Marlin is a good lead and Dory is a good support; she’s a character that could have so easily gotten on people’s nerves with the short term memory lose joke, but with enough pace between each joke and a great performance from Ellen allows her to be that right balance of slightly annoying but still innocent and helpful enough to not get on people’s nerves, causing the character to be popular enough to have her be the star focus of the sequel in 2016, Finding Dory. All the side characters that are met along the journey offer up their own form of obstacle; whether through getting the main characters from one place to another, or through being a legitimate threat, It allows the movie to never feel completely safe but still keep things hopeful and uplifting every time they get out of a bad situation. All the fish in the fish tank Nemo is taken to are all likeable weird and strange and all of them are home to some very wholesome voice actors, and all the characters met by Marlin and Dory have very memorable scenes attached to them.

This movie really benefits from the 3D animation style as it’s a method that does a great job giving the environment great personality and presence that really strengthens the film’s story overall. It paints the ocean as being full of mystery and wonder but also full of terror and danger; the rich bright colors and calming ambience allows for a lot of great fun moments and a lot of pleasant and serine imagery but with that calmness also comes this empty silent aspect that is also filled with predatory threats and realistic danger. It gives the movie a great tone; one that is filled with as much peaceful fun moments as it is life-threatening scary moments. Overall, the animation looks wonderful in the area design, character design and colors overall, even some of human designs are not too bad. Getting famous composer Thomas Newman for the score was a nice choice as he produces some good music that perfectly captures a scenes mood and tone to a tee; to dark and morose, to light and bouncy, to harsh and brutal, to hopeful and positive, it ticks all the boxes.

Finding Nemo is a still a classic Pixar film and a classic animated kids movie overall. With enough heart, bright imagery, likeable characters, and playful moments for the kids as well enough adult dialogue, great voice talent and plenty of heart-racing moments for adults to also sink their teeth into. While the handling of the message can be a bit too on the noise at times, especially considering its meant for parents who would understand it easier, its still a good message and one that’s not only important to tell adults, but to show kids and let them understand it on a whole new level as they themselves grow up. Plenty of great stuff to go back to regardless of how many times it been seen, Finding Nemo is a definite see.