Pixar Returns Under the Sea for Another 3D Re-Release

You can't help but wonder why these sea turtles sound like surfer dudes.

Andrew Stanton is one of those few directors in recent cinema, who genuinely understands that animation is just not about the set the visuals bar and the abundance of Hollywood voice acting, but it's a medium of art that can bring generations together time and time again. Back in 2003, Disney and Pixar submerged audiences to a world of wonder and as enormous of a canvas as the ocean itself. Technically, it was the ocean itself. But if by chance you were one of the few to miss its original run nearly a decade ago, Disney is re-releasing Finding Nemo 

Finding Nemo starts off with an extremely dark opening for a G-rated film as two clownfish, Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Coral, are forced to defend their anemone home from a menacing barracuda. As a result, Coral is killed as are the majority of their eggs, leaving only Marlin and one egg, an unborn Nemo. The incident leaves Marlin as an overprotective single father. During his first day of school, Nemo (Alexander Gould) defies his high-strung father and ventures off with his classmates to a drop-off point, only to captured by an Australian diver. Frantic for his son's survival, Marlin teams with Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a Blue Tang with memory issues to find his taken son back into theaters with a gouging 3D premium. 

Even back in 2003, Finding Nemo was one of the finest gems in that award-winning treasure trove known as Pixar. And with Pixar still churning out success after success, including Stanton's own WALL-E, Finding Nemo is an animated classic at its finest, jetting across the big blue and along the way familiarized with a noteworthy aquatic cast. Finding Nemo's true backbone rests on Marlin's persistence to reunite with the son no matter how many obstacles he has to overcome. Whether it be a run-in with jellyfish or giant whales or even a partner who can't even remember five seconds ago, nothing stops Marlin. Nothing.

The story's linear progression functions as a simplistic for families, but still provides that epic feel that animation junkies know and expect from Pixar. Though the obstacles aren't too difficult for Marlin and Dory to endure, it's still fun to watch them step up to the challenge and narrowly escape time after time. Perhaps, a hefty portion of that success comes from the impeccably touching chemistry between Brooks and DeGeneres as the clownfish and tang duo. For both actors, the voice acting is spot-on and naturally play off each other quite well in practically every scene together. Obviously, their personalities constantly clash, as Brooks offers up a neurotic traits to play off DeGeneres' charming annoyances. Both voice actors are their characters without a doubt and no duo would've had this dynamic chemistry. Even when they come across a hysterically funny A.A. shark meeting or hip surfer-speaking sea turtles, they're still a barrel of laughs to watch.

And while we follow Marlin and Dory on their rescue mission across the sea, the journey is intercut with Nemo's captivity inside the aquarium of a Sydney dentist office. Not to worry though, Nemo meets the "Tank Gang," a band of aquarium fish, who strategize not only his great escape, but escape for them all. Now the "Tank Gang" sequences don't really radically advance Nemo's characterizations, but at its core the scenes in the Plexiglas prison are vibrant and offer up lighthearted humor and a sense of identity that'll appeal to kids and adults alike. Going back and forth between these scenes and the Marlin/Dory adventure, Stanton has a solid knack how to pace Finding Nemo. Despite hitting 100 minutes, which some consider to be long for an animated film, Finding Nemo hits all the right places at all the right times with nothing out of place or overdrawn.

Despite nearing ten years since its initial release, Finding Nemo doesn't look as if it has aged a day. The animation is still as crisp as ever, encompassing every detail of its expansive underwater environment. The colors are simply phenomenal, favoring the ocean's crystal blue, but working in fluidic pink jellyfishes and pitch black nooks and crannies, that leave the audience guessing. Finding Nemo still draws you in to a world that on the surface is a movie about talking fish and riddled with comedy, but intimately pulls at your heartstrings as you want to see Nemo and his father reunited after all that has happened. But the biggest surprise in Nemo is that the film works best without a tangible villain. Normally in Pixar films, there's always some primary antagonist working against the hero, but Finding Nemo doesn't have the time or the place to tread those cliche waters. Like Pixar's most recent feature film, Brave, the most important dynamic taking place is the conflict and mended relationship between parent and child.

Like the re-releases of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo is shown in post-converted 3D. Now while most post-converted films are to be avoided, Disney continually crafts the 3D to its advantage. The 3D is hardly about the pop-out gimmick moments, but creating full immersion into another world. The 3D in Finding Nemo doesn't fully take the audience underwater, but it still utilizes the depth of field, making the dimensional experience seamless. There are occasions when some scenes could have been presented better with pop-out moments, as long as it strays from being gimmicky. Is the 3D absolutely necessary? No. However, if you're looking for the better quality 3D out there, look no further than the Disney re-releases. Hopefully Monsters, Inc. 3D with follow suit in three short months.

There's no reason not to miss Finding Nemo 3D in theaters. Even if you've experienced Nemo before on the big screen or DVD, seeing this modern classic in theaters is a must for anyone with a love for animation. There's nothing wrong with going under the sea, when you know for a fact that there's a chest of cinematic gold waiting on the ocean floor.    

     

GRADE: A+ (10/10)

This review is also available on Blu-Ray.com