Finding Nemo (2003)

Awesome ocean visuals and fun story do a good job glossing over dark themes of loss, addiction, hopelessness and despair.

"Nemo" is your typically adventurous and curious offspring. Living amidst the wonders of the Barrier Reef has began to wear on the young clownfish, though, and he yearns for the open ocean. His dad knows best and has forbidden him from leaving the safety of their home waters but one day his nose gets the better of him as he espies a fishing boat and next thing he is caught by a diver who whisks him off to the surgery of a dentist where he is deposited in a tank with some fellow prisoners - awaiting the arrival of the man's daughter who is to be the new owner of "Nemo". Now young as he is, he's not without nouse and is soon working on a plan to return to the open sea - which they can all see from the window! Meantime, pop "Marlin" is in a panic and in his search for his wayward son encounters "Dory" - a forgetful fish who thinks she's seen a boat, but then again... Loads of colourful and enjoyable escapades follow as the pair use ingenuity and take quite a few risks to become reunited. First things first - "Dory" just annoyed me. Right from the start I was hoping that she would become shark fodder. She has short term memory loss - but how does she remember that? Anyway, apart from that there are loads of endearing characters here from the vegetarian sharks, the loveable "Peach" and the characterisation of "Nemo" imbues him with an innocence and mischievousness that has to raise a smile - and even engender a bit of concern - as he seems destined for transit in the same plastic bags we all used to use for our goldfish back in the day. The animation is gorgeous and the clever soundtrack (there's even a bit of Herrmann's "Psycho" in here) adds loads to enrich this classy and charming adventure. It's really a big screen experience, if you can.