Finding Nemo DVD Review (Albert Brooks) Empire Movies

FINDING NEMO DVD REVIEW

Finding Nemo
(Walt Disney Home Entertainment)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

7/10

8.5/10

Liam

Finding Nemo was the first movie I brought my daughter to see at the theater. While it was a good movie, really, it was a little too scary. So, when I got the DVD, I was hesitant to let her see it again. But, I caved and again, it was a little too scary. So, that's what I'll say about this movie. Scary. Sure, she's only three, but she loves the Toy Story series. She even enjoyed Monsters, Inc. (She hasn't seen A Bug's Life.) But Nemo is a little older, I think. Now, after seeing it at home, she doesn't want to see it again. I don't really blame her. Sharks? Angler Fish? A Barracuda eating Nemo's mother? At least with the DVD I had the option of skipping this content. So, reviewing this movie as a parent is a little difficult. But, then again, it is the highest grossing movie of the year, so can it really be that bad? Sure, I enjoyed it, but after a few viewings now, my opinion is a little shaken.

In Finding Nemo, we get Marlin and Nemo, a father and son clown fish duo. The father, Marlin (Albert Brooks), is traumatized when his wife is eaten by the aforementioned barracuda. So, he's a little overprotective of his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould). On Nemo's first day of school, Marlin freaks out when he learns his son is going on a field trip to the drop-off, and ends up embarrassing Nemo in front of his school mates. Upset with his father, rebellious Nemo swims into the open water and ends up getting caught by a scuba diver. Marlin, of course, sets off to find Nemo. The rest of the movie is Marlin's and Nemo's adventures as they try to reunite. Nemo and his new friends in the fish tank and Marlin and the various cast of characters he meets on his journey, including Dorie, Crush and the previously mentioned sharks and angler fish.

The movie was a lot of fun, I'll give it that much - but again, I just question why it had to be so scary. Was that really necessary? But maybe the ocean really is that scary. I wouldn't know - I've never seen the ocean.

Speaking of the ocean, this 2-disc DVD set has an ocean of special features. And, like the ocean, they are deep and there is a lot of variety. On the first disc, naturally, we get the feature presentation, presented in 1.78:1 direct digital transfer widescreen format with an exceptional Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX track. You really can't go wrong with a Pixar production on DVD - just incredible audio and video quality. Along with the feature, we also get an introduction to the film by writer/director Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, the film's co-director. One other great feature is the virtual aquarium. You get several of the film's settings that you can use to turn your TV into a pretty cool looking aquarium.

Into the more in-depth features on the first disc, you'll find a great commentary by Stanton, Unkrich and co-writer Bob Peterson. Not only is it a traditional commentary, it's also a visual commentary, with frequent cuts to behind the scenes video clips and deleted scenes. You also have the option of watching the video clips separately without needing to watch the entire movie to get to them. The commentary is pretty fun - you can tell that these guys really worked hard and had a great time with this movie. They talk a lot about the story and the direction it took from the original. They also talk about what a long and arduous journey it was. In fact, that's one of the more frequent things you'll hear on this disc - how long it took - years and years and years - since 1997. But, the long hours and hard work obviously paid off.

Another great feature on the disc is a fascinating featurette titled "Making Nemo". For the first time ever, a documentary crew was behind the scenes during the production of a Pixar film. It's a good look at how the movie came together, but it's more technical in nature dealing with the computers. Still, there's a few good bits about Pixar and the people that make it happen and how.

Finally, we get some design galleries, which are broken down into four different groups. The first, the art review, is basically a re-telling of the story with some original concept art and images. You have the option of watching it alone, or with a half-decent commentary by a few of the people behind the magic. There's also a brief look at each character, a look at the different environments and the ability to look at the color script, which is actually quite similar to the art review of the film, just without the commentary.

In terms of Disc 1's Easter Eggs, there are two directly on the main "Bonus Features" page and a "non-easter-egg" Easter Egg on the Setup menu. I'm just pointing you in the right direction here. If really want to see them, check out the DVD for yourself.

One thing I found odd about disc one was that there were no previews of other Disney projects... But then, you slap in disc two and there they are, including the comical preview for Pixar's "The Incredibles". Also available on this disc, you'll get a specially reframed full screen version of the film and a comical introduction to the second disc and its features. Then, there's a short but very funny feauturette titled "Exploring the Reef" hosted by Jean-Michel Cousteau. Here, he talks about the ocean, and the consequences of man on the environment - how global warming is affecting the temperature of the ocean and harming it's inhabitants. What could have been very boring was made fun and educational by frequent (and hilarious) interruptions by Marlin, Nemo and Dorie.

Next up, there's a look at Pixar's 1989 animated short, Knick Knack with optional commentary. For those of you who haven't seen this one yet, it's worth checking out to see some of Pixar's earlier work. Also included is "Mr. Ray's Encyclopedia" an entertaining look at the different species of water life from the movie narrated by everyone's favorite underwater science teacher. Of course, no Disney DVD would be complete without a game, so there's a game of "Fisharades" narrated by Crush the turtle. (I guess John Ratzenberger wasn't available...) For the kids, there's also an interactive read-along story called "Nemo Goes to School".

Finally, there is a behind-the-scenes section that is really a lot of fun. Included here is a character interviews feature and a studio tour featuring Alexander Gould, the voice of Nemo. Then, there's the publicity section, with all sorts of trailers, promo spots and artwork such as posters and billboards. All in all, this was a pretty entertaining section to the DVD.

Also on disc two, thrown in for good measure, are a few Easter Eggs, which again, I'll point you to. You'll find a couple of Dorie bumping into your TV screen in "Mr. Ray's Encyclopedia" and "Behind the Scenes" sections. Also, on the main menu, if you look around enough, you'll find a TV spot for the AS2K3 (the aquarium filter from the film).

If I had one complaint about the features in the DVD set, it would be that I would have liked to have seen more about the voice work. If anything, this DVD is all about Pixar and the technical and story work they did, and there is absolutely nothing about what the actors brought to the table with their vocal talents. Sure, the guys at Pixar shelled out their share of compliments for the talent, but I would have liked to have seen what kind of work goes into that part of the film.

Again, this was a good movie. I just question why it had to be so scary. Even in one of the features, the filmmakers said they were always trying to make aspects of the movie more scary. Why? Is that really necessary? Although, from the numbers of people that flocked to the theaters to see this one, maybe it wasn't as scary as I thought. And as scary as I think the movie is, there is nothing scary about the bonus features included here - they were all a lot of fun (even for the kids), and are all worth checking out.

Features
Disc One: Introduction With Director Andrew Stanton and Co-Director Lee Unkrich, Visual Commentary With Director Andrew Stanton, Co-Director Lee Unkrich and Co-Writer Bob Peterson, "Making Nemo" Documentary, Design Gallery, Virtual Aquariums, Easter Eggs Disc Two: "Exploring the Reef" Documentary, "Mr. Ray's Encyclopedia", Storytime, "Fisharades" Game, Character Interviews, "Studio Tour", Print Ads, Trailers, "Knick Knack" Short, Virtual Aquariums, Sneak Peeks, Easter Eggs

Video
Widescreen (1.78:1), Full Screen (1.33:1)

Audio
English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX

Subtitles
English, French, Closed-Captioned

Release Date
November 4, 2003

Rating
G

Length
100 mins.

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