Movie Review for Finding Nemo

Summary: Life along the Great Barrier Reef is full of dangers when you are a tiny clown fish. And for Marlin, a single parent determined to protect his only son Nemo, there are constant fears and anxieties. When, on his first day of school, Nemo defies his father and swims off alone to investigate a boat, he is suddenly scooped up by a diver as Marlin helplessly watches. Marlin turns desperate as he frantically swims off in search for his son. As he passes a school of fish he bumps into Dory, an agreeable blue tang with severe short-term memory loss, who offers to help. Together this aquatic odd couple set out on an impossible mission, finding themselves in troubled waters and contending with such hazards as sharks, deadly angler fishes and a forest of jellyfish. Meanwhile, in a dentist's office overlooking Sydney Harbor, Nemo has landed in a fish tank that is home to a colorful group of characters who want to initiate him into their gang. When word of Marlin and Dory's ocean adventures gets back to Nemo, he is so thrilled to learn of his father's search for him that he becomes motivated to move forward with a daring escape plan of his own.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Rebecca Murray of About.com (8/0)
            The creatures in Finding Nemo are more real than some flesh and blood actors.

By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/1)
            There’s real heart in this movie without needing lots of superficial whiz-bang stuff.

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (8/0)
            It’s the brilliant animation and witty script that lift this film from retread material to sublim...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Aufmuth.com (8/0)
            Pixar has interlaced its energetic storyline with the moody strains of a classic Thomas Newman sc...

By Marc Savlov of Austin Chronicle (8/0)
            Continually floods the viewer with more extraordinary sensory input than anything previously.

By Nev Pierce of BBC (8/0)
            There is beauty and brilliance in every frame.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Ty Burr of Boston Globe (8/0)
            Finding Nemo isn't quite up there with the company's finest work -- there's finally a sense of fo...

By Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi of Broomfield Enterprise (8/0)
            “Finding Nemo” was funny and a little scary, at least for the little tykes.

By Daniel Etherington of Channel 4 Film (8/0)
            Another masterful piece of family entertainment from Pixar.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (8/0)
            One of those rare movies where I wanted to sit in the front row and let the images wash out to th...

By Mark Caro of Chicago Tribune (8/0)
            You connect to these sea creatures as you rarely do with humans in big-screen adventures. The res...

By Mark Caro of Chicago Tribune (8/0)
            Everything comes together in a way that's funny and emotionally potent.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Gregory M. Lamb of Christian Science Monitor (8/0)
            The best animated underwater picture since The Little Mermaid.

By Margaret A. McGurk of Cincinnati Enquirer (8/0)
            ...sets astonishing new standards for computer-generated animation.

By David Keyes of Cinemaphile.org (8/0)
            ...the movie is chock-full of color and fun, ambitiously gliding through one vibrant scene after ...

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (8/0)
            The amazing thing about Pixar is that in every film, I go in with incredibly high, unrealistic ex...

By Paul Clinton (CNN.com) of CNN.com (8/0)
            Add water and you have an instant Disney/Pixar classic.

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (8/0)
            More than just high calorie viscera, Finding Nemo is the best American comedy in two years.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (8/0)
            Visually stunning but dragged down somewhat by insipid dialogue.

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (8/0)
            Fast, funny and brackisly beautiful.

By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (8/0)
            Finding Nemo may be the most beautiful and detailed animated movie ever made.

By Sean O'Connell of E! Online (8/0)
            Nemo swims with the finest fish. This catch is certainly a keeper.

By Collin Souter of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Pixar's masterpiece. It feels dizzy with color and drunk on its own otherworldly creation. Sure,...

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Saying that Finding Nemo is Pixar’s weakest effort to date is like a starving man telling you the...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            My fondest wish is that Pixar doesn't hire or fire anyone for the next 25 years. What these magic...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (8/0)
            A gem of a movie, and exactly what we expect from our friends at Pixar.

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (7/1)
            Isn't quite as clever and wonderful as we've come to expect. Even as such, it remains pretty clev...

By Shirley Sealy of Film Journal International (8/0)
            Another terrific Pixar pic for all generations.

By John R. McEwen of Film Quips Online (8/0)
            Finding Nemo is undoubtedly another jewel in the Pixar crown and another example of the Disney co...

By Jimmy O of Film Snobs (7/1)
            Finding Nemo captures a level of wonderment and dark sentiment unmatched even by the previous gre...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Stephen Himes of Film Snobs (7/1)
            Pixar respects both kids and parents—which cannot be said for certain big green ogres of animatio...

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (8/0)
            You won’t need a map to unearth the treasures buried in Nemo.

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (5/3)
            The moment all the gorgeously rendered inhabitants of this beautiful undersea realm open their mo...

By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (8/0)
            Finding Nemo would be a terrific movie regardless of its pedigree, but as the fifth in a seemingl...

By Ray Conlogue of Globe and Mail (8/0)
            A superb animated film.

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (8/0)
            Proof that Pixar is the Babe Ruth of animation. Still batting a thousand.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (8/0)
            Could have been stronger, but it's still fun and has good heart. Ditto to what Steve Rhodes said.

By David Poland of Hot Button (8/0)
            Finding Nemo is like a great foreign film, its visual and energy having such clarity that subtitl...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (8/0)
            Finding Nemo is cute and clever, but it's no Toy Story, A Bug's Life or Monsters, Inc.

By Louis B. Hobson of Jam! Movies (8/0)
            A captivating little adventure that gives its animated characters as much heart as personality an...

By JoBlo of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (7/1)
            I can't say that this movie was as exciting, original or captivating as many of its predecessors ...

By Alex Sandell of Juicy Cerebellum (8/0)
            With the release of Finding Nemo, the creative team at Pixar has redefined what is known as being...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (8/0)
            Is Pixar capable of making a bad film? Whether a serendipitous confluence of talent or. . .some d...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (8/0)
            The artwork is gorgeous and the characters are strong.

By Carol Cling of Las Vegas Review-Journal (8/0)
            It's a whale of a tale that's well worth catching. Even if fish isn't usually your dish.

By John Larsen of Light Views (8/0)
            "Finding Nemo" rides a current of hope, heroics and hilarity that is impossible to resist.

By Jeffrey Overstreet of Looking Closer (8/0)
            Enthralling, and gorgeous, from start to finish.

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (8/0)
            ...an engaging undersea story...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Dan Lybarger of Lybarger Links (8/0)
            Thanks to a solid script by director Andrew Stanton (a Pixar regular), many of the human actors w...

By Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies (8/0)
            I don't know how the staff of Pixar does it, but this is their fifth overwhelming achievement in ...

By Brian Orndorf of Modamag.com (8/0)
            Nemo isn’t particularly funny, as it includes the usual mix of bodily fluid humor and Pixar’s pen...

By Kevin N. Laforest of Montreal Film Journal (8/0)
            A surprisingly touching metaphor for how a parent’s natural impulse is to be overprotective but o...

By Frank Ochieng of Movie Eye (8/0)
            If Pixar was fishing for another big catch in their stable of entertaining hits, Nemo is the priz...

By Ryan Cracknell of Movie Views (8/0)
            [Once again Pixar] ensures that the label 'family film' isn't 'a movie only your tots will enjoy'...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Kevin A. Ranson of MovieCrypt.com (8/0)
            There are 3.7 trillion ideas in Hollywood for an animated film; Disney and Pixar have found anoth...

By Elias Savada of Nitrate Online (8/0)
            C'mon, it's Pixar. Would you expect anything less than perfection?

By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (8/0)
            Pixar’s super genius continues to flow with no ebb in sight.

By Ethan Alter of NYC Film Critic (8/0)
            A joyous delight for audiences of all ages.

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (8/0)
            Children and adults alike should be enchanted...as quietly charming, cheekily amusing a family fe...

By Mark Sells of Oregon Herald (8/0)
            A fish tale the whole family can enjoy.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Susan Tavernetti of Palo Alto Weekly (8/0)
            Although Finding Nemo reaches a new watermark in animation, it doesn't have the endearing charact...

By J. Robert Parks of Phantom Tollbooth (8/0)
            Yet another quantum leap for the Pixar folk.

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (8/0)
            Creates a very high benchmark for this summer's other films to strive to best, and I don't think ...

By Renie Scolaro Mora of PopMatters (8/0)
            Like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Monster's Inc., it features amazing animation, great characters...

By Dawn Taylor of Portland Tribune (8/0)
            While not reaching the heights that Pixar previously hit with Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and A Bug...

By Glenn Kenny of Premiere Magazine (8/0)
            . . . the computer animation reimaginings of the undersea orgies of color orchestrated by nature ...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (8/0)
            "Finding Nemo" is a whale of a treat.

By Tor Thorsen of Reel.com (8/0)
            There may be plenty of fish in the sea (for now, anyway), but few films can manipulate you like F...

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (8/0)
            The computer graphics create a visual world that you would actually see if you dived down 50 feet...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (8/0)
            A treasure trove of visual splendor.

By Mark Robison of Reno Gazette-Journal (8/0)
            Each obstacle is a fabulous set piece with not-always-obvious lessons to be learned and smart, or...

By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (8/0)
            The plot is delightful, the animation spectacular ... the colors gorgeous, the message positive a...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By C.W. Nevius of San Francisco Chronicle (8/0)
            The visuals pop, the fish emote and the ocean comes alive.

By Jim Judy of Screen It! (8/0)
            A near perfect example of movie magic that will appeal to viewers of all ages.

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/0)
            ...the film is absolutely drunk with the hallucinogenic color and infinite variety of its underse...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (8/0)
            For obvious reasons (no toys!), this feels like a much more grown-up film than previous Disney-Pi...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (8/0)
            Finding Nemo merely transplants human suburban anxiety to an underwater realm.

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (8/0)
            A rousing underwater adventure set in the Great Barrier Reef that celebrates youthful independenc...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (8/0)
            Further proof that the folks at Pixar are ceaselessly, unflaggingly more clever and imaginative t...

By Shannon J. Harvey of Sunday Times (Australia) (8/0)
            Is this kid's stuff? That's a complicated question but the answer is a thing of beauty that will ...

By Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (8/0)
            ...Finding Nemo” captures the audience with vastly touching characters the audience really cares ...

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (8/0)
            Finding Nemo is superlative family entertainment, joyous and alive in a way few films are.

By Audrey Rock-Richardson of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (8/0)
            Another extraordinary effort from the unbeatable Disney/Pixar team.

By Enrique Buchichio of Uruguay Total (4/4)
            La originalidad de sus universos y personajes, lo disparatado y divertido de sus situaciones, la ...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Claudia Puig of USA Today (8/0)
            Pixar seamlessly blends a vibrant and epic adventure with a touching father-son love story.

By Matthew Turner of ViewLondon (8/0)
            Fin-tastic -- hilarious, moving and beautiful to look at, this is another instant classic.

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (8/0)
            There's nothing fishy about its success. It's got intriguing anthropomorphic characters, a compel...

By Steven Snyder of Zertinet Movies (8/0)
            Unlike the greatest children's films, I never once forgot who the target market for Finding Nemo ...

By Stephen Holden of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Visual imagination and sophisticated wit raise Finding Nemo to a level just below the peaks o...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (3/5) No reference
            So advanced - with lifelike motion and imagination-tingling artwork stroked with a silicon paintb...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/5) No reference
            It's full of bright visuals, inventive animation and enough cute characters to fill, well, an oce...

By Boyd van Hoeij of bibloi.com (3/5) No reference
            With a perfunctory plot with a lot of laughs and some very good voice actors, this could have bee...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (3/5) No reference
            ...of those rare movies where I wanted to sit in the front row and let the images wash out to the...

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/5) No reference
            A expressividade dos personagens é tamanha que os diálogos tornam-se até mesmo dispensáveis.

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/5) No reference
            A vivid charmer of a movie that makes a welcome addition to the growing gallery of computer-gener...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (7/1) No reference
            Even though Finding Nemo isn't Pixar's best, this animated comedy-adventure is still more imagina...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By David Foucher of EDGE Boston (7/1) No reference
            Ellen Degenerous and Albert Brooks lend their voices to the craziest fish ever to talk on screen,...

By Brent Simon of Entertainment Today (3/5) No reference
            Winning, invigorating entertainment for the entire family -- technically brilliant, attentive to ...

By Kim Linekin of eye WEEKLY (7/1) No reference
            Crafted with such care that the story, characters and colours positively pulsate.

By Jake Euker of F5 (Wichita, KS) (3/5) No reference
            The creators are cracking themselves up first, the way the Warner Bros. animators did in Bugs Bun...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (3/5) No reference
            A great film for its timeliness, and a greater film for its timelessness.

By Scott Von Doviak of Fort Worth Star-Telegram (3/5) No reference
            A gem, popping with cool tropical colors and wondrous sea creatures.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Kit Bowen of Hollywood.com (3/5) No reference
            Just when you thought they couldn't possibly do it again, the guys at Pixar bat it out of the par...

By Marshall Fine of Journal News (Westchester, NY) (3/5) No reference
            The animators have come up with endlessly imaginative ways of making these fish seem human and re...

By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (7/1) No reference
            far more sophisticated and ambitious than what typically passes for 'family entertainment.' ...ma...

By Danny Minton of KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX) (3/5) No reference
            I have never been to Australia, but I just can’t imagine scenery more beautiful.

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (3/5) No reference
            I really can't remember an animated feature in which the voice work sounded so accomplished, redo...

By Matt Easterbrook of Matt's Movie Reviews (3/5) No reference
            This movie reaffirmed my love for the cinema.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/1) No reference
            Rarely matches the emotional depth or richly textured worlds of predecessors Monsters, Inc. and A...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/1) No reference
            It is an epic journey filled with adventure and discovery encompassing the grandest sweep of ocea...

By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (7/1) No reference
            A home run for Pixar who is batting 1.000 in terms of family entertainment.

By Clint Morris of Moviehole (3/5) No reference
            A wonderfully engaging entertainment that is a visual masterpiece as well as a darn good tale wit...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (3/5) No reference
            Latest computer-animated offering from Pixar is a giant leap forward visually, even if the story ...

By Jami Bernard of New York Daily News (3/5) No reference
            An enchanting animated feature.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/5) No reference
            ...an unqualified treat for all ages.

By Bob Campbell of Newark Star-Ledger (3/5) No reference
            Constantly delights and refreshes the eye -- it's a summer vacation in itself.

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/5) No reference
            More familiar in its story line and characters than previous Pixar films, it's nevertheless stuff...

By Jay Boyar of Orlando Sentinel (3/5) No reference
            Lives up to the proud, relatively new tradition of Monsters, Inc., A Bug's Life and the Toy Story...

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/5) No reference
            On its visual elements alone, Finding Nemo could get almost any kid started on a love of nature -...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (3/5) No reference
            It's business as usual -- the usual being stunning visuals, a charming story, and a dab of emotio...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Andrew Manning of Radio Free Entertainment (3/5) No reference
            As the voice of the forgetful Dory, Ellen DeGeneres shows us how Memento could have been a comedy...

By Jeet Thayil of Rediff.com (3/5) No reference
            A clown fish without a punchline, a blue tang without a memory, a scarred prison hero fish, and a...

By Forrest Hartman of Reno Gazette-Journal (7/1) No reference
            PIxar's fifth feature-length film continues an uninterrupted string of winners; and from a visual...

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (7/1) No reference
            Strikes the perfect balance between the charm and childlike innocence of Disney animation and the...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (3/5) No reference
            ...hugely entertaining and way cool.

By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (7/1) No reference
            DeGeneres does vocal duties by which all future voiceovers and dubs will be judged.

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/5) No reference
            For a computer-generated cartoon to provoke laughs, thrills and a few tears, that's not just a gr...

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/5) No reference
            In not just a crowd-grabber but an instant classic, Albert Brooks achieves a new height vocally a...

By Todd Anthony of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/5) No reference
            Pixar has done it again.

By John Urbancich of Sun Newspapers of Cleveland (7/1) No reference
            ... with Father’s Day just a few weeks away...'Nemo' swims off with hearts of all ages.

By Josh Larsen of Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (3/5) No reference
            ...a parable for parents terrified at the thought of preschool.

By John Venable of Supercala.com (3/5) No reference
            Pixar is so consistent that reviews of their films basically write themselves. Finding Nemo is gr...

                         Reviews of Finding Nemo
By Jonathan R. Perry of Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (3/5) No reference
            The peerless partnership of Disney and Pixar is officially five-for-five.

By Michael Szymanski of Zap2it.com (7/1) No reference
            I challenge any adult to ignore the artistry of the amazing opaque jellyfish floating through the...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (7/1) Not Reachable
            Pixar's employees, masters of computer-generated animation, capture the look of the ocean like no...

By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (7/1) Not Reachable
            Parental anxiety may not be the kind of stuff children's films are usually made of, but this perf...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (3/5) Not Reachable
            Pixar has done it again...

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Pixar Animation Studios

Movie Studios
Walt Disney Pictures