Problem with Pixar is that they still can’t draw humans right. What’s up with them? All kidding aside, the reviews are making me reconsider.
And I for one watch great anime/ation without a stinking kid tagging along.
I’ll second the “Go see it!” recommendation. Took two teen girls last night and we laughed our butts off and teared up at the teary-up parts. The trailers are hideous and (like Iron Giant and Lilo & Stitch) give you no idea of the great characters, the subtle interactions and the chain of events that make the movie meaningful and enjoyable. It’s because it’s not a formula, it doesn’t fit into sound bites, it’s bigger than that. The colors are gorgeous. I want to see it again so I can geek over the animation, because, as SolGrundy said, it doesn’t run the playground, the story and characters are carrying you along. (Maybe I just agree with Sol on everything; I also found Shrek wanting.)
Oh, and there was a lovely, white-haired couple sitting next to us in the theater and I don’t believe they even had their grandchildren along. Animation does not equal “cartoon.” Good stuff is good stuff.
I kind of think they do this on purpose. By making the human characters less realistic-looking, I think it enhances the effect of the toys/bugs/monsters/fish being the focus of the story and being more “real.”
you are correct (and TS2 switched bloopers as well, IIRC), but for the Monsters Inc they were actually working on the film up to a few weeks before it opened. They didn’t get the bloopers done until later (and made up for it with the musical skit). There are things happening in Nemo’s credits, just not bloopers, which will probably show up in a few weeks, which i wouldn’t mind seeing this again in theaters at all, it ruled.
I saw it with my friend and his little sister today, expecting something good (because it’s Pixar) but not great (because of the hokey trailers), and ended up completely blown away. **SolGrundy **hit the nail on the head with his comment about the voice actors- these were characters, living and breathing and absolutely real. DeGeneres’ character, the scatterbrained blue tang Dory, stands out especially, stealing the show in all of her funny scenes. She also nails her serious scenes, including the most heart-breakingly poignant moment of the film.
In addition, the humor was not at all juvenile as I had been expecting from the brief glimpses in the trailers. The thing about Finding Nemo (as with most Pixar flicks) is that all of the humor is heavily character-based, and thus is only funny if you have the context of the character, something not possible in a 2 minute trailer. When viewed as part of the whole film, even the biggest trailer groaner had me smiling: the pelican “fart joke” is actually part of a much larger sequence that features the largest number of underwater explosions since U-571, and works perfectly in-context.
Of course, this being a Pixar film, the CGI art is nothing short of incredible. Each successive Pixar movie has demonstrated some noticeable improvement in rendering technology, from *Toy Story 2’s *improved character animations to the realistic fur from Monster’s Inc. Likewise, Finding Nemo revolutionizes CGI water. The ocean in Finding Nemo is a treasure trove of life, from the wildly colorful Great Barrier Reef to the frightening depths where anglerfish lurk. Meanwhile, the characters exhibit a huge range of emotion in a distinctly fishy way (despite the caricatured forward-facing eyes and lips)- best demonstrated in the end credits, actually, during which the entire main cast interacts with the names on the screen without speaking a word.
Just a great, great movie. And full of hilarious in-jokes for marine biology geeks like me, to boot. 
I agree. Must see. Arrgh. It’s too late and I can’t think of anything eloquent to say about it that doesn’t sound like I’m plagarizing one of the previous posters.
Remember last year when all you heard were bad things about this movie? Boy, if there was anything going wrong they sure turned it around and made a great movie. We saw it with a 4 year old (who got pretty scared in some parts) and a 2 year old who enjoyed it through and through. However they were antsy to get out so I missed the end of credits. 
But that means I get to see it again.
I can’t say as I’m too hot for bloopers. Only a few are really funny and the rest are just people messing up their lines. Now extra little tidbits like the play after Monsters Inc. are great and I’d much rather have something like that.
Saw it with the wife last night…
Agree with most of the comments here, except that we both enjoyed the humor and references in Monsters, Inc. much more. Wife was actually a little dissapointed, as her expectations had been much higher, looking forward to this movie for months. My expectations weren’t that great to begin with (perhaps for the same reasons ** SolGrundy** points out), so I was pleasantly surprised to find it better than I had expected.
On to the serious question:
I think I was the only one in the theater who laughed several times during the “Shark Meeting” scene, because a group of Australians at a meeting mentioning “Bruce” several times just smacked too much of the Monty Python “Bruces” sketch. I have no idea if this was intentional or not. Did anyone else think the same thing?
Just saw it yesterday in a packed theater. Story was pretty good and a bit touching but not to sappy. No singing… yeah!! If I wanted to see a musical I’d go see a musical.
But the one thing that stands out were the bright and vivid colors. It was amazing. You could even see the scales on the fish. Sometimes I forgot that I was looking at CG and thought I was looking at an underwater documentary.
I went yesterday with my two nieces, 3 and 6. It was the three-year-old’s first movie. We all loved it. I had concerns about seeing an animated movie the opening weekend when it was pouring rain, but I’d promised them so we went. I got even more nervous when the 3:30 show sold out. I bought tickets for 5, we got there early, and by 4:30, the 5 p.m. show was sold out too.
For a theater packed with little kids, it was remarkable quiet. Everybody seemed to love it, and although I ususally don’t do this, I found myself clapping with the girls when it was over.
A good time was had by all.
Did anybody else think the jellyfish were pretty?
No. Unlike A Bug’s Life, which featured two sets of bloopers, Toy Story 2 had bloopers added later. I know this because I went to see Toy Story 2 when it was blooperless. Monsters Inc. went the same way as TS2 did, adding bloopers later (including that rollicking musical, Put That Thing Back Where It Came From, Or So Help Me…).
I believe the reason the shark was named Bruce is because of an in-joke. On the set of Jaws, the shark was nicknamed “Bruce” (although Steve often called it “The Great White Turd” since it kept breaking down). Speaking of Bruce, is this the only time Dame Edna’s done a male role (that is, a role not in the guise of “Dame Edna”)?
It should be noted that “bruce” (and “sheila”) really are Australian terms, and weren’t originated by Monty Python.
Hey, I’m sorry about that. In my (admittedly weak) defense, I should point out that I came into this thread almost immediately after reading through the Pit one, and carried that mindset over into here. Where it doesn’t belong.
Again, my apologies.
I wouldn’t mind seeing it alone at all. It’s just that being an unemployed, poor, recent college grad, and movies being so expensive these days, I rarely go to the theatre at all. When I do, it’s usually with a large group and it becomes a sorta social happening which I’m willing to loosen my wallet for.
Heck, the weather is so crappy here lately, maybe I’ll try to catch a mattinae (sp?).
I noticed the “Bruce” thing as well, and immediately thought it was a reference to Monty Python.
Further evidence that somebody at Pixar is a MP fan comes later in the scene when the sharks yell, “Swim away!”
Don’t you mean “catch a manatee”? Haw haw haw har har…sigh…
[no cite]I heard somewhere that the Pixar/Disney contract is up for renegotiation, which is why there wasn’t a big marketing splash by Disney for this movie. If it doesn’t do as well, then Disney will be in a better bargaining position.[/no cite]
I went this weekend with my progeny to see it.
I loved it way more than Lilo and Stitch ( which is not a Pixar film)
Let’s talk about the little lessons learned in the film:
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Protecting your children from your fears, your children will learn nothing.
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Don’t go off the drop off.
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Even if you have a small fin (disability), you are still capable. (Nemo)
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Friends trust friends. (Dorry and her short term memory problems.)
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Relax and enjoy the ride and go with the flow. ( Crush, the sea turtle, dude.)
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When we work together as a group, anything is possible.
( the tuna/large school of fish in the net scene.) -
If you should fail, try , try again. ( dealing with escape from the fish tank.)
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Patience ( dorry and her memory loss.)
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Never give up. (Dad)
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Seagulls are truly insipid creatures.
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Everyone is capable of change (Dealing with the sharks.)
I don’t want to spoil one of the best gags of the film, but the initiation scene in the fish tank and what something is named, just made me burst out laughing.
Ok, Ok, I’ll do a spoiler:
The volcano in the fish tank is called Iwannahockalugey.
I was really looking forward to FINDING NEMO. Saw it Saturday in a matinee full of kids, many of whom wailed that they wanted to go home after the scarey parts! I liked the movie; I didn’t LOVE it. It didn’t live up to TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 in my mind. I really, really loved the TS characters; I really, really loved only Dory in FN. The dumb-looking seagulls seemed to have been borrowed from Aardman (penguin in “The Wrong Trousers,” chickens in “Chicken Run”). And while I thought the water effects were really good, I think the undersea setting limited situations.
Just my opinion.
Now, can somebody tell me the difference between ANIME and ANIMATION???
I just needed to pop in and say we took two 2.5 year olds to see the movie yesterday, and we ALL loved it. I can’t believe my daughter and her friend both sat still for 20 minutes of trailers and 1hr40 minutes of film.
Maybe it was because we plied her with popcorn and Raisinettes, but it was well worth it. What a great film!