Finding Nemo

In due time I think people will stop seeing this as the biggest Pixar movie and start recognizing it as possibly their finest artistic hour. I love the way Stanton uses setting in both this and Wall-E. He employs such a massive scale to tell stories about connection. His storytelling reaches out so far to look inside the characters, which only emphasizes the universality of the themes. The ocean of Finding Nemo is so vast and colourful it becomes its own character without ever interfering with the core arcs. It’s filled with memorable sequences and even more memorable side characters. Each moment feels distinct from the last but fit together to create such an immersive and enjoyable mosaic. Even with the film taking a more formulaic road trip structure, the separate sequences never interrupt one another, it’s perfectly paced and sequenced. I also find the emotional beats hit way harder each viewing. Sometimes I think they’ll be slightly muted because the film is so energetic and fun, but no. The placement of each emotional beat keeps the film compact and effective. I still believe the scene where Nigel tells Nemo about his Dad’s journey is like a top 10 scene ever. Everything from the music to the animation to the dialogue make it so much more than a fun animated movie. I just think it’s crazy that I was essentially raised on this film as I was a few months old when it came out. I’ve been consistently watching this movie my whole life and as we both enter our twenties, it still never fails to feel like one of the most special and new pieces of art ever.