SCREEN SCENE: Disney, Pixar land another fine catch

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, June 4, 2003

Are you in need of some stability in your life? Something you can always count on? Then bank on this: A computer animated movie by Disney and Pixar is a guaranteed winner.

When the computer animation studio of Pixar joined forces with the alpha and omega of family entertainment, Disney Studios, for “Toy Story” in 1995, audiences and critics were blown away. Yes, the visuals were amazing – such realism, artistry, lifelike movement, etc. – but what made the film so amazingly successful was that it was a darn good movie to begin with. It was either Gene Siskel or Roger Ebert who commented that even if “Toy Story” had been done in conventional cartoon-type animation, it still would have been a good film.

And the string of successes hasn’t stopped. With “A Bug’s Life” in 1998 and “Toy Story 2” in 1999, plus the smash hit “Monsters Inc.” in 2001, the animation technology keeps getting better and better, and top-notch voice talent keeps bringing the funny and endearing stories to life.

“Finding Nemo” is another home run for Disney and Pixar. With a poignant theme on par with “Toy Story 2,” and less of the broad, zany humor of “Monsters Inc.,” it’s still a delight to watch.

If you’d noticed that the previews for “Finding Nemo” didn’t tout any big-name stars as providing voices, that’s because the lead characters are played by … shall we say, slightly smaller-name stars?

Actor/writer/director Albert Brooks lends his neurotic inflections to the character of Marlin, a chronically apprehensive clownfish living in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Overly protective of his only offspring, little Nemo, he embarks on an epic adventure to find his son when Nemo is scooped up by a scuba diver.

Brooks is perfect as the timid but determined fish, which will be good news to those who remember his last underwhelming attempt at a voiceover, the suicidal tiger in Eddie Murphy’s “Dr. Doolittle.”

Other recognizable voices include Willem Dafoe as Gill, a tropical fish in a dentist’s aquarium obsessed with getting back into the open ocean, and Geoffrey Rush as Nigel, a helpful pelican. But the top honors for voice work go to Ellen Degeneres as Dory, a friendly (and slightly loopy) fish with a short-term memory problem. Although Degeneres as an actress isn’t someone whose voice is considered all that notable, she imbues Dory with a dizzy optimism that’s heartfelt and charming.

And that leads to the big question: How in the world did the Pixar animators get a fish to look like Ellen Degeneres? The woman isn’t blue; she doesn’t have spherical purple eyes – but somehow, this fish looks like her! It must be in the slight overbite and the set of her mouth. If you see the movie, you’ll agree – it’s uncanny. (Disney artists pulled the same trick in “The Lion King” when they managed to draw a hyena that looked like Whoopi Goldberg.)

The other star of the film, of course, is the fantastic computer-generated visuals. Not only do the fish characters seem three-dimensional, but the stunning color and movement of the coral reef is amazing. And a scene where Marlin and Dory find themselves trapped in a jellyfish “forest” looks so real, it’s as if the cartoonlike fish were superimposed on actual film footage of the translucent pink sea creatures.

There’s plenty of fun in “Finding Nemo,” despite its themes of loss and anguish. You’ll want to catch this one; it’s a keeper.

“Finding Nemo”Rated G

Starring the voices of: Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Willem Dafoe, Alexander Gould

Directors: Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

Length: 101 minutes

Now playing at: Astoria Gateway Cinemas, Cannes Cinema Center

Short take: Disney and Pixar can do no wrong. Their latest computer-animated venture, “Finding Nemo,” combines exquisite visuals and animation with a light but heartfelt story of a father clownfish’s search for his son. Albert Brooks and especially Ellen Degeneres are wonderful as the underwater characters.

Rating: 3 stars

Rating system:

4 stars: Absolutely the best

3 stars: Good, solid entertainment

2 stars: Wait for the video

1 star: Don’t waste your time

Movie trivia: Nemo made a brief cameo appearance toward the end of “Monsters Inc.” What “Toy Story” character can be glimpsed in “Finding Nemo?”

Answer: In the dentist’s office where Nemo is kept in an aquarium, a Buzz Lightyear action figure can be seen on the floor.