Is anyone really surprised that computer animation has overtaken traditional animation? Finding Nemo did something this year that no other computer animated title has been able to do before, it took away the title of biggest grossing animation film of all time from Disney's The Lion King. Of course Disney doesn't mind since they also produced Finding Nemo.
Finding Nemo stars actors Albert Brooks (as father Marlin), Alexander Gould (as Nemo) and Ellen DeGeneres (As Dory), the three main characters in the film. Marlin and Nemo are both Clown Fish who find themselves alone whe Nemo's mother and hundreds of brothers and sisters are attacked and eaten. Nemo survives the attack but is left with a gimpy fin which hampers his ability to swim.
As with most stories of this nature, little Nemo eventually goes to school and begins defying his father's rule not to go past a certain point in the ocean. With peer pressure building, and Nemo thinking it's only because of his fin, he does exactly that and ends up being caught by humans. Next thing you know he is inside an aquarium with a tank full of strange fish, while his dad desperately follows the boat that took Nemo.
Marlin eventually hooks up with Dory, a very forgetful fish that is actually the scene stealer of the movie. Her comic relief amongst the terror of losing a son makes for the perfect balance in a heart warming family movie that deserved the attention it got this past summer.
Where do we start? Disc One offers a THX-certified 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that preseves the nature of the digital filming. As one would expect with a computer animated film, this DVD looks simply stunning. It has more to do with the wonders of the artists and technology used to produce the film rather than the DVD technology. Along with the transfer comes an equally impressive 5.1 Surround EX track that clearly uses surround to the best of its advantage. With this being an animated film it's no surprise that the sounds are awesome. The ocean is full of sounds in 360 degrees and Finding Nemo exposes this to the most possible.
Extras on the first disc start with an Introduction From The Filmmakers. You can tell these guys loved making this movie, probably part of the reason it was so successful. They introduce the differences between the 2 versions of the movie and give viewers some insight into what's on the disc.
Next up is a series of Virtual Aquariums that are included on both discs. I have to admit I was disappointed here, as I have seen way better stuff in screensavers on the computer.
Featurettes are also present with disc one getting Making Nemo, a 25 minute presentation that covers the basics behind putting the film together. I found this to be enjoyable but nothing compared to the best extra of all.
Visual Commentary is a rare look into the film and runs 133 minutes. This very special extra has Co-directors Lee Unkrich and Andrew Stanton and co-writer Bob Petersen giving us a very deep look into the film while we visually see the film itself. The extra time alloted gives viewers plenty of deleted scenes (all in animated storyboard form with rough voice-over), test animations, scoring and voice session excerpts, throwaway gags and in-jokes. It's quite a bit of fun watching these guys reflect. Finally Disc One offers up an extensive Design Gallery, over 450 or so stills.
Disc Two begins with the 4:3 "recomposed" full screen transfers, recomposed meaning that nothing was lost in the transfer due to the team going back in and adding to the scenes. As with the first disc there is also an introduction from the guys letting us know about this special 4:3 transfer.
Next we have more featurettes, three more to be exact. All of these are short but contain some interesting material. There's the Studio Tour (a same basic "Welcome to Pixar"-type thing); 3 minutes of amusing Character Interviews; and finally a Publicity spot, which is really a collection of one teaser and three theatrical trailers, three TV spots and a Print Gallery with various ad concepts and posters.
More virtual aquariums accompany the disc along with some things aimed more at the kids in the family. It begins with a very famous name, Exploring the Reef, a 7-minute mock-featurette hosted by Jean-Michel Cousteau. Trying to explain the nature of the ocean in 7 minutes to kids is somewhat amusing but he does a good job. This goes along with another 7-minute feature, Mr. Ray's Encyclopedia which gives kids a closer look at the fish of the ocean.
Next up is one of Pixar's very first animation Knick Knack. This was created WAY back in 1989 and shows off a Snowman trapped inside one of those christmas ornaments. It's a cute feature that foreshadows what the company would eventually do.
Finally there's Fisharades, an interactive game that is exactly what it sounds like and Storytime, a read-along storybook of still pages, with or without optional narration.
