Hey folks, Harry here... I sooooo can't wait to see this film. PIXAR's films have consistently ranked in my top ten lists every year they come out. I love them. Love them in the deep down pit of your stomach, beating heart throbbing love love. They make films with universal truths and stories and characters. With each new trailer they've opened up and shown us an additional layer of the story they have for us. I see MATRIX RELOADED in the morning... right after that, I'll be counting down the days till this. Here ya go...

Greetings Harry, Moriarty, etc -

Ah, to be friends with a Pixar staffer - one of the perks is getting to go to the studio and view the final product before it hits theaters across the country!

Today, I was lucky enough to catch an advanced screening of Finding Nemo at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. Upon entering the immense lobby of Pixar, my eyes were pleasantly hit with everything Nemo: three-dimensional sculptures of Nemo, Marlin, and Bruce (the shark); huge colorful banners of the characters hanging from the rafters. A line of Pixar staffers stood patiently outside the screening room doors with their youngins in tow.

A word about Pixar's theater - it's as magical as the pictures that they put out. After the lights dim, the ceiling becomes illuminated with a faux starry night sky, complete with digital crickets chirping and shooting stars. Pixar staffers, their friends, family, and guests all ooh and ahh at it everytime.

Before the feature, they ran an old John Lasseter short, Knick Knack (1989) which I'd never seen before. A tragi-comic slice of pixilated bliss, Knick Knack tells the tale of an imprisoned snow-globe Snowman who wants desperately to meet a blonde bombshell souvenir from Miami. Pure fun from start to finish.

Then, it was time for Nemo.

Without blowing too much hyperbole down your er, blowhole, I think Pixar has struck gold yet again. "Finding Nemo" is a strong animated adventure filled with an array of colorfully drawn characters. At the core of it lies a very human father-son tale that doesn't disappoint.

Most of your AICN readers know the basics--young, semi-deformed (or "lucky-finned") clownfish Nemo lives with his neurotic, doting, single father Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks.) Motherless and siblingless, Nemo puts up with his worry-wart father as best as he can. The first act depicts Nemo's first day at school, which despite Marlin's constant litany of "watch out!" "be careful!" the day goes pretty well. That is, until Nemo decides to defy Marlin and swim out to touch a human fishing boat. Nemo is scooped up by a diver and taken to an aquarium far away in Sydney. Naturally, Marlin freaks out, vows to find Nemo, and the adventure begins.

We all know that Pixar is the current gold standard of digital animation. The reason I mentioned Knick Knack in the beginning was that it provides a solid marker to illustrate the fact that, in fourteen years time, the detail in feature after feature put out by Pixar has increased in scope and vividness every time. Here we have a beautifully rendered undersea universe replete with superdetailed terrain and an explosion of colorful sea creatures. The teaser posters that you've undoubtedly seen around don't lie--"Sea it" indeed. On screen, you get a visceral sense of a (digital) ocean that moves and breathes like a real body of water does in the real world.

So, the animation is picturesque, expansive, and alive, natch. But the ultimate strengths that make Finding Nemo a winner, in my opinion, can be found in its strong script and host of quirky, fun, and interesting characters. Brooks adds depth, humor, and a huge helping of anxiety in Marlin. Marlin teams up with Dory, a sort of Mementofish with zero short-term memory. Hysterically voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, the confused Dory plays well off of anxiety-ridden Marlin. I read Mr. Beaks review of the early test print, and I'd have to disagree with his critique of this "buddy" narrative device. It may be a tired old formula, but here it works well in moving the story along.

As Marlin and Dory search high and low for Nemo we get to meet a throng of other dynamic characters--Bruce, the razortoothed shark, Crush the sea turtle with the surfer-dude patois, and an aquarium full of misfit fish watched over by Gill (voiced by Willem Dafoe.) Again, the characters shine: Bruce with his Fish Are Our Friends, a support group for sharks; Crush, who surfs down the EAC (Eastern Australian Current) dishing out wisdom to Marlin and Dory with all of the verve of Keanu's best "whoa dude" demeanor. Gill and his rag-tag band of aquarium dwellers (including a starfish and a blow fish) prove to be a warm second family for Nemo.

The pacing of the film is very fluid (no pun intended); the narrative cuts back and forth from Marlin/Dory's journey and Nemo's forced stay in the aquarium, and we're rooting for all parties involved to reunite. There are stand-out set pieces a plenty: Marlin and Dory navigating a depth-charge forest; Nemo undergoing a pseudo Hawaiian-mystical welcoming ritual when he first arrives at the aquariumz; Marlin and Dory swimming through an army of jellyfish; a sea turtle armada hurtling down a Stargate-like current (or as Marlin calls it, "a swirling vortex of death.")

Does Marlin find Nemo? I ain't gonna spoil it for ya. Is the flick worth your time and money? Definitely. To AICNers reading this: If you're a regular Pixar faithful, rejoice because adventurous eye candy awaits. If you're new to the wonders of Pixar--welcome. You won't be disappointed.

Lastly, if any talkbackers want to knee-jerk this review with "Plant!" let me save you the trouble - I don't work for Pixar. I'm just your average film geek who had a lucky opportunity to check this out early.

Peace,

Aladocious