FINDING NEMO

My expectations were high for this father/son fish tale, considering it's created by Pixar and getting such fantastic reviews. Clearly, I missed the boat. Perhaps the overall lack of quality in children's films has caused the average pundit to be overwhelmed by NEMO's style and flair, therefore giving it higher praise than it deserves merely because it's not total crap. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this latest Pixar endeavor, just not as much as I hoped. While it's a visual treat for the eyes, bringing the creatures of the sea to life in a way that boggles the mind, the story is hardly original. It makes you laugh and pulls a few tears, but after the surefire wit and comic wackiness of and , this story of a father who must fight his fears to save his son is fairly ordinary. The fact that they're fish is the only new spin. The concept provides much food for comic fodder, I just wasn't overwhelmingly amused. The plot and humor lacked depth and wit, seemingly developed more for the under 10 set (bright colors, fast action), who I'm sure were mightily entertained. The cast does a brilliant job bringing these unique characters to life, especially DeGeneres and Brooks, it's the situations that got boring. I just wish they had more to do than constantly fight for their lives. But, hey, they're fish, that's probably what fish do 90% of the time. No one animates like the masters at Pixar and they raise the bar another notch with this film. It's underwater eye candy of the highest order and its' brilliance almost made me forget that I'd seen this story before. Without a doubt, a film the whole family will enjoy.