When you consider that 71% of the Earths surface is comprised of water, finding any one particular fish seems like a veritable needle in a haystack -- albeit a very wet, soggy haystack. Running with this premise, Disney and Pixars FINDING NEMO soared to box office heights rarely enjoyed by an animated feature. To be sure, this little gem of a film remains the highest grossing animated film -- ever.
FINDING NEMO subscribes to the same thematic arch that makes any coming-of-age story appealing: little fish yearns to see the world, is forced to survive, and yearns to come home, begin enriched by his experience and the friends he has made. Nemo, voiced by Alexander Gould, is tired of his overbearing father, Marlin, voiced by the incomparable and perennially dour, Albert Brooks. When a scuba diver scoops Nemo up, Marlin is beside himself with panic. So starts a fathers journey to find his clownfish son.
Before long a regal tang, Dory, voiced by the ever dry, ever humorous Ellen DeGeneres, joins Marlin. Though Dory suffers from chronic short-term memory loss, her bubbly optimism buoys the ever-dour, ever-worrying Marlin. They soon make way for Australia to find Nemo. Meanwhile, Nemo has found his way into a fish tank, where a Moorish Idol, Gill, voiced by Willem Dafoe, is intent on making a break for it. As they try to break free from the tank, Marlin and Dory make every effort to find the na"ve clownfish.
One of the highest grossing films in 2003, FINDING NEMO still holds the box office record for being the highest earning animated film in history, with $864 million worldwide. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was lauded by the American Film Institute as the tenth greatest animated film of all time.
By the by, tourism to Australia surged during the summer and autumn months of 2003. Whether or not FINDING NEMO was a direct influence, the Australian Tourism Commission was quick to use clips of the film to bombard American television audiences. Likewise, the demand for clownfish soared in 2003. The demand was so great many pet stores could not keep the colorful fish in stock. The power of popular perception should never be discounted.
FINDING NEMO subscribes to the same thematic arch that makes any coming-of-age story appealing: little fish yearns to see the world, is forced to survive, and yearns to come home, begin enriched by his experience and the friends he has made. Nemo, voiced by Alexander Gould, is tired of his overbearing father, Marlin, voiced by the incomparable and perennially dour, Albert Brooks. When a scuba diver scoops Nemo up, Marlin is beside himself with panic. So starts a fathers journey to find his clownfish son.
Before long a regal tang, Dory, voiced by the ever dry, ever humorous Ellen DeGeneres, joins Marlin. Though Dory suffers from chronic short-term memory loss, her bubbly optimism buoys the ever-dour, ever-worrying Marlin. They soon make way for Australia to find Nemo. Meanwhile, Nemo has found his way into a fish tank, where a Moorish Idol, Gill, voiced by Willem Dafoe, is intent on making a break for it. As they try to break free from the tank, Marlin and Dory make every effort to find the na"ve clownfish.
One of the highest grossing films in 2003, FINDING NEMO still holds the box office record for being the highest earning animated film in history, with $864 million worldwide. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was lauded by the American Film Institute as the tenth greatest animated film of all time.
By the by, tourism to Australia surged during the summer and autumn months of 2003. Whether or not FINDING NEMO was a direct influence, the Australian Tourism Commission was quick to use clips of the film to bombard American television audiences. Likewise, the demand for clownfish soared in 2003. The demand was so great many pet stores could not keep the colorful fish in stock. The power of popular perception should never be discounted.
About the Author:
Steve Collins is an author and journalist based in Los Angeles. A big Disney Fan, he buys his DVDs from the Disney Movie Club. Read his reviews of the Disney Movie Club here.
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