|  | Well, it took a while (around 6 months passed between the US and UK release of this film) but Finding Nemo has finally hit the UK shores (no pun intended). And it turns out...it was worth the wait.
If there's one thing that those folks at Pixar animation are always good at, it's somehow managing to translate real and everyday human emotions into the personalities of characters that...well, aren't human. After dealing with toys, bugs and monsters, it's now time for Pixar to lend their skills to fish, in what has proven to be the most successful animated film of all time.
Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) is a clown fish - though not a very funny one - who is extremely over protective of his son, Nemo. When Nemo gets "captured" by deep sea divers, and taken to a fishtank in a dentist's office, it's up to Marlin to brave the ocean in order to rescue his son. He is helped along the way by a fish suffering from short-term memory loss, Dory (Ellen Degeneres), and whole host of colourful underwater characters.
The animation in this film is quite superb. The aquatic environment has given the filmmakers plenty of space to experiment and afforded them a huge variety of species with which to have a whole lot of fun. As with all Pixar films, the script is tightly written, and is incredibly appealing for children whilst also containing some hidden gems for adults in the audience - the surfer dude turtles are worringly well-observed, while the sharks embarking on a 12-step programme to stop them eating fish are likely to garner far more sympathy from the audience than Jaws ever managed.
All in all, you can't ask for much more from Finding Nemo. It's intelligent, entertaining, and the vocal performances - particularly a masterful turn from Ellen Degeneres - add a great deal of warmth and humour to a film that deserves every success it gets. Laura Watson, Sandy, Beds
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