nemo
[may 20 2004, 21:47]
i don't know why, but somehow finding nemo always does something to me, whenever i watch it. i always hear people complaining that it's far worse than monsters inc., but still...
of course, monsters inc. was amazing. it was one of these famous milestones of computer animation. the fur on sully looked so incredibly believable that you sometimes couldn't really tell whether it was animated or not.
i loved monsters inc. for its humour, its amazing characters and its wonderful and sweet story. i watched it about five or six times and now, as i'm writing this, feel the urge to see it again. however...
finding nemo doesn't have that many eye-candys. of course, everything looks just like you would expect an underwater-movie to look and if fish could talk and show emotions, they'd probably look exactly like that.
but, in contrast to something like shrek (which i adore as well) or monsters inc. it wasn't that unbelievably real, that unbelievably unique.
cg has become a major part of the movie-industry. often it's used to convey an element of the story that you couldn't convey in a different way (the battles in troy for example would have been a lot more expensive if there hadn't been cg available). sometimes it's used as a replacement for the story (yes, the last two star wars-movies are probably a good, although not the only example of that).
but, however, almost every movie nowadays features cg. noticeable or not (almost in every movie, they use the process called 'digital grading', the alteration of the colors in the movie to create a certain atmosphere), it's there almost always.
so, there's nothing so special about the visuals of finding nemo. the story is also rather straightforward - a father looking for his son, both experience amazing adventures and meet amazing people (or fish) and both, in the end, get together again and all is well. rather stereotypical.
the characters of finding nemo aren't that new, either. the overprotective father, the son that tries, by all means, to liberate from his father, the funny sidekick who screws everything up during the entire movie but saves the day in the end, as well as many unusual and funny other characters. the cast is pretty much standard, as well.
so, what is it?
what is it that makes me smile for hours after having seen this movie?
what is it that makes me almost cry everytime i watch it?
what is it that makes it special?
it's the fact that, despite all the stereotypical elements, it's not a stereotypic movie at all. it's not just an adults' movie. there's far too much cuteness, far too much funny little jokes in it for that. but it's not just a children's movie, either. there is the really tragic element of someone always forgetting everything she sees, hears or experiences. how is someone like that going to get on with her life? there's sharks that try not to eat fish. how are they going to survive? the movie ends with fish swimming in the ocean surrounded by plastic bags. how are they going to get out there?
it's... this movie leaves so much room for your own thoughts, your own interpretations. it scratches the surface of so many interesting storylines - and, thank god, doesn't try to explore them all to the ultimate end - and shows you that there are so fucking many people (or fish... but is that important?) trying to get on with their lives, however dark, cold and clumsy the world may seem to them.
it's a movie that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. it's a movie that appeals to me in a way that only very few movies do. forrest gump would be an example. or the sixth sense.
it's not _just_ funny, not _just_ sad and not _just_ visually impressive. it's all that and so much more.
if you haven't seen it, go on and do so.
if you have seen it and liked it, go, watch it again. it'll remain good.
it you have seen it and not liked it... well, watch it again, too. if you still don't like it, you should check whether there's probably a little stone where your heart should be.
charon
ps: and, after having seen the first trailer for 'the incredibles', the new pixar-movie, i fear that disney used their influence again to make a 'oh, that looks so good and... yeah, it's really funny, too. i'm sure my son/daughter will want to watch it'-movie again. like so often. yay, disney, keep on screwing it up. brother bear... my ass!
of course, monsters inc. was amazing. it was one of these famous milestones of computer animation. the fur on sully looked so incredibly believable that you sometimes couldn't really tell whether it was animated or not.
i loved monsters inc. for its humour, its amazing characters and its wonderful and sweet story. i watched it about five or six times and now, as i'm writing this, feel the urge to see it again. however...
finding nemo doesn't have that many eye-candys. of course, everything looks just like you would expect an underwater-movie to look and if fish could talk and show emotions, they'd probably look exactly like that.
but, in contrast to something like shrek (which i adore as well) or monsters inc. it wasn't that unbelievably real, that unbelievably unique.
cg has become a major part of the movie-industry. often it's used to convey an element of the story that you couldn't convey in a different way (the battles in troy for example would have been a lot more expensive if there hadn't been cg available). sometimes it's used as a replacement for the story (yes, the last two star wars-movies are probably a good, although not the only example of that).
but, however, almost every movie nowadays features cg. noticeable or not (almost in every movie, they use the process called 'digital grading', the alteration of the colors in the movie to create a certain atmosphere), it's there almost always.
so, there's nothing so special about the visuals of finding nemo. the story is also rather straightforward - a father looking for his son, both experience amazing adventures and meet amazing people (or fish) and both, in the end, get together again and all is well. rather stereotypical.
the characters of finding nemo aren't that new, either. the overprotective father, the son that tries, by all means, to liberate from his father, the funny sidekick who screws everything up during the entire movie but saves the day in the end, as well as many unusual and funny other characters. the cast is pretty much standard, as well.
so, what is it?
what is it that makes me smile for hours after having seen this movie?
what is it that makes me almost cry everytime i watch it?
what is it that makes it special?
it's the fact that, despite all the stereotypical elements, it's not a stereotypic movie at all. it's not just an adults' movie. there's far too much cuteness, far too much funny little jokes in it for that. but it's not just a children's movie, either. there is the really tragic element of someone always forgetting everything she sees, hears or experiences. how is someone like that going to get on with her life? there's sharks that try not to eat fish. how are they going to survive? the movie ends with fish swimming in the ocean surrounded by plastic bags. how are they going to get out there?
it's... this movie leaves so much room for your own thoughts, your own interpretations. it scratches the surface of so many interesting storylines - and, thank god, doesn't try to explore them all to the ultimate end - and shows you that there are so fucking many people (or fish... but is that important?) trying to get on with their lives, however dark, cold and clumsy the world may seem to them.
it's a movie that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. it's a movie that appeals to me in a way that only very few movies do. forrest gump would be an example. or the sixth sense.
it's not _just_ funny, not _just_ sad and not _just_ visually impressive. it's all that and so much more.
if you haven't seen it, go on and do so.
if you have seen it and liked it, go, watch it again. it'll remain good.
it you have seen it and not liked it... well, watch it again, too. if you still don't like it, you should check whether there's probably a little stone where your heart should be.
charon
ps: and, after having seen the first trailer for 'the incredibles', the new pixar-movie, i fear that disney used their influence again to make a 'oh, that looks so good and... yeah, it's really funny, too. i'm sure my son/daughter will want to watch it'-movie again. like so often. yay, disney, keep on screwing it up. brother bear... my ass!