Finding Nemo: 3D Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
With the stellar voice cast including the voices of Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo is about a clownfish named Marlin that is joined by a regal tang named Dory on a mission to find Marlin’s missing son Nemo after he’s abducted by scuba divers. They make their trek from the Great Barrier Reef to the Sydney Harbour in Australia and come across a whole group of “characters” along the way. Some try to help them in their quest and some try to make things harder for them (especially those pesky humans) but throughout it all Marlin’s main focus remains. Find Nemo.
This movie is so great and if you have never seen it before then SHAME ON YOU! I mean, what is there to say that hasn’t already been said about Finding Nemo. It’s a beautiful touching story about the love of a father and a son with lots of adorable humor thrown in. Movies like these are the things that makes Pixar so great. They are able to take an animated movie and fill it with so much heart that at times it makes you want to tear up and then next thing you know you and your kids are laughing out loud. The funny thing is that when I popped this in to watch my intention was to watch the first 15-20min then my son and daughter walked in the room and we ended up watching the whole thing. That’s what Pixar movies (this one especially) do to you, they draw you in. They are so entertaining for the WHOLE family and they also deliver great messages. My favorite part of the movie is the character of Dory. Ellen DeGeneres just plays it so well and her comedic delivery is something that cannot be replicated one bit. This is just an altogether fantastic film for the kids and Mom and Dad as well.
The 3D:
I’ve seen quite a few 3D Blu-ray movies and I have to say that this one really surprised me. Especially since this in based in the ocean, the depth to all of the scenes were amazing. The 3D transfer of this film is absolutely gorgeous and there are times that it feels like you’re looking into an aquarium. As my daughter watched it with me she was blown away at the quality of it all. She said and I quote “Whoa! When I move my body to the left or the right it feels like the background is moving with me and I feel like if I lean all the way to one side I could see what’s going on off screen.” (She’s 12 by the way). I really loved that even as much as there was going on in certain scenes you could still see all the little details like dirt/algae floating in the water and that made it so realistic looking.
Special Features:
Aquariums 3D – A neat little collections of underwater environments about 30min each that (if you needed to sit back and relax and if you don’t have an actual aquarium) you can play on your TV and instantly turn it into an aquarium.
Bluray Features
Aquarium – Only one environment but the same feature just not in 3D.
CineExplore – A REALLY unique take on a films commentary. It has your usual commentary track along with storyboards, concept art, interview segments and even Ellen DeGeneres doing whale noises in the voice over studio that pop up as the filmmakers tell certain stories.
Reinventing The Submarine Voyage -A feature showing the restoration of The Submarine Voyage ride in Disneyland that now includes Finding Nemo environments.
Deleted Scene: Alternate Opening -A storyboarded look at an alternate opening of the film.
A Lesson In Flashbacks – Director Andrew Stanton speaks a bit about trying to perfect the tone of flashbacks in the film.
Finding Nemo: A Filmmakers’ Discussion -A nice roundtable feature with six of the filmmakers including director Andrew Stanton. They discuss and reminisce about certain stories regarding the film making process and along the way through the making of Finding Nemo.
Knick Knack Theatrical Short – A pretty hilarious short that was made before Toy Story was even created.
The 2nd Bluray Bonus disc contains most of the same content that was found on the original release of the film on DVD.
Bottom Line: This is a must buy. It’s a very entertaining film with really great special features and the 3D conversion was done amazingly well.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings you Finding Nemo on December 4th in a 3D Bluray 5 Disc Combo Pack
