Fish & quips
FINDING NEMO Cert. U. 1 hr. 44 mins. Pixar
This latest offering from Pixar does not disappoint: it has the wisecracks, the characterisation, the pathos, the chase and the brilliant computer generation which we now take for granted. The setting is the depths of the ocean in the environs of a coral reef, where, of course, the film writers did not have to invent the range of extraordinary creatures and the spectacular colours. Someone Else did that first.
I never thought I could identify with a fish. But, of course, these characters are not fish, they are people dressed up as fish. And they are people of our time. They are vulnerable and damaged, and I mean those words, as folk generally do these days, in the emotional sense. Many are traumatised, they have a variety of syndromes and they are in touch with their feelings. All this is presented as extremely positive: therapy culture rules.
However, there is also a sidelong grin at self-help groups as the sharks meet to support each other in overcoming their addiction to fish ('fish are friends') and at bonding rituals as performed by the inhabitants of the fish tank in the dental surgery. Everybody has troubles, but hey, if we can all help each other we can win through. That is the message. It all makes for what promoters would call a heart-warming movie experience.
