Why I Saw This Movie
I didn't really want to see this movie, but the girlfriend did. And after making her sit through X-Men and Civil War, I owed her.
My History With the Franchise
I saw the original Finding Nemo on video, sometime around 2005 I think (before I started this movie review project). I wasn't a huge fan, but I do have to admit it got one or two chuckles out of me.
Negatives
* I have limited patience for sap and sentimentality, and boy is there ever a lot of sap and sentimentality in this movie.
* Suffers from the fate common to most sequels--its plot is largely just a retread of the previous movie's plot.
* The father fish re-learns the same lesson he already learned in the first movie.
Positives
* As in the first movie, the ocean is gorgeously animated. (Much of this movie took place in the aquarium, but the aquarium is also gorgeously animated).
* As with the first movie, the animators do a good job of conveying a sense of wonder about the ocean--something weird or wonderful or dangerous could be behind any rock. And this sense of constant wonder and surprise went a long way towards alleviating my boredom at what was an otherwise uninspiring story.
* As in the first movie, I enjoyed the humor of anthropomorphizing animal traits. Those sea lions protecting their rock by yelling "off off off" made me chuckle.
The Review
This movie wasn't quite as terrible as I thought it would be. It was watchable. It had it's moments. But I certainly wouldn't have sat through the whole thing if it had been up to me.
Rating :
2 out of 10 stars. (Mostly just because I'm 38. If I had been 5, I would have loved it.)
Link of the Day
Noam Chomsky Debate 2016 - What Is Happening In Turkey and Middle East
Man, when the girls were younger Pixar movies were something I anticipated with great relish, just because they were so much better than the other family fare in theatres. But I dunno -- something happened around the time of Ratatouille. It's probably a combination of their creative doldrums and my elevated expectations. But I generally think a run of sequels to original properties is a bad sign for a studio.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. This list of upcoming films doesn't do much to inspire confidence either.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_films#Upcoming
Although, I have to admit I am kind of looking forward to the Incredibles 2