FINDING NEMO (Theatrical Release USA 2003)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.7|5.0 Starsìììì 

Finding Nemo—one of the best Pixar films since 1995’s Toy Story—runs on an outstandingly loving, thoughtful, and imaginative script with some of the best voicing in the entertainment industry. The animation is fabulous even by 2017 standards. The script is flawless. This movie nearly made a billion dollars box office and earns its money in every way.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks), a clownfish, finds his entire family wiped out by a barracuda except for one single egg. When the egg hatches, he names the baby fish Nemo (voice of Alexander Gould). Nemo’s fin is slightly damaged due to the earlier barracuda attack and Marlin becomes overly protective of his young son. When Nemo disappears after an encounter with scuba divers, Marlin goes on a long search to find his son.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Andrew Stanton for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producer John Lasseter for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), Gill (voice of Willem Dafoe), Bloat (voice of Brad Garrett), Peach (voice of Allison Janney), Gurgle (voice of Austin Pendleton), Bubbles (voice of Stephen Root), Deb/Flo (Vicki Lewis), Jacques (voice of Joe Ranft), Nigel (voice of Geoffrey Rush), Crush (voice of Andrew Stanton), Coral (voice of Elizabeth Perkins), and Squirt (voice of Nicholas Bird).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s a solid piece of animated entertainment that serves the whole family.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

UNDERDOG (Theatrical Release USA 2007)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 2.5|5.0 Starsìì

Underdog becomes a fair to middling family movie with the predictable happy ending. James Belushi seems miscast and does not perform with his usual style in this film; the script needs significant improvement to raise the quality of the movie.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Underdog (Jason Lee), a beagle serving the police department, makes a mistake that results in him being ‘on the streets’. He is picked up and transported to an experimentation laboratory. When he tries to escape, he overturns chemicals which give him super powers of strength, hearing, speed, and smell. A retired policeman finds him and the story begins.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Frederik Du Chau for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Todd Arnow, Eric Ellenbogen, and Bob Higgins for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Shoeshine (voice of Jason Lee), Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage), Dan Unger (James Belushi), Cad (Patrick Warburton), Jack (Alex Neuberger), Molly (Taylor Momsen), Mayor (John Slattery), Polly (voice of Amy Adams), and Riff Raff (voice of Brad Garrett).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe. It’s a good, clean children’s flick.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers