Well, guess where me and the family just returned from? That's right -- Finding Nemo! So this post will contain some
spoilers for those who haven't seen it!
I decided to go after hearing from people that, yeah, there were a couple of intense parts, but the kids liked it / loved it.
So, I thought I might be coming on here eating a bit of crow, saying that I was over-reacting about the movie (at least to some extent) with regard to its "negativity" for lack of a better word. As it turns out the exact opposite is true -- this movie lived up to everything I originally feared it would -- it was WAY too intense for smaller children.
Putting the kids aside for a moment, I'll say that from my own perspective the movie was OK at best, was definitely no Toy Story I or II. I liked the Ellen DeGeneres character, the short-term memory thing offered some of the best laughs in the movie.
But anyway -- was it just me, or did you notice that there was terror lurking behind almost every corner? My son left saying that he liked it, my daughter said she didn't. In any event, I could plainly see that they were both on edge (especially my son despite his claim) and a bit disturbed during the movie -- and definitely disappointed. They went in hoping to have fun and see a fun movie where they could maybe laugh and maybe see some cool stuff. Instead, it was just filled with disturbing, upsetting images and themes.
For one thing, Nemo's tank was located in a dentist's office. I'm just going to throw out some random scenes (and some weren't even scenes -- just images) to give you an idea -- if you saw the movie you'll know what I'm talking about... Patients screaming and their teeth getting yanked out, Nemo's initiation into the tank, heck, even Nemo's first experience in the tank when he was panicked and scared of all the other fish in there, the filter tube and the fan, etc. etc.
As I believe rusty mentioned earlier, the octopus depictions were disappointing...
And Kat, if you're reading this (maybe you got to see it on your visit back to
?), there was definitely a joke at the end that you'll appreciate...
Anyhow, there were so many harrowing scenes that I can't count them -- few examples, going through the sewer, the shark abduction and later the chase, the jellyfish, the "mine" birds (seagulls) chase with the pelican, the dentist office scene that ensued, the absolutely horrifying (for young kids) angler fish scene, the scuba divers and the swim after the boat, the whale ingestion, etc. etc. etc.
And many of those scenes above had several "sub-moments" or fright and/or intensity that visibly shook my kids.
Despite all this, I don't regret going to see it -- on the plus side I think it's always good to give the kids a frame of reference with regard to sea creatures.
Oh, and the opening scene that I went on so much about (where the mother and children are attacked) went off without too much trouble -- but my kids had been warned a couple of times that it was a scene they should expect. Seems that helped a bit for that one.
In closing, I myself definitely do not recommend it for children under, say, 6 or even 7 (unfortunately the humor that
is in the movie mostly gets lost on children that young)...
Actually, I don't really recommend it for anyone over 6 or 7 either, but for other reasons -- it's really not that great of a movie in my opinion. A bit disappointing, and a little annoying, and somewhat predictable. Ellen's character was pretty much my favorite -- pleasant, optimistic and funny.
Bruce the shark was pretty cool with regard to its size, and rows of teeth -- I'm pretty sure I've never seen a shark illustrated that way -- so that was fun to watch.
Also, the friends in Nemo's tank turned out to be a fun and interesting bunch of characters themselves.
The turtle was an annoying stoner that I could have done without. The school teacher was pretty amusing; I liked his song.
I flatly didn't like how Nemo told his dad that he "hated" him; that's a concept that is (should be?) a complex one for G-audiences. Kids understand mad, sad, glad, etc., but hate is something different. I guess a good benchmark here would be Sesame Street -- they (rightfully) address the basic emotions, but I don't believe I've seen them talk about hate (unless perhaps it was one of those "experimental" shows, the ones that have dealt with things like hurricanes, death, divorce, and HIV (in Africa)).
Pixar makes great visuals as usual...
So overall I give the movie a rating of
4 arms out of 8. That, and the suggestion that the powers that be in the industry introduce a new G7 rating (for children 7 and up).
