The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Analysis & Response 109 The Value of Finding Nemo Josiah Watson Josiah Watson is a freshman Computer Engineering student who loves spending time with his family. He plays piano and guitar and likes to discuss artistic imagery with his friends. When I first saw the movie Finding Nemo, the amount of detail in the storyline impressed me. At ten, I was still too young to fully understand every plot twist. However, now that I am older, I can appreciate the depth of the characters and the messages of the film. Many people have their own ideas on this film’s content and artistry. Some critics praise the film for its characters. Laurie Frankel in her review, “ Finding Nemo (Film),” notes that the plot of Finding Nemo is different than the traditional Disney fairy-tale. In her view, Disney movies tend to have powerful male villains or ugly female villains and seem to lack a positive female influence.Themain female character is usually weak, unnaturally thin, and in need of rescue. The “happily ever after” ending means that the main two characters romantically love each other and the evil foe is vanquished. Frankel thinks that these aspects could negatively affect the young people who watch these films. However, Frankel is thrilled that Finding Nemo is different. It has a positive female character, its villains are internal rather than personified, and it ends with a satisfying friendship not a romantic relationship (75). The characters allow the creators of Finding Nemo to move beyond the superficial. Frankel explicitly praises the characters, but other critics highlight the storyline. David Ansen, in “Freeing Nemo: A Whale of a Tale,” emphasizes the creativity of the writers. In his opinion, the sharks’ fish-eater support group was especially ingenious (44). Steven Aoun disagrees, however. In the review, “ Finding Nemo (Film),” he contends that the director Andrew Stanton, approached the script cautiously. Stanton made sure to explain Marlin’s over- protective behavior in the opening scene. Aoun’s believes that the director did not want Marlin to seem overly annoying. In addition,