Tomorrow everyone's favorite fish will be available on DVD. Pixar's most recent animated film, "Finding Nemo," will be released tomorrow on a two-disc, collector's edition DVD that is filled to the brim with extras.
"Finding Nemo," the highest-grossing animated film in history, is the story of a father clownfish who must search the entire ocean for his son, Nemo, who has been scooped up by a scuba diver. Marlin, Nemo's dad, encounters Dory, a blue fish with short term memory loss. Marlin and Dory battle vegetarian sharks, jellyfish, some hungry birds and a gathering of "bodacious" turtles.
Along with widescreen and full screen versions of the film, the DVD contains a multitude of bonus features. Like Pixar's other DVDs, which are chock full of fun features and extra material, "Finding Nemo" has the potential for hours of fun beyond just the film itself.
Disc One, aptly entitled "Plunge into the Filmmakers' World," includes seven deleted scenes, filmmaker commentary and a documentary called "Making Nemo." This disc also contains a "design gallery," which showcases the various characters and environments used in the film.
Disc Two, "A Voyage of Family Fun," is the more fun half of the DVD. This disc is tailored to children (and possibly bored college students) and is worth hours of entertainment. The highlights of this disc are "Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau" and the studio tour of Pixar's studios.
"Exploring the Reef" is a very short live-action documentary about coral reefs narrated by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jacques' son. As Cousteau attempts to explain life in the reef to the viewer, Nemo, Marlin and Dory swim into the picture. The driving point of the documentary seems to be to teach children how a large amount of the world's coral is dying due to pollution. The short film is both funny and educational.
Under the "Behind the Scenes" portion of the disc is a studio tour. The short film is like a well-produced home video starring Alexander Gould, a child actor who voices Nemo in the film. Gould explores the studios and quickly learns how a film is made by going through the different departments. The film is cute and cleverly makes fun of the filmmakers at Pixar.
Disc Two also includes a game called "Fisharades," in which viewers have to guess what shape a school of fish will take next, "Storytime," a read-along adventure with Nemo, an interview with the fish of "Finding Nemo" and an encyclopedia of ocean facts hosted by Nemo's teacher, Mr. Ray.
A Pixar short film "Knick Knack" is also part of the bonus features. A preview for the next Pixar film, "The Incredibles," can be viewed as well.
"Finding Nemo" is rated G and is 100 minutes long. This two-disc DVD will be sold for the suggested retail price of $29.99. The VHS will also be available for $24.99.
