Peter Jackson received lifetime achievement award.
George Clooney’s Netflix sci-fi The Midnight Sky has won the top award at Tuesday night’s (April 6) 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards.
The Oscar-nominated feature earned prizes for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project for the shuttle Aether.
Netflix stablemate Mank won for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
Pixar’s Soul was honoured in five categories including Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, and Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature for the rigorous afterlife accountant Terry.
In the TV categories,...
George Clooney’s Netflix sci-fi The Midnight Sky has won the top award at Tuesday night’s (April 6) 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards.
The Oscar-nominated feature earned prizes for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project for the shuttle Aether.
Netflix stablemate Mank won for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature.
Pixar’s Soul was honoured in five categories including Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, and Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature for the rigorous afterlife accountant Terry.
In the TV categories,...
- 4/7/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“The Midnight Sky” and “Soul” were the big film winners at the 19th annual Ves Awards, which were presented on Tuesday night by the Visual Effects Society.
George Clooney’s cautionary sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” won two awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Winners in the category have gone on to win the Oscar 10 times in the past 18 years, but the last film to do so was “The Jungle Book” in 2017.
The Pixar film “Soul,” which was shortlisted but not nominated for the VFX Oscar, won five awards, the most of any film or television program. In addition to Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, it won for its animated character, created environment, effects simulation and virtual cinematography.
“Project Power” also won two awards, while additional film prizes went to “Mank,...
George Clooney’s cautionary sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” won two awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Winners in the category have gone on to win the Oscar 10 times in the past 18 years, but the last film to do so was “The Jungle Book” in 2017.
The Pixar film “Soul,” which was shortlisted but not nominated for the VFX Oscar, won five awards, the most of any film or television program. In addition to Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, it won for its animated character, created environment, effects simulation and virtual cinematography.
“Project Power” also won two awards, while additional film prizes went to “Mank,...
- 4/7/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
George Clooney’s existential sci-fi drama, “The Midnight” Sky,” moved a step closer in the VFX Oscar race Tuesday, taking top honors at the 19th annual Ves Awards. The Netflix film (with VFX by Framestore) also earned the model award for the Aether spacecraft. Strangely, though, the unforgettable Ballet of Blood scene, containing simulated zero-g and remarkable liquid simulation, wasn’t even nominated, yet this highlight could prove decisive if “The Midnight Sky” wins the Oscar.
But that’s a big if in this wide open race that also includes Christopher Nolan’s time-inverted “Tenet” (which is finally available on the Academy’s online voting portal) and dark horse “Love and Monsters,” with its terrific array of Ray Harryhausen-like creatures. In the last four years, the Ves has only aligned with the Academy once (for “The Jungle Book”). Then again, the Ves nod could be enough to put “The Midnight Sky...
But that’s a big if in this wide open race that also includes Christopher Nolan’s time-inverted “Tenet” (which is finally available on the Academy’s online voting portal) and dark horse “Love and Monsters,” with its terrific array of Ray Harryhausen-like creatures. In the last four years, the Ves has only aligned with the Academy once (for “The Jungle Book”). Then again, the Ves nod could be enough to put “The Midnight Sky...
- 4/7/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Updated with full list of winners: George Clooney’s Netflix sci-fi thriller The Midnight Sky, Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul and the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian were the marquee winners Tuesday at the 19th annual Ves Awards.
The Visual Effects Society’s annual celebration, which honors the year’s best in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games, was hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt (and his green monster alter ego) and was presented virtually because of the pandemic.
The well-constructed and engaging show (leave it to the VFX crews to pull that off during the Year of the Zoom Ceremony) included honorary awards presented to Peter Jackson, who received the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award presented by his Lotr star Cate Blanchett and featuring a tribute with Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum himself in one of several bits of...
The Visual Effects Society’s annual celebration, which honors the year’s best in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games, was hosted as per usual by Patton Oswalt (and his green monster alter ego) and was presented virtually because of the pandemic.
The well-constructed and engaging show (leave it to the VFX crews to pull that off during the Year of the Zoom Ceremony) included honorary awards presented to Peter Jackson, who received the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award presented by his Lotr star Cate Blanchett and featuring a tribute with Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum himself in one of several bits of...
- 4/7/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Pixar’s “Soul,” George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky” and “The Mandalorian” led the winners at the 19th annual Visual Effects Society (Ves) Awards.
Comedian Patton Oswalt served as host for the 10th time for the virtual ceremony which celebrated the art of visual effects across 25 categories.
“Soul” was named top animated film, winning five awards. “The Mandalorian” was named best photoreal episode and garnered three awards, and “The Midnight Sky” was named the photoreal feature winner, garnering two awards.
Sacha Baron Cohen presented the Ves Award for Creative Excellence to acclaimed visual effects supervisor, second unit director and director of photography Robert Legato, ASC. Cate Blanchett presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter Jackson. The “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker was lauded in a virtual tribute that featured Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum.
Full List of Winners:
Outstanding Visual Effects...
Comedian Patton Oswalt served as host for the 10th time for the virtual ceremony which celebrated the art of visual effects across 25 categories.
“Soul” was named top animated film, winning five awards. “The Mandalorian” was named best photoreal episode and garnered three awards, and “The Midnight Sky” was named the photoreal feature winner, garnering two awards.
Sacha Baron Cohen presented the Ves Award for Creative Excellence to acclaimed visual effects supervisor, second unit director and director of photography Robert Legato, ASC. Cate Blanchett presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter Jackson. The “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker was lauded in a virtual tribute that featured Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum.
Full List of Winners:
Outstanding Visual Effects...
- 4/7/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
When visual effects supervisor Michael Fong and effects supervisor Bill Watral boarded Soul, they were each a bit intimidated, immediately recognizing the film as one of frighteningly novel ambitions. Meditating on the origins of the human personality, Pixar’s latest would require them to bring to life characters and worlds unlike any they’d created before.
Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul centers on Joe (Jamie Foxx), a frustrated middle-school band teacher who seeks to return to Earth, to realize his dreams of performing as a jazz musician, after a sudden accident separates him from his body. Thrust into a celestial realm known as The Great Before, the character finds that he’ll only be able to get back to New York City if he agrees to mentor a stubborn, fledgling soul named 22 (Tina Fey).
Presenting more formless, abstract characters than Fong and Watral were used to, the...
Directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, Soul centers on Joe (Jamie Foxx), a frustrated middle-school band teacher who seeks to return to Earth, to realize his dreams of performing as a jazz musician, after a sudden accident separates him from his body. Thrust into a celestial realm known as The Great Before, the character finds that he’ll only be able to get back to New York City if he agrees to mentor a stubborn, fledgling soul named 22 (Tina Fey).
Presenting more formless, abstract characters than Fong and Watral were used to, the...
- 3/8/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Pixar made history when Pete Docter’s “Soul” was shortlisted last month by the Academy’s VFX branch. It marked the first time that the illustrious CG animation studio has come this close to a nomination in that category. Indeed, other than Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King,” no CG-animated feature has ever been nominated for the VFX Oscar. And that film was distinguished by its photoreal, faux live-action aesthetic, rather than the more stylized, caricatured look associated with CG animation.
Unlike stop-motion, though, CG has been a tough sell to the VFX branch, which in the past has nominated “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” That’s because stop-motion falls in line with the criteria of integrating effects into live action, whereas CG animation is an outlier with its all-digital workflow. However, the Visual Effects Society has no such problem honoring animation alongside live action...
Unlike stop-motion, though, CG has been a tough sell to the VFX branch, which in the past has nominated “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Kubo and the Two Strings.” That’s because stop-motion falls in line with the criteria of integrating effects into live action, whereas CG animation is an outlier with its all-digital workflow. However, the Visual Effects Society has no such problem honoring animation alongside live action...
- 3/5/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Pete Docter, director and co-writer of Pixar’s “Soul,” appraised his co-workers by saying, “This team is crazy good.”
The film entailed four years of production and hundreds of workers. “I think most of the team were excited to stretch outside the box of what people might expect from an animated movie. Subjects like why are we alive? What are we doing with our time on Earth?” Docter says. He notes that the film, a hot contender during the long Oscar season, owes a lot to “individual contributors and these great leaders who help shape and direct the work.”
Ren Klyce, supervising sound editor
“We knew sound would be crucial. Ren created sounds and we auditioned them; the sound started to influence the way we visualized it. We hadn’t started building the Great Before and asked Ren, ‘What’s the ambience of the place?’ He brought in elements of nature sounds,...
The film entailed four years of production and hundreds of workers. “I think most of the team were excited to stretch outside the box of what people might expect from an animated movie. Subjects like why are we alive? What are we doing with our time on Earth?” Docter says. He notes that the film, a hot contender during the long Oscar season, owes a lot to “individual contributors and these great leaders who help shape and direct the work.”
Ren Klyce, supervising sound editor
“We knew sound would be crucial. Ren created sounds and we auditioned them; the sound started to influence the way we visualized it. We hadn’t started building the Great Before and asked Ren, ‘What’s the ambience of the place?’ He brought in elements of nature sounds,...
- 3/4/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
It’s truly a measure of the pandemic that the 19th annual Ves Awards (to be held virtually on April 6) was dominated by Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” with 13 nominations (topped by photoreal episode). Like the Oscar shortlist, there was an absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films. But, truth be told, Season 2 of Jon Favreau’s engaging “Star Wars” bounty hunter series offered the industry’s most innovative tech (wrapped around Industrial Light & Magic’s improved StageCraft virtual production system).
Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.
Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky...
Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.
Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky...
- 3/2/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The nominations for the 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards have been announced with “The Mandalorian” and “Soul” leading.
“The Mandalorian” leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. “Soul” was next with five nominations, followed by “The Witches” and “Project Power.”
The Ves awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and will stream worldwide on April 6.
“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!
“The Mandalorian” leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. “Soul” was next with five nominations, followed by “The Witches” and “Project Power.”
The Ves awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and will stream worldwide on April 6.
“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!
- 3/2/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The Visual Effects Society today announced the nominees for its 19th annual Ves Awards, which recognize VFX artistry in 25 categories spanning film, TV, animation, commercials and video games. Winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6.
Disney+’s The Mandalorian leads all TV shows and films with 13 noms, and Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul tops the film side with five. Project Power and The Witches tied for second among movies with three noms apiece in a decidedly strange year for VFX-heavy projects.
Vying for the Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature prize are Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Midnight Sky, Project Power, Tenet and The Witches. The films up for
Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature are Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Mank, News of the World and Welcome to Chechnya.
Soul will battle it out for the Visual Effects in an Animated Feature trophy against fellow Pixar pic Onward,...
Disney+’s The Mandalorian leads all TV shows and films with 13 noms, and Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul tops the film side with five. Project Power and The Witches tied for second among movies with three noms apiece in a decidedly strange year for VFX-heavy projects.
Vying for the Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature prize are Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Midnight Sky, Project Power, Tenet and The Witches. The films up for
Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature are Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Mank, News of the World and Welcome to Chechnya.
Soul will battle it out for the Visual Effects in an Animated Feature trophy against fellow Pixar pic Onward,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Announcing the nominees for their 16th annual Ves Awards, the Visual Effects Society brought welcome news for Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049” and Matt Reeves’s “War for the Planet of the Apes,” each up for seven statuettes. “Despicable Me 3” is the most-nominated animated film of the year (5), while the most-honored title overall is “Game of Thrones” (11).
The 21-year-old organization consists of 3,400-plus members in 35 nations. Each year, it recognizes visual effects innovators in film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.
In 2017, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” remake claimed five Ves trophies, more than any other feature (nominations leader “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was shutout). It’s director-producer, Jon Favreau, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Weta Digital director and four-time Oscar winner Joe Letteri will accept the Georges Méliès Award, named for the late French illusionist and filmmaker. Letteri is also a nominee...
The 21-year-old organization consists of 3,400-plus members in 35 nations. Each year, it recognizes visual effects innovators in film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.
In 2017, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” remake claimed five Ves trophies, more than any other feature (nominations leader “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was shutout). It’s director-producer, Jon Favreau, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Weta Digital director and four-time Oscar winner Joe Letteri will accept the Georges Méliès Award, named for the late French illusionist and filmmaker. Letteri is also a nominee...
- 1/16/2018
- by Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Full winners list is below for the Baftas 2011 arwards. The big winner of the night was 'The King's Speech' which took home both Best Film and Best British Film, as well as Best Actor for Colin Firth his second consecutive win following his performance in a 'A Single Man' last year and both Best Supporting awards.
Best Director went to David Fincher for 'The Social Network,' which also landed Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin's script and Best Editing, making it the runner-up with 'Inception' winning three prizes, for Best Sound, Best Production Design and Special Visual Effects.
Best Film:
Black Swan
Inception
The King’S Speech - Winner
The Social Network
True Grit
Outstanding British Film:
127 Hours
Another Year
Four Lions
The King’S Speech - Winner
Made In Dagenham
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
The Arbor...
Best Director went to David Fincher for 'The Social Network,' which also landed Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin's script and Best Editing, making it the runner-up with 'Inception' winning three prizes, for Best Sound, Best Production Design and Special Visual Effects.
Best Film:
Black Swan
Inception
The King’S Speech - Winner
The Social Network
True Grit
Outstanding British Film:
127 Hours
Another Year
Four Lions
The King’S Speech - Winner
Made In Dagenham
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
The Arbor...
- 2/14/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
As expected, Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" dominated the Orange British Film Awards winning seven BAFTAs including Best Film, Leading Actor for Colin Firth, Supporting Actor for Geoffrey Rush and Supporting Actress for Helena Bonham Carter.
Natalie Portman took home the Leading Actress trophy for "Black Swan." Early awards season favorite, "The Social Network" won three BAFTAs including Best Director for David Finchers, Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin, and Best Editing for Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter.
"Inception" also took home three trophies including Best Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Christopher Lee received the ighest accolade which the Academy can bestow, the Fellowship, while the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was given to Jk Rowling and David Heyman for the "Harry Potter" films.
Here's the complete list of the winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2011 Orange British Film Awards. Check out Awards Avenue for winners...
Natalie Portman took home the Leading Actress trophy for "Black Swan." Early awards season favorite, "The Social Network" won three BAFTAs including Best Director for David Finchers, Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin, and Best Editing for Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter.
"Inception" also took home three trophies including Best Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Christopher Lee received the ighest accolade which the Academy can bestow, the Fellowship, while the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was given to Jk Rowling and David Heyman for the "Harry Potter" films.
Here's the complete list of the winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2011 Orange British Film Awards. Check out Awards Avenue for winners...
- 2/14/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Visual Effects Society (Ves) has announced the nominees for the 9th Annual Ves Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry in 24 categories of film, animation, television,
commercials and video games.
Christopher Nolan's "Inception" dominated the nominations receiving four nods. Nolan will also be honored at the event with the inaugural Ves Visionary Award. Ray Harryhausen will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Ves Awards will take place on Tuesday, February 1 and will air exclusively on Reelzchannel Saturday, February 19 at 10p Et/Pt with encore presentations throughout February.
Here's the complete list of nominees for the 9th Annual Ves Awards:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion
Picture
Inception
Paul Franklin Visual Effects Supervisor
Chris Corbould Special Effects Supervisor
Mike Chambers Visual Effects Producer
Matthew Plummer Visual Effects Producer
Iron Man 2
Ben Snow VFX Supervisor
Ged Wright VFX Supervisor
Janek Sirrs VFX Supervisor
Susan Pickett VFX...
commercials and video games.
Christopher Nolan's "Inception" dominated the nominations receiving four nods. Nolan will also be honored at the event with the inaugural Ves Visionary Award. Ray Harryhausen will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Ves Awards will take place on Tuesday, February 1 and will air exclusively on Reelzchannel Saturday, February 19 at 10p Et/Pt with encore presentations throughout February.
Here's the complete list of nominees for the 9th Annual Ves Awards:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion
Picture
Inception
Paul Franklin Visual Effects Supervisor
Chris Corbould Special Effects Supervisor
Mike Chambers Visual Effects Producer
Matthew Plummer Visual Effects Producer
Iron Man 2
Ben Snow VFX Supervisor
Ged Wright VFX Supervisor
Janek Sirrs VFX Supervisor
Susan Pickett VFX...
- 1/10/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Opens
Friday, May 30
Diving into their most realistic and ambitious setting yet, the talents at Pixar have produced an exhilarating fish story in the perfectly cast comic adventure "Finding Nemo". Not as flat-out inventive as "Monsters, Inc". or as sardonic as "A Bug's Life" and the "Toy Story" pics, "Nemo" finds its own sparkling depths, achieving a less mechanical feel than its predecessors through a stripped-down, fluid narrative and new levels of visual nuance.
Pixar vet Andrew Stanton demonstrates confidence and exuberance in his first stint at the helm, working from a script he co-wrote with Bob Peterson and David Reynolds. With the exception of toddlers who might find a few scary moments too intense, kids will get right into the flow of "Nemo", while those viewers old enough to drive will appreciate the plentiful humor designed to sail right over kids' heads -- not least of which is the inspired chemistry between leads Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres. Disney is primed to make a whale of a splash at the summer boxoffice.
The marine milieu calls for more visual delicacy and aural subtlety than in past Pixar features -- challenges the filmmakers have met through the work of myriad technicians and artists. Before taking poetic license with their CG creations (real fish don't have eyebrows), the animators and designers took lessons in ichthyology (among other things), to good effect. Their imagery captures not only the play of light through the ocean's depths but the texture of its roiling surface and the luminescence and character-defining locomotion of its inhabitants. Add to that Gary Rydstrom's meticulous sound design and the grown-up music score by Thomas Newman, and the result is the most complex and fully realized environment of any Pixar film.
"Nemo" dazzles from the get-go, beginning with a pre-credits sequence that might prove more frightening to parents than kids, dramatizing as it does the notion that bad things can happen even in suburbia. Clown-fish couple Marlin and Coral (Brooks, Elizabeth Perkins) have just moved to a nice, quiet neighborhood of the Great Barrier Reef -- a peaceful vista of jewel-toned sponges, anemones and sea grasses, and a good place to raise their 400 offspring, who will soon be hatching. Tragedy strikes, leaving Marlin widowed with one survivor in the fish nursery, whom he names Nemo and swears to protect always.
It's no wonder that Marlin turns out to be a nervous, overprotective father who follows little Nemo (Alexander Gould) on his first day of, um, fish school. Nemo's a spirited kid with an endearing flaw -- a smaller right fin that flutters constantly -- and a healthy sense of rebellion, which he takes to extremes in Dad's anxious presence, venturing off the reef into open waters. A diver promptly snares him as an exotic specimen.
Propelled by his frantic search for Nemo, Marlin ventures farther than he'd ever dreamed of going, joined by good-hearted blue tang Dory (DeGeneres). She's eager to help and unfazable, the perfect complement to Marlin's neurotic timidity, however exasperating her continual lapses in short-term memory become. They're two lost souls: He provides her with a purpose, and she lends the traumatized Marlin a newfound resilience, as well as being able to read the Sydney address on the mask the diver left behind. Their journey to the big city unfolds as a series of set pieces centering on encounters with would-be predators and helpful sea folk.
Nemo, meanwhile, is welcomed into a community of fish-tank eccentrics in a dentist's office not far from Sydney Harbor. A scarred, self-possessed Moorish idol named Gill (Willem Dafoe) is the only one of Nemo's tank mates who wasn't born in a pet shop, and the wide-eyed youngster inspires him to devise the latest in a long series of ludicrous escape plans. The goal is to get Nemo home before the dentist presents him as a birthday gift to his terror of a niece (LuLu Ebeling), a deliciously funny concoction of Brute Force and braces.
There's a built-in poignancy to the dynamic between son and single father that neither the script nor the actors overstate. That Nemo has no expectation his father will lift a fin to find him is the dark center of the story, setting in bright relief Marlin's every dance with danger as he pursues his stolen child. There's an especially perilous dash through a field of translucent pink jellyfish, culminating in a moment straight out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", with Marlin struggling to keep Dory from falling into a deadly narcotic sleep. But it's not all rough waters: They also luck into the good vibes of surfer-dude turtles who take them through the East Australian Current. Director Stanton is a standout as sea turtle Crush, a mellow dad who teaches Marlin a lesson or two about the parental art of letting go.
The whole cast is aces, with turns from such vibrant talents as Barry Humphries, playing the repentant leader of a self-help group for sharks who are trying to beat the fish-eating habit, and John Ratzenberger as an annoyingly helpful bunch of moonfish showoffs. Geoffrey Rush voices a Sydney pelican who's well-versed in dental procedure, Allison Janney is a vigilant starfish, and Joe Ranft provides a French accent for a finicky shrimp.
But it's the give-and-take between DeGeneres and Brooks that gives the saga its big heart. DeGeneres' character was created with her in mind, so it makes sense that Dory is a fish with freckles, lips and a rueful smile. When, in an episode of lovely, freewheeling lunacy, she insists on communicating with a blue whale in its native language, the combination of vocal calisthenics and facial contortions is sublime.
Her goofy compassion would have only half the impact, however, without Brooks' contrasting nebbish-turned-hero. It's hard to imagine another actor who could deliver lines as angst-ridden and deliriously funny. This is, after all, the tale of a father who not only transcends fear to find his son against all odds but who learns how to tell a joke along the way.
FINDING NEMO
Buena Vista Pictures
A Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film
Credits:
Director: Andrew Stanton
Co-director: Lee Unkrich
Screenwriters: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds
Original story by: Andrew Stanton
Producer: Graham Walters
Executive producer: John Lasseter
Directors of photography: Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky
Production designer: Ralph Eggleston
Music: Thomas Newman
Editor: David Ian Salter
Supervising technical director: Oren Jacob
Supervising animator: Dylan Brown
Art directors: Ricky Vega Nierva, Robin Cooper, Anthony Christov, Randy Berrett
CG supervisors: Brian Green, Lisa Forssell, Danielle Feinberg, David Eisenmann, Jesse Hollander, Steve May, Michael Fong, Anthony A Apodaca, Michael Lorenzen
Sound designer: Gary Rydstrom
Cast:
Marlin: Albert Brooks
Dory: Ellen DeGeneres
Nemo: Alexander Gould
Gill: Willem Dafoe
Bloat: Brad Garrett
Peach: Allison Janney
Gurgle: Austin Pendleton
Bubbles: Stephen Root
Deb (& Flo): Vicki Lewis
Jacques: Joe Ranft
Nigel: Geoffrey Rush
Crush: Andrew Stanton
Coral: Elizabeth Perkins
Squirt: Nicholas Bird
Mr. Ray: Bob Peterson
Bruce: Barry Humphries
Anchor: Eric Bana
Chum: Bruce Spence
Dentist: Bill Hunter
Darla: LuLu Ebeling
Tad: Jordy Ranft
Pearl: Erica Beck
Sheldon: Erik Per Sullivan
Fish School: John Ratzenberger
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
Friday, May 30
Diving into their most realistic and ambitious setting yet, the talents at Pixar have produced an exhilarating fish story in the perfectly cast comic adventure "Finding Nemo". Not as flat-out inventive as "Monsters, Inc". or as sardonic as "A Bug's Life" and the "Toy Story" pics, "Nemo" finds its own sparkling depths, achieving a less mechanical feel than its predecessors through a stripped-down, fluid narrative and new levels of visual nuance.
Pixar vet Andrew Stanton demonstrates confidence and exuberance in his first stint at the helm, working from a script he co-wrote with Bob Peterson and David Reynolds. With the exception of toddlers who might find a few scary moments too intense, kids will get right into the flow of "Nemo", while those viewers old enough to drive will appreciate the plentiful humor designed to sail right over kids' heads -- not least of which is the inspired chemistry between leads Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres. Disney is primed to make a whale of a splash at the summer boxoffice.
The marine milieu calls for more visual delicacy and aural subtlety than in past Pixar features -- challenges the filmmakers have met through the work of myriad technicians and artists. Before taking poetic license with their CG creations (real fish don't have eyebrows), the animators and designers took lessons in ichthyology (among other things), to good effect. Their imagery captures not only the play of light through the ocean's depths but the texture of its roiling surface and the luminescence and character-defining locomotion of its inhabitants. Add to that Gary Rydstrom's meticulous sound design and the grown-up music score by Thomas Newman, and the result is the most complex and fully realized environment of any Pixar film.
"Nemo" dazzles from the get-go, beginning with a pre-credits sequence that might prove more frightening to parents than kids, dramatizing as it does the notion that bad things can happen even in suburbia. Clown-fish couple Marlin and Coral (Brooks, Elizabeth Perkins) have just moved to a nice, quiet neighborhood of the Great Barrier Reef -- a peaceful vista of jewel-toned sponges, anemones and sea grasses, and a good place to raise their 400 offspring, who will soon be hatching. Tragedy strikes, leaving Marlin widowed with one survivor in the fish nursery, whom he names Nemo and swears to protect always.
It's no wonder that Marlin turns out to be a nervous, overprotective father who follows little Nemo (Alexander Gould) on his first day of, um, fish school. Nemo's a spirited kid with an endearing flaw -- a smaller right fin that flutters constantly -- and a healthy sense of rebellion, which he takes to extremes in Dad's anxious presence, venturing off the reef into open waters. A diver promptly snares him as an exotic specimen.
Propelled by his frantic search for Nemo, Marlin ventures farther than he'd ever dreamed of going, joined by good-hearted blue tang Dory (DeGeneres). She's eager to help and unfazable, the perfect complement to Marlin's neurotic timidity, however exasperating her continual lapses in short-term memory become. They're two lost souls: He provides her with a purpose, and she lends the traumatized Marlin a newfound resilience, as well as being able to read the Sydney address on the mask the diver left behind. Their journey to the big city unfolds as a series of set pieces centering on encounters with would-be predators and helpful sea folk.
Nemo, meanwhile, is welcomed into a community of fish-tank eccentrics in a dentist's office not far from Sydney Harbor. A scarred, self-possessed Moorish idol named Gill (Willem Dafoe) is the only one of Nemo's tank mates who wasn't born in a pet shop, and the wide-eyed youngster inspires him to devise the latest in a long series of ludicrous escape plans. The goal is to get Nemo home before the dentist presents him as a birthday gift to his terror of a niece (LuLu Ebeling), a deliciously funny concoction of Brute Force and braces.
There's a built-in poignancy to the dynamic between son and single father that neither the script nor the actors overstate. That Nemo has no expectation his father will lift a fin to find him is the dark center of the story, setting in bright relief Marlin's every dance with danger as he pursues his stolen child. There's an especially perilous dash through a field of translucent pink jellyfish, culminating in a moment straight out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", with Marlin struggling to keep Dory from falling into a deadly narcotic sleep. But it's not all rough waters: They also luck into the good vibes of surfer-dude turtles who take them through the East Australian Current. Director Stanton is a standout as sea turtle Crush, a mellow dad who teaches Marlin a lesson or two about the parental art of letting go.
The whole cast is aces, with turns from such vibrant talents as Barry Humphries, playing the repentant leader of a self-help group for sharks who are trying to beat the fish-eating habit, and John Ratzenberger as an annoyingly helpful bunch of moonfish showoffs. Geoffrey Rush voices a Sydney pelican who's well-versed in dental procedure, Allison Janney is a vigilant starfish, and Joe Ranft provides a French accent for a finicky shrimp.
But it's the give-and-take between DeGeneres and Brooks that gives the saga its big heart. DeGeneres' character was created with her in mind, so it makes sense that Dory is a fish with freckles, lips and a rueful smile. When, in an episode of lovely, freewheeling lunacy, she insists on communicating with a blue whale in its native language, the combination of vocal calisthenics and facial contortions is sublime.
Her goofy compassion would have only half the impact, however, without Brooks' contrasting nebbish-turned-hero. It's hard to imagine another actor who could deliver lines as angst-ridden and deliriously funny. This is, after all, the tale of a father who not only transcends fear to find his son against all odds but who learns how to tell a joke along the way.
FINDING NEMO
Buena Vista Pictures
A Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film
Credits:
Director: Andrew Stanton
Co-director: Lee Unkrich
Screenwriters: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds
Original story by: Andrew Stanton
Producer: Graham Walters
Executive producer: John Lasseter
Directors of photography: Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky
Production designer: Ralph Eggleston
Music: Thomas Newman
Editor: David Ian Salter
Supervising technical director: Oren Jacob
Supervising animator: Dylan Brown
Art directors: Ricky Vega Nierva, Robin Cooper, Anthony Christov, Randy Berrett
CG supervisors: Brian Green, Lisa Forssell, Danielle Feinberg, David Eisenmann, Jesse Hollander, Steve May, Michael Fong, Anthony A Apodaca, Michael Lorenzen
Sound designer: Gary Rydstrom
Cast:
Marlin: Albert Brooks
Dory: Ellen DeGeneres
Nemo: Alexander Gould
Gill: Willem Dafoe
Bloat: Brad Garrett
Peach: Allison Janney
Gurgle: Austin Pendleton
Bubbles: Stephen Root
Deb (& Flo): Vicki Lewis
Jacques: Joe Ranft
Nigel: Geoffrey Rush
Crush: Andrew Stanton
Coral: Elizabeth Perkins
Squirt: Nicholas Bird
Mr. Ray: Bob Peterson
Bruce: Barry Humphries
Anchor: Eric Bana
Chum: Bruce Spence
Dentist: Bill Hunter
Darla: LuLu Ebeling
Tad: Jordy Ranft
Pearl: Erica Beck
Sheldon: Erik Per Sullivan
Fish School: John Ratzenberger
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
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