Starts rather slow, thin, and in fact, packs only a few interesting departure surprises from the standard Disney formula. Still, it does build nicely toward the end. As far as visuals go, save for an eerily beautiful encounter with a razor-toothed Anglerfish, the charming characters themselves are the only juicy graphics. And while just about all of them are lovable, a couple of the main ones grow annoying if not curtailed (and they are not).

Still, it's got heart -- and heart is a very good thing to have. Stay for the credits -- they roll swimmingly well.

"I became obsessed with this premise that fear can deny a good father from being one," says writer Andrew Stanton, Finding Nemo is a "father-son love story." Interestingly enough, Andrew voices the thrill-seeking, fun-loving, Aussie sea turtle Crush.

"Our challenge was to let the audience know that our ocean is caricatured. We wanted them to know that this wonderful world doesn't exist, but then using the amazing tools that we have in computer animation make it look totally believable. Our goal is always to make things believable, not realistic." John Lasseter (of Pixar).