
Simplicity of story.
If anyone ever questions why I love Pixar’s Finding Nemo so damn much, this is my answer.
The basic story is so simple. And they do so much with it.
When planning their short films, I used to tell students there are two ways to tell a story. You can ‘enjoy the journey’ or you can ‘lead up to a great finale’.
Finding Nemo is a terrific example of enjoying the journey. Do we really think it won’t be a happy ending? Of course not. In a story like this we can pretty much assume everything will turn out just fine.
That’s not the point
It’s what happens along the way that makes it so great.
So if you are planning your own short (or long) story, remember that. If you don’t have a super satisfying ending that will knock the socks off your audience, you can always make the journey one heck of a great ride.
I’m over-simplifying things a bit, but I hope you get what I mean.
Same deal as my other feature favorites. No story summary or anything, I’m just digging in to my favorite bits of Finding Nemo.
Let’s Roll.
It’s gorgeous. Look at the image up top. The whole underwater world is so beautiful and believable. Makes you want to take up scuba diving (if I didn’t have such a nasty fear of suffocation).