Composing Greatness: #6. Thomas Newman - "Finding Nemo" (2003)

Scene from Finding Nemo

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Review: "Finding Dory" is a Good Film Until She Finds Everyone Else

Scene from Finding Dory

In 2003, Finding Nemo premiered to the world with a novel premise and one character who stole the show. Played by Ellen Degeneres, her name was Dory and she was a blue tang with short term memory loss. No matter what she lacked in intelligence, her childlike naivety made her to Pixar what Minions became to Illumination Entertainment: an insurmountable icon. Her motto of "Just keep swimming" has become one of the studio's most recognizable lines of dialogue. It's no wonder then that 13 years later that the studio who with the help of a blue tang momentarily had the highest grossing animated film of all time, would return to the sea with Finding Dory and yet another novel premise: who are Dory's parents, and where are they? It's a solid showcase for Pixar's most beloved fish, if only everyone else would just step aside.

Why There Needs to Be a Best Voice Actor Oscar Category

Whether or not you believe it, voice acting is a real art form. It's a concept that most people take for granted, especially as many of the most revered titles rely on familiar celebrity voices. However, the construct is very similar to radio in that we never see the speaker. While there's still images that convey a story, the speaking is important in order to convey a deeper soul. For instance, a voice needs to sound somber during a tearful scene or ecstatic during an action sequence. It's a small thing that we take for granted, and have largely ignored. With the release of Pixar's latest Finding Dory, I am going to make my case as to why voice acting should be recognized in its own category. 

The First "Finding Dory" Trailer Remembers Something Special

Scene from Finding Dory

It's hard to remember the impact that Pixar's fifth film Finding Nemo had upon release. Its aquatic journey brought to life one of the studio's most successful films to date with memorable performances by Ellen Degeneres And Albert Brooks. The film even became the first for the studio to win Best Animated Film at The Oscars. It will be 13 years later when they launch their latest sequel Finding Dory, which focuses on crowd favorite Dory as she goes about finding her mother. From the look of the first trailer, it's probably going to be more of the same madcap silliness that was present in the first film, just more Dory-centric somehow.

A Few Thoughts on the Academy Awards Ceremony: The Bad

Ellen Degeneres

If there was one issue of this year's Academy Awards, it was its desire to try and be hip. While it resulted in the ceremony's highest ratings in over a decade, it also lost focus of what the Academy Awards is: an awards show. This isn't a moment for spectacle, but to highlight a year of film with the prestigious award. This was most evident in the host, whose lack of spectacle was replaced be a series of happenstance moments literally ate up a lot of time, making her one of the dullest hosts in the show's recent history. Even if she was tame and appealed to the audience with off kilter remarks, Ellen Degeneres essentially lost the plot. While she isn't the only one to blame for this year's ceremony being one of the worst in recent memory, she does at least earn credit for ruining the fun nature.

A Few Thoughts on the Academy Awards Ceremony: The Good

Steve McQueen

In order to best explore all sides of the 86th Academy Awards Ceremony, I have decided to split my opinions up into two posts: the good and the bad. We'll begin with the good, as any given year is not without its charm. For starters, there wasn't any major upsets for those predicting the top dogs. While this means that it limits the bickering for most of the ceremony's legacy, it does mean that the Academy has done something right and the results will now be tested by time. Of course, there is much else to be said from speeches to performances to the overall presentation. Even if this year's ceremony had a lot of downsides, it definitely had a lot of great memorable moments.

Ellen DeGeneres is Hosting the Oscars, but is She Capable of Being Great?

Ellen DeGeneres

Attention everyone, we have found our next Oscar host. Let us welcome back to the stage... Ellen DeGeneres.

My initial reaction to this news was a groan. While I don't have vitriol towards her, I do not tend to like her style. I don't watch Ellen and she was the weakest part of Finding Nemo. What are we going to do with someone whose body of work seems overly reliant on making you find cute optimism in everything and getting light laughs? It is my fault that I don't remember too well how she performed at the previous ceremony, though that's largely because I can't tell you too many highlights of any year. It is an AWARDS show, not a performance piece. If there is laughter, there's a good chance it was happenstance. However, as I began to groan at the thought of DeGeneres' return, I remembered how I felt last year with Seth MacFarlane.