Review: Finding Nemo On Ice, Trent FM Arena

WHEN the Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton was pitching his original film idea to Pixar head John Lasseter, he famously went through about an hour's worth of technical detail on accurately portraying the refraction of light through water and so forth, before eventually being given the green light by the studio boss and told, "you had me at 'fish'".

Goodness knows how they pitched this one, though. "So there's all these well-loved characters, Nemo and Marlin the clownfish, Dory the blue tang, Bruce the shark. We get them out of the water, freeze it, stick some ice skates on them, and see what happens."

This being Disney, of course, what happens is that overall it works a treat. The first appearance of the fishes in the coral reef is hugely impressive, especially the shoal of fish being directed by a single skater, and most of the big scenes from the film more than live up to expectations.

The angler fish, the whale, and Bruce the shark are all technically excellent, and there's a couple of explosions and shoots of flame to make sure the pyrotechnic guy earns his wages.

True, it's virtually impossible to hear any of the words the characters are saying. (Make sure you know the story already, because you won't be picking up any idea of the plot from the audio soundtrack in the arena).

And, although the costumes are all well-designed, it won't stop the kids asking why all the fishes have got two legs. Some things just can't be hidden even with the most expert sewing.

But it's a colourful production, faithful to the film, and genuinely suitable for all ages. The only slightly scary bit from the film (a barracuda, some clownfish eggs, let's say no more) has been omitted, so even the youngest Nemo fan should be able to enjoy the show.

David Whitfield