Finding Nemo Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition

Sat, December 15 2012

I was so excited to get the chance to review the Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition of Finding Nemo. I own the regular version on DVD, and have loved it ever since I first saw it. There’s a lot of extras on this, and some real perks to buying the collector’s version over the cheaper DVD version, especially if you have a Blu-Ray player at home and a portable DVD player or a computer that only has a DVD player.

Of course, the movie is the main attraction. The movie begins and I was quickly swept up into the plot. I assume you’ve seen Finding Nemo and love it, otherwise I don’t want to be your friend. It’s a great story of a clown fish named Nemo and his single dad, Marlin, who has become quite overprotective since the loss of his other eggs and wife. Nemo becomes rebellion and because of this, is captured and taken to a dentist’s aquarium. His father then swims the entire ocean to find him. It’s so stupidly sweet that I am tearing up writing about it.

It’s also funny, as the following clip shows:

I watched the standard definition on my laptop and it still looked amazing. The oceans and fish really take after real physics and look amazing. It will only look better on Blu-Ray, though. The DVD version doesn’t have all of the extras, but it does a Pixar short called “Knick Knack” and a filmmaker’s discussion. The shorts are always awesome, and this one was made only a few years after I was born. The design is definitely less refined than Pixar today, but it’s still far better than much of the stuff you saw in the late ’80s. The story is also underwater themed, so it fits well.

The fimmaker’s roundtable was interesting because you got to meet all the people who contributed to making this film — directors, writers and designers. In the beginning of the discussion, they mention how this collector’s edition comes almost ten years after the movie came out. Isn’t that crazy? There’s some awesome concept art, too. It’s interesting to see and hear the ideas that spawned this blockbuster. It’s interesting to hear one of the co-directors discuss how many naysayers thought that Nemo was going to flop. Just goes to show you. I had no idea that Finding Nemo was the contestant that came up from behind. The crew goes on to talk about their research trips, and you really gain respect for the crew for their diligence.

Although it’s not listed on the DVD case, the regular DVD also has aquarium, which is a little digital aquarium scene. It’s a great chance to check out the details of the design, but that’s about it.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve only covered a single disc, but there is so much to go through with the collector’s edition. A single disc exists for extra content. Unfortunately, it’s also Blu-Ray. I think most people would get more use out of it if it were a regular DVD. The bonus disc includes deleted scenes, aquariums and an art review. The Blu-Ray disc with the actual copy of the movie gives you an alternative opening, which was actually the original opening of the movie.

Other content includes Cinexplore, which is pretty interesting. It’s a commentary of the movie as it plays, but it’s made up of multiple interviews, includes extra content and even has layers over the movie to really make it worthwhile. You also get a behind-the-scenes look at how Disney parks updated their classic submarine voyage to include Finding Nemo. I can understand why they’d do that.  The last featurette is called “A Lesson In Flashbacks” and in it, director Andrew Stanton talks about how he  was taught to avoid flashbacks but wanted to give the back story of Nemo’s father. It’s probably not the most interesting of the extra content, and kids won’t like it as much as adults.

There’s other content that I haven’t yet had a chance to explore. It seems that Finding Nemo on Blu-Ray is a lot like the ocean: big. And blue? I’m not usually the type to care so much for extras, but I liked the way they tackled commentary, and it’s interesting to see just how groundbreaking the making of this movie really was.

To be honest, I hadn’t purchased a movie in a while, so all the little perks of owning this collector’s edition were pretty awesome. For example, it comes with a code you can use at DisneyMovieRewards.com. I hadn’t registered before, so I did it once I got this one. You can connect your movie rewards account with Facebook, but I opted out for now. Finding Nemo will give you 150 points that accrue. You can later exchange them for items. This same code also unlocks an offer for a free ticket to see Monster’s Inc in 3D. This is another fantastic Disney movie that I will definitely be seeing, and there’s a trailer for it before Finding Nemo begins. Of course, Disney’s Fast Play features means you can skip these, but I let it run because it’s been a while since I’ve seen Sully, Mike and Boo. (=

Really, it’s a great movie with some neat features. It would make a great stocking stuffer! You can get the regular version, the 3-disc combo back like I got or Finding Nemo in 3D, which is part of a 5-disc set.