Following on the heels of Monsters Inc. and Toy Story, Pixar and Disney have scored again with yet another crowd pleasing, family oriented, computer-animated film, which is likely to enthrall both children and adults and score a few awards as well. By this point it's almost a certainty that the companies' films will conquer the box office. but what, apart from the now-typically-spectacular special effects...which are quite stunning this time around...is the secret of Pixar's continuing success?

The answer, put quite simply, is actually quite obvious: character development and strong storylines. It's also much more than just that. Each film has portrayed unlikely characters...toys, monsters, and, most recently, fish...as human, complete with all the foibles, personality quirks, and even, most amusingly, neuroses. Whether it's toy envy or fear of the ocean, their plights are believable, sympathetic, and entertaining to watch.

Ironically, despite the fantasy premise of each, Pixar models its films on the real world. They are filled with subtle but clever references that the adults in the audience will smile and nod at, while the children are entertained by the charac! ters' misadventures. Nowhere will one find the annoyingly cutesy, overly saccharine sensibilities employed by many other children's films.

This time the story revolves around a caring but overprotective clownfish, (who isn't very funny) ,and parent Marlin (Albert Brookes), who, after losing his wife and hundreds of babies to a barracuda attack, is more than a bit reluctant to let go of his only remaining son, Nemo (Alexander Gould), a spirited little fry with a weak fin. His disability doesn't stop little Nemo. despite his father's constant haranguing. He is perpetually eager to explore the open ocean beyond the reef they call home. Curiosity becomes his undoing when a dentist, out on a diving expedition captures Nemo and places him in his office aquarium. There he must await his certain doom as a gift for the dentist's niece.

While Marlin races to find ! his son with the aid of a loopy surgeonfish (Ellen Degeneres) who suffers short-term memory loss, Nemo's tank mates aide him in several disastrous escape attempts. His father, in the meantime, encounters a group of sharks that have pledged not to eat fish (a clever reference to AA), a sea of jellyfish and a herd of surfer sea turtles riding the ocean current.

The referential humor, as well as each character's distinct personality, makes them believable and endearing. Each comes across as relatable and human, and the audience is sympathetic to their plights. The well-chosen celebrity voices also help, without overshadowing the characters themselves.

Children will love the variety of colorful characters, but adults will quite possibly see themselves at one point or another, and learn an important lesson in the balance about letting go and allowing youngsters to! experience the sometimes dangerous, always wondrous world for themselves. It's a fitting moral for today's tumultuous world.