Laika & Nemo is a beautiful story about two children who feel like outcasts and a meeting that takes place where the sea meets the sky. Both of our heroes live in their element without really feeling part of it: they haven’t yet found where they fit in. The issue of bullying is dealt with delicately, and we can also discern parts where the film picks up where others on the same issue have left off (such as Tobi and the Turbobus). While one of the children is connected to the water, the other comes from the air – it’s only when they meet that they start to flourish and open up the way to new adventures, whether together or apart. Their similarities are immediately obvious: from their experiences to what they wear: it’s as if their fates have always been intertwined. Mutual support, solidarity and forgiveness then win out over hostility and bitterness.
In this tender story the only words are spoken during flashbacks that tell us a lot about what our two heroes have been through. The poignancy is enhanced by gentle music combined with the sounds of the wind and nature. And the little stop-motion animated creatures look very familiar. Two children who look a bit different in a village full of fishermen? Luca ? A pumpkin-eating sheep? Wallace and Gromit’s rabbits and the mystery of the were-rabbit? It’s clear that some touches are intended as tributes to Pixar and Aardman studios. Amid superb landscapes that could have been plucked right out of the Highlands, Nemo and Laika are as gentle as they are lovable. With them we travel through the infinite starry sky and the deepest depths of the seas. And here everyone has their say, whether there are aviators, sailors, divers or aliens! You might also be tickled by all the nods to British things and traditions, from the singing fish to tea time. Will you be able to spot them all?
