[.ca] Finding Nemo: Ocean Favorites

Sea Songs.:
Disney knows how to market and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm a sucker for some of their strategies almost as much as anyone else, even though I know Michael Eisner is just trying to take over the world. Anyway, just as they did with LILO AND STITCH, Disney has released a second album containing songs not found in the movie, but songs supposedly "inspired" by the film. However, all of these songs were originally written and recorded years before FINDING NEMO was even considered by Pixar. The songs on OCEAN FAVORITES are quite catchy and upbeat with hardly a slow song in the mix. Included in a couple of places on the album, for instance just before "Wipe Out", are some snippets of dialogue by supporting characters in FINDING NEMO. My favorite songs on the album include: "Sea Cruise" "Wipe Out" "Three Little Fishies" The version of "Beyond the Sea" is sung by a female artist and isn't anywhere near as enchanting as the version on the FINDING NEMO soundtrack or the original song. "Joy to the World" isn't bad, but the Hoyt Axton version is still my favorite, even over Three Dog Night's version of the song. Overall, this is a nice album to own, even though none of the songs are sung by the original artists. I've played several of the songs from the album on my Internet radio show, and they were well received. Great listening!

Great for Kids:
My 3 and 6-year old LOVE to dance and sing along to this CD. It may not be true to all the themes of the movie, as another reviewer suggests, but it's really a fun listen for children. Some of the more adult lyrics from "Joy to the World" are even replaced with kid-friendly lyrics. Taken at face value, this is a good CD for children and it's fun for them to hear the original songs after hearing the covers on this disc.

Cute but wouldn't be worth the price of a regular CD.:
Some of these songs are worth owning. I admit I only bought the CD because 1) I am completely and utterly obsessed with "Finding Nemo," 2)The box was cute, it had Gurgle on the back XD, 3) Many of the tracks looked pretty decent, and 4) the price. Well, here's what I found: 1. Sea Cruise--an original song that we KNOW is an original song (by that I mean, not written for the movie or the CD) because we've heard it before. Good song. 4/5 stars. 2. Fish School. Sort of a lame exercise in songwriting. 2/5 stars. 3. Gone Fishin'. I do not understand why they would select songs about fishing for a movie whose tagline is "FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD"! Seriously, they need to learn that just because a song mentions the word FISH in it DOES NOT necessarily make it a fish song, and it doesn't always belong in an "Ocean Favorites" collection!! A reasonably enjoyable tune, however...just inappropriate. 2/5 stars. 4. Joy to the World. An "OK" song with at least *some*thing to do with fish. I thought this was the Christmas song "Joy to the World" and thought, "OH WOW! A Nemo Christmas carol?! Must have it!" Sadly it was a bit of a disappointment in that respect. 3/5 stars. 5. Under the Waves. Not so bad but forgettable. 3/5 stars. 6. Catch a Wave. This one's a stretch; it's a song about surfing, and there's no surfing in the film at all. 7. Octopus's Garden. A bizarre little tune about being in an octopus's garden in the sea! Has a recognizable rhythm to it; not bad. 4/5 stars. 8. Turtle Rock. Another song about a dance no one knows how to do! But, it's cute...a nice beat, catchy words, appropriate for the movie. The one line about "A little starfish is gonna dance with me" makes me think of Peach in the ocean dancing with the singer!!! 4/5 stars. 9. Fishin' Blues. A little folksong about a woman taking her baby fishing! Again, what is with the fishing songs?! 2/5 stars. 10. Saturday Night Fish Fry. This is by far the WORST! It's absolutely HORRIBLE! This song doesn't belong on the CD. It's a song about a guy who goes to New Orleans and parties all night at a big fish fry! Yes, isn't it awful?! A FISH FRY! One of those senseless, pointless gatherings of chubby folk to eat a bunch of fried fish. This REALLY demonstrates the principle of throwing a stupid song on a CD just because it mentions the topic once or twice. This has nothing to do with fish except for eating them! It's about a party! It goes against the movie with its fish-friendly theme! 0/5 stars!!! (Okay, 1/5. They like when you don't do the whole 0/5 thing.) 11. Wipe Out. Great instrumental that you've definitely heard before. B-) 5/5 stars. 12. Three Little Fishies. A song about 3 fish like Nemo who stray from their mom, meet a shark, and then swim back to her in fear. 3/5 stars. 13. Beyond the Sea. NOT the same rendition as on the soundtrack! This is the best song on the CD. It's sung by a woman, and it's terrific! Fresh, new sound, but not too different from the original. 5/5 stars. So...judge for yourself whether it's worth buying or not.

• Sea Cruise
• Fish School - Fred Mollin & The Blue Sea Band
• Gone Fishin'
• Joy to the World
• Under the Waves - Fred Mollin & The Blue Sea Band
• Catch a Wave - Fred Mollin
• Octopus' Garden
• Turtle Rock - Fred Mollin & The Blue Sea Band
• Fishin' Blues
• Saturday Night Fish Fry - Fred Mollin & The Blue Sea Band
• Wipe Out \oInstrumental\c
• Three Little Fishies
• Beyond the Sea - Fred Mollin & The Blue Sea Band