I when this came out in 2003 and stuck around in theaters for approximately 100 years. Hard to overstate how huge this was at the time. 20 years later (unreal), it still feels like something really special. Revisiting it now, I’d forgotten how much it breaks away from the conventional Hollywood three act structure, instead embracing something more like the Odyssey, with each of the trials Marlin has to overcome to reunite with his son playing out in its own mostly self-contained episode.

I think Pete Docter is probably the most consistent creative voice in Pixar’s stable of regular filmmakers, but between this and WALL•E, it’s hard to argue that Andrew Stanton didn’t take the biggest swings. Sucks that he’s been stuck in movie jail for so long (though he’s turned in good work on shows like For All Mankind and Better Call Saul) and I really hope his new sci-fi movie comes together.