Albert Brooks Talks Pixar's 'Finding Nemo'

"The voice element in these movies is underappreciated in all ways," says Albert Brooks, the voice of Nemo's overprotective dad. "If you've got a one-dimensional voice in a two- or three-dimensional cartoon character, you don't wind up in that place you want to be. I mean, there are moments in this movie where the audience is, like, crying."

"They did an interesting thing to lure me in," Brooks says. "They brought me up to Pixar. They told me, 'You're the only person who can play this part!' So I'm sitting in this beautiful theater. They showed me a speech from (Brooks' comedy) Defending Your Life and put it in the fish's mouth."

Brooks was always Stanton's top contender to play the part. "I pictured someone who would seem very timid on first impression, someone who is not a risk-taker and a bit neurotic," Stanton says. "The fearful nature of the character had to be on his sleeve."

But Brooks has no fears about discussing his experience. "I did it because I had kids. I mean, I have a 4½-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, and believe me, they are not currently going around the house saying, 'Debbie Reynolds should have won the Academy Award, Dad.' " (Reynolds starred in Brooks' 1996 movie Mother.)

"No, they're going, 'Oh, my God, Daddy's a fish!' "