Finding Nemo (2003)

After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Directors:

Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

Writers:

Andrew Stanton (original story), Andrew Stanton (screenplay),

Stars:

Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould

Top 250 #161 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 36 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Brooks	...	Marlin (voice)
Ellen DeGeneres	...	Dory (voice)
Alexander Gould	...	Nemo (voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Gill (voice)
Brad Garrett	...	Bloat (voice)
Allison Janney	...	Peach (voice)
Austin Pendleton	...	Gurgle (voice)
Stephen Root	...	Bubbles (voice)
Vicki Lewis	...	Deb / Flo (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Jacques (voice)
Geoffrey Rush	...	Nigel (voice)
Andrew Stanton	...	Crush (voice)
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Coral (voice)
Nicholas Bird	...	Squirt (voice)
Bob Peterson	...	Mr. Ray (voice)

Storyline

A clown fish named Marlin lives in the Great Barrier Reef loses his son, Nemo. After he ventures into the open sea, despite his father's constant warnings about many of the ocean's dangers. Nemo is abducted by a boat and netted up and sent to a dentist's office in Sydney. So, while Marlin ventures off to try to retrieve Nemo, Marlin meets a fish named Dory, a blue tang suffering from short-term memory loss. The companions travel a great distance, encountering various dangerous sea creatures such as sharks, anglerfish and jellyfish, in order to rescue Nemo from the dentist's office, which is situated by Sydney Harbor. While the two are doing this, Nemo and the other sea animals in the dentist's fish tank plot a way to return to Sydney Harbor to live their lives free again.

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Plot Keywords:

fish | dentist | great barrier reef | fish tank | short term memory loss | 

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Taglines:

Sea it for the first time in 3D (2012 re-release)

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [Australia] Official Facebook

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Finding Nemo 3D

Box Office

Budget:

$94,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,762,397 (Japan) (5 December 2003)

Gross:

$380,838,870 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Work first began on the movie in 1997. Physical production actually began in January 2000 with a crew that ultimately comprised 180 people.

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Goofs

The "anglerfish" that Marlin and Dory encounter has several characteristics that are not found in deep-sea anglerfishes. Deep-sea anglerfishes do not have photophores (the "lights" along the side of the body that are visible when you finally see the whole fish). Also, all deep-sea anglerfishes have very small eyes, and the fish in the movie has very large eyes (much like a marine hatchetfish). Plus, anglerfishes are usually found at 1000+ meters, way too deep for Marlin and Dory to survive.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Mmm.
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Mm-hmm.
Marlin: Wow.
Coral: Yes, Marlin. I... No, I see it. It's beautiful.
Marlin: So, Coral, when you said you wanted an ocean view, you didn't think you were going to get the whole ocean, did you? Huh?
[deep breath]
Marlin: Oh, yeah. A fish can breathe out here. Did your man deliver, or did he deliver?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Through the closing credits, various characters interact briefly with the credits. At the end, the frightened little fish from the shark therapy group makes a final appearance in front of the angler fish.

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Connections

References Hey Arnold! (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Just Keep Swimming"
(uncredited)
Performed by Ellen DeGeneres

User Reviews

Swimming with Sharks is a Whale of a Time

Marlin, a nervous and neurotic clownfish is heavily overprotective of his son Nemo, who only wants to explore the sea in its entirety. When Nemo gets caught by a scuba diver and taken away, it is up to Marlin to swallow his own fears and find Nemo. The ensuing search and rescue organized by the him is a mass effort by swimming and flying creatures of all sizes and personalities, such as a threesome of vegetarian sharks, a fish with short term memory and an aged turtle, all helping him realise the error of his ways in restricting himself to just his home.

As charming as it is beautiful, Finding Nemo is a joy, both visually and cinematically. The characters are all so appealing and sweet that you want to hug each and every one of them, Nemo and Dory in particular. But the film transcends above just a generic animated film, for there are lessons to be learnt by it too. The film often tells a children's tale from an adult's point of view, with risky situations and emotional soul-searching putting stress on a disjointed family.

The sea is brought to us in such a memorable and unique way that there is brilliance and beauty in every frame. The animation is of all time high for Pixar, and the sound mixing and editing are also to be credited, as they capture the heart of the sea creditably. But perhaps the best thing about the film is the musical score by Thomas Newman. He creates the essence of the sea, as well as the emotions felt by the fish throughout. Note the masterwork that occurs as an upbeat, jovial number quickly escalates into something darker in a matter of minutes. In short, the music is superb.

The voice cast are capable and cannily chosen, from young Alexander Gould as the naïve Nemo, as well as Albert Brooks as the bumbling Marlin. But the star of the show is Ellen DeGeneres as Dory. As the forgetful but caring fish, she is sweet and soulful, and provides much of the comedy of the film. But the humour is also provided by the great script, which delivers a potentially dull story with wit and soul, and shies away from the sentimentality that could so easily arise of a Disney film. And the jokes, what jokes – from satire, spoof and slapstick, they'll be a one-liner for everybody here.

Gorgeous to look at and utterly adorable, Finding Nemo sets the standard for how animated movies should being terms of entertainment value as well as story and themes – ending with the touching, thought-provoking message of how too much protectiveness on the parent's side will repel, but, no matter how independent a child (or fish) believes themselves to be, they'll always need their parents.