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 #164 | 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

Fish | Dentist | Fish Tank | Great Barrier Reef | Ocean | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [au] 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

Dory does get Nemo's name right a total of 7 times, 4 of them without being corrected first. Of course some of these times are in quick succession. She also calls him Chico, Fabio, Bingo, Harpo, and Elmo, in that order.

---

Goofs

Nigel the pelican has nostrils. Pelicans do not have nostrils. They breathe through their mouth.

---

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?
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

The first names of "Production Babies" are listed towards the end of the credits.

---

Connections

Referenced in QI: Girls and Boys (2010)
Mentioned during the clown fish question

---

Soundtracks

"Beyond the Sea"
(1945)
Music by Charles Trenet (as Charles Louis Trenet) and Albert Lasry
Lyrics by Charles Trenet (as Charles Louis Trenet) ("La Mer")
English lyrics by Jack Lawrence (1947)
Performed by Robbie Williams
Courtesy of EMI Records under license from EMI Film & TV Music

User Reviews

amazing visuals

Has there ever been a better-looking feature-length animated film than `Finding Nemo'? We doubt it. With its shimmering underwater landscapes - be they in the vast immensity of a limitless ocean or the cramped confines of a dentist office aquarium - the film sports a look unlike anything we have ever seen before. The fish tank setting, in particular, is a veritable wonderland of eye-popping, many-hued visual splendor.

Although the script by Andrew Stanton doesn't scale the comedic heights of, say, `Aladdin,' `Shrek' or `Toy Story 2,' it still sparkles with enough wit and inventiveness to entrance youngsters and beguile the grownups who will be joining them in their viewing. I hasten to point out that the screenplay is blessedly free of all the double entendres and off-color humor that have blighted so much alleged `kiddie' fare in recent years. This is a film on e can watch with one's children and grandchildren and not once have to blush or turn away in embarrassment while doing so. Creators of children's films please take note (and take note, too, of its phenomenal box office take).

Like many tales designed for the junior set (`Dumbo,' `Bambi' etc.), `Finding Nemo' taps into the fear all children have of being separated from their parents - and the concomitant fear all parents have of being separated from their children. It is upon this common ground that members of both generations will meet in their emotional response to this film. In this case, it is little Nemo, an adorable clownfish, who is plucked out of the ocean and plunked down into the saltwater aquarium of a dentist in Sydney, Australia. The subject of the film's title is Marlin, Nemo's overprotective, worrywart dad who swims his way towards the continent to find and rescue his little tyke. Along the way, this Nervous Nellie parent learns a little something about giving his son the freedom a boy needs to grow up and become a man, and Nemo, himself, learns a thing or two about just what kind of a fish his dad really is.

Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres are brilliant as Marlin and Dory, respectively, the latter a befuddled, daffy and utterly good-natured fish who helps Marlin in his epic quest not only for his lost son but his own definition of filial love. Those familiar with these two fine comedic talents in their live-action performances will actually be able to see many of their distinctive inflections and facial expressions reflected in the animated characters they are portraying.

As directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich, and executed by an army of wonder-working animators and technicians, `Finding Nemo' takes PIXAR technology to its ultimate, final level of perfection - till the studio's next release, that is.