Pixar: Finding Nemo

• 11th Feb 2011

Finding Nemo was released in 2003, the fifth in a very successful run of movies from Pixar, following on from the likes of Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Monsters Inc. Great things were expected, and in this case, delivered. Entertaining for both adults and children the movie is worthy of multiple viewings.

Finding Nemo deservedly won the Best Animated Feature Academy Award as well as being nominated for another three. Andrew Stanton, Pixar’s ninth employee, was given the reins in Finding Nemo and subsequently made Wall-E. Stanton co-directed with Lee Unkrich, wrote the story/screenplay as well as being the voice of numerous characters.

Finding Nemo follows clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Alexander Gould), his only remaining son, after a barracuda deprived him of his mate and the rest of their eggs. Nemo was scarred from the attack, with one of his fins not developing fully. At this point I must note that in fact if this situation occurred in real life in a pair of clownfish, Marlin would have become Marlina and found a new male mate as all clownfish are apparently born male (known as sequential hermaphrodites) … but this is the movies, so suspend disbelief!

As a result of the tragedy in the movie, Marlin is overprotective and nervous of letting Nemo do anything. Against his better judgment he lets Nemo start school, only for all his fears to be realised when Nemo is taken on his first day by a diver for a marine tank. Marlin’s only clue to finding his son is a dive mask so he sets out to rescue Nemo with the help, and hindrance, of the optimistic and forgetful Dory, a regal tang voiced brilliantly by Eleen DeGeneres.

Marlin expands his circle of experience attending a meeting of vegetarian sharks and meeting turtles while surfing the East Australian Current. While Marlin is desperately trying to reach Nemo, Nemo is getting used to life in a tank in a dentist’s surgery in Sydney with a small group of other marine fish, including the scarred Gill (a sinister Willem Defoe) and Bloat the pufferfish. The fish overhear the dentist saying that Nemo is destined to be a present for his niece, Darla, who is notorious for ending the life of a previous fish. Escape plans are stepped up with Nemo taking an important role in them.

Both Marlin and Nemo have plenty of close-shaves and needless to say, there is a dramatic rescue/escape from the tank for Nemo and his fellow tank dwellers. The reunion of Marlin and Nemo is very emotional but is swiftly followed by a test of Marlin’s ability to both let go of and trust his son when Dory gets into trouble in a fishing net.

The cast boasts several Australian’s, including a star turn by Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna) as ‘Bruce’ (named after the mechanical shark from Jaws, who in turn was named after a lawyer) and Eric Bana (The Hulk) as the vegetarian sharks.

Technically, the movie was a different ballgame for the animators, not only did they have to contend with the different environment of the ocean, with currents and lighting, they also had limited expression available in their characters body language, having to rely mainly on facial expressions and fins. They coped with this admirably, using the facial features and showing body language through the movement or swimming of the characters.

There were two quite different environmental impacts noted from Finding Nemo. One was unsurprisingly a rise popularity of clownfish as pets. This saw some reefs wrecked in the capture of clownfish. Another was the reverse of the coin; people letting their marine fish go as a result of seeing the unhappiness of the captive fish in the movie. Unfortunately some of these latter people failed to investigate the correct ocean for release, no doubt resulting in further suffering and death of these visually appealing fish.

Karen Self