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In the colorful and warm tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef, a Clown Fish named Marlin lives safe and secluded in his anemone home with his only son, Nemo. Fearful of the ocean and its unpredictable risks, he struggles to protect his son. Nemo, like all young fish, is eager to explore the mysterious reef. When Nemo is unexpectedly taken far from home and thrust into a tacky dentist’s office fish tank, Marlin finds himself the unlikely hero on an epic journey to rescue his son.

 

Trailers

 
 
 

Character Design 

 
 
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Classic Characters

In Finding Nemo the supporting characters drew inspiration from classic movies: Gil was given Clint Eastwood’s squint, Bloat was based on George Kennedy’s character in Cool Hand Luke, and the Tank Gang borrowed the neuroses of the characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

 


Nemo

Nemo is a curious and impressionable six-year-old, only child who lives with his overprotective, single-parent father, Marlin. Having led a sheltered life, Nemo brims with the excitement of starting school and finally seeing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. Despite being born with a withered fin, Nemo yearns for adventure, and as fate takes him far from home, he learns he is capable of doing great things.

 

Marlin

Sheltered deep within The Great Barrier reef, safe inside his anemone home, lives Marlin. After losing his wife and family to the ocean, Marlin is left alone to raise his only surviving child, Nemo. He vows never to let anything happen to his son. A loving and responsible father, Marlin keeps his noble promise throughout Nemo’s early years. However, Marlin’s fear and distrust of the sea builds, and he struggles with his inability to let go of Nemo as his son begins school. When Nemo is suddenly taken away, Marlin must try to find in himself the courage, wisdom, and faith needed to search the unpredictable ocean to bring his boy home – the very characteristics he needs to allow his son to learn and grow. 

 

Dory

Throughout the vast ocean you will not find a fish more hospitable, more friendly, or more sociable than Dory. She would love to chat with you all day and tell you her life story, but she can’t. Dory suffers from short term memory loss. Dory is the aquatic Good Samaritan who offers to help Marlin on his journey to find his son. She is certainly an odd partner for such a quest, but her optimism proves an invaluable quality to help Marlin overcome the impossible. To Dory, the glass is always half-full.

 

Gill

Gill is the maverick of the dentist’s office fish tank. He is the leader of an eclectic gang of fish, who hang on his every word and are drawn to his magnetic personality. This tough, scarred, one-finned fish was raised in the ocean, but taken at a young age to live in a tank. Surrounded by fish who have spent their entire lives in “the box,” Gill alone feels the pull to be free. Though he dreams of one day breaking out and returning to the ocean, his failed escape attempts have broken his spirit. With Nemo's arrival to the tank, Gill is inspired again to find a way back to
the sea.

 

The Tank Gang

No matter where you're from—the ocean, eBay, Pet Palace, or mail order—being stuck in a kitschy dentist's aquarium can do things to a fish. Led by escape artist Gill, Peach, Bloat, Gurgle, Deb, Bubbles, and Jacques make life livable with tiki-inspired tank rituals, all the while dreaming of getting back into the Big Blue.

 

Sharks

Bruce, Anchor and Chum are mates. Anchor is cynical; he hates dolphins. Chum is hyperactive; he can’t keep still. Bruce is the jolly leader of the pack. All three are members of a Fish-Eaters Anonymous Group, and are tormented by their natural urge to eat fish and their resulting unpopularity amongst the general ocean population. Consequently, they have embraced a “veggie” lifestyle, allegedly swearing off fish, and living off politically correct kelp instead.

 

Turtles

Crush and his offspring Squirt know how to chill and go with the flow, especially the one created by the East Australian Current. The two have a righteous bond that's totally sweet. After 150 years of living in the ocean, Crush knows a thing or two about being a good parent.

 

Nigel

Nigel is a tough old local bird. He likes to hang out on the docks with his other pelican mates and carry on. But Nigel has a guilty pleasure the others don’t know about; he loves to sneak off and spend hours in the dentist office window, diagnosing dental problems with his fish friends in the tank.

 

Mr. Ray's Class

This school of young, impressionable fish love their tuneful teacher's marine-inspired songs and impromptu oceanography lessons. Riding atop Mr. Ray like an underwater magic carpet, the kids experience the ocean through the eyes of a scientist and true deep sea explorer.

 

Dentist/Darla

Don't be angry with the dentist for taking Nemo—from his point of view, he was rescuing a struggling fish destined to be eaten. The dentist's niece Darla, on the other hand, can't seem to shake her habit of shaking the bags containing her fishy gifts. 

 

Coral

Proud mother-to-be Coral is a freethinker who opts for the more creative name of "Nemo" for one of her babies. Coral provides strength and optimism in her relationship with Marlin and is the first to believe in him when he doubts his parenting skills.

 
 

World Design 

 
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Fish Eye View

"I grew up in Massachusetts, by the sea, and I remember going to my family dentist, who had this funky fish tank in his office. All kids are attracted to aquariums, and I remember staring at this tank and thinking what a weird view of the world this must be for the fish—it’s like flying into Las Vegas and that’s your first view of America," recalls writer-director Andrew Stanton.

 


The Tank

Intended to amuse children visiting the dentist’s office, the fish tank in Finding Nemo can also be viewed as a glass prison for its unlucky inhabitants. Looking to illustrate the odd dichotomy, the filmmakers found inspiration in the world of kitsch aquarium accessories and began filling the tank with garish plastic objects. When we meet them, we find the tank gang has gone slightly mad, prisoners not only of their narrow confines but also the dentist’s bad taste.

 

Current

It’s not often that an ocean current plays a role in a movie, but the real-life East Australian Current (EAC) had compelling qualities. A colorful underwater highway favored by migrating fish and sea turtles, the EAC follows a path of hundreds of miles before reaching Sydney Harbor, providing a handy template for both the Pixar art and story teams. 

 

The Drop Off

The epic journey required Marlin to leave the relative safety of his home on the coral reef for the depths of the great unknown, which the filmmakers viewed as both a metaphor and the very real drop-off of a deep-ocean trench.“The ocean is so beautiful and there’s so much to explore, but if you’re a fish, every foot you go there is something that could eat you," observed producer Graham Walters.“Ultimately it comes down to anything could be out there. It’s both wondrous and terrifying.”

 

The Harbor

Humans enter the picture as Marlin and Dory reach Sydney Harbor, bustling with trawling fishermen, a sewage treatment plant, views of iconic Sydney landmarks, and most importantly, buildings perched next to the water.

For both scenic and technical reasons, the filmmakers needed their land-based scenes as close to the ocean as possible, and a dentist’s office in the charming seaside community of North Sydney provided the perfect location for Nemo’s final rescue.

 

Jellyfish

How do you construct a set out of thousands of gelatinous, translucent animals? “We spent a lot of time with Ralph’s (Eggelston) pastels, watched a lot of underwater footage taken in Palau in the South Pacific, and also went to visit the jellyfish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium to better understand what jellyfish look like and how they really move,” explains Supervising Technical Director Oren Jacob.“In the end this is one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie, and one of the scariest, too.”

 

The Reef

With Nemo’s home set in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Pixar team had one of the most colorful environments on Earth to work with. The unlikely challenge was how much to change its otherworldly beauty.

Early R&D tests were startling. “It looked so real!” recalls John Lasseter. “From that first CG coral reef test we realized we had to go further with stylization than we’d ever gone before. Of course we have talking fish, but we really needed the audience to know that this world, while believable, was also make-believe.”

 

The Whale

"Inside the whale it’s dark, and in a dark environment, the lighting requires extreme precision. There’s no obvious light source, so we had to create something. Whales have a baleen—a thick, broom-like substance around their lips—so we have the light seeping through there," explains Director of Photography for Lighting Sharon Calahan.

 

 

The Sunken Ship

The filmmakers wanted a chase scene involving Dory, Marlin, and great white shark Bruce. Many scenarios were being considered when a team field trip to a submarine docked at a San Francisco pier revealed that submarine floors are actually grates. With that simple fact in mind, the Pixar team envisioned a wild escape sequence set in the wreck of an old World War II era submarine sunk in the Great Barrier Reef.

 

Colorscript

A colorscript is a sequence of small pastel drawings or paintings used to emphasize color in each scene and establish a film's visual language.

For Finding Nemo, Production Designer Ralph Eggleston started with the vibrant palette of the underwater reef, among the most naturally colorful environments on Earth, then shifted to an increasingly minimalist and ominous palette as Marlin and Dory descend into the murky depths of the ocean on an increasingly perilous journey.

 
 

Credits 

 
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DIRECTED BY
Andrew Stanton

CO-DIRECTED BY
Lee Unkrich

PRODUCED BY
Graham Walters

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY
John Lasseter

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Jinko Gotoh

ORIGINAL STORY BY
Andrew Stanton

SCREENPLAY BY
Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds

MUSIC BY
Thomas Newman

STORY SUPERVISORS
Ronnie del Carmen, Dan Jeup, Jason Katz

FILM EDITOR
David Ian Salter

SUPERVISING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Oren Jacob

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Ralph Eggleston

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky

SUPERVISING ANIMATOR
Dylan Brown

CHARACTER ART DIRECTOR
Ricky Vega Nierva

SHADING ART DIRECTOR
Robin Cooper

ENVIRONMENT ART DIRECTOR
Anthony Christov, Randy Berrett

CHARACTERS CG SUPERVISOR
Brian Green

OCEAN UNIT CG SUPERVISORS
Lisa Forssell, Danielle Feinberg

REEF UNIT CG SUPERVISOR
David Eisenmann

TANK UNIT CG SUPERVISOR
Jesse Hollander

SHARKS/SYDNEY UNIT CG SUPERVISOR
Steve May

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY CG SUPERVISOR
Michael Fong

DIGITAL FINAL CG SUPERVISOR
Anthony Apodaca

SCHOOLING/FLOCKING CG SUPERVISOR
Michael Lorenzen

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Lindsey Collins

SOUND DESIGN
Gary Rydstrom

CASTING
Mary Hidalgo, Kevin Reher, Matthew Jon Beck
 

CAST
 

Marlin
Albert Brooks

Dory
Ellen DeGeneres

Nemo
Alexander Gould

Gill
Willem Dafoe

Bloat
Brad Garrett

Peach
Allison Janney

Gurgle
Austin Pendleton

Bubbles
Stephen Root

Deb (& Flo)
Vicki Lewis

Jacques
Joe Ranft

Nigel
Geoffrey Rush

Crush
Andrew Stanton

 Coral
Elizabeth Perkins

Squirt
Nicholas Bird

Mr. Ray
Bob Peterson

Bruce
Barry Humphries

Anchor
Eric Bana

Chum
Bruce Spence

Dentist
Bill Hunter

Darla
LuLu Ebeling

Tad
Jordy Ranft

Pearl
Erica Beck

Sheldon
Erik Per Sullivan

Fish School
John Ratzenberger 

 
 
 

Awards 

 
 
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AC Nielsen EDI
Winner of Gold Reel in Recognition of Extraordinary
Box Office Achievement Surpassing $100 Million
Andrew Stanton

Academy Awards
Winner for Best Animated Feature Film
Andrew Stanton

Nominated for Music (Original Screenplay)
Thomas Newman

Nominated for Writing (Original Screenplay)
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton,
Bob Peterson, David Reynolds;
Original Story by Andrew Stanton


Nominated for Sound Editing
Gary Rydstrom, Michael Silvers

Annie Awards
Winner for Outstanding Achievement
in an Animated Theatrical Feature

Winner for Outstanding Music
in an Animated Feature Production:
Thomas Newman

Winner for Outstanding Production Design in
an Animated Feature Production
Ralph Eggleston

Winner for Outstanding Voice Acting
in an Animated Feature Production
Ellen DeGeneres

Winner for Outstanding Writing
in an Animated Feature Production
Andrew Stanton,
Bob Peterson & David Reynolds


Winner for Outstanding Character Design
in an Animated Feature Production
Ricky Nierva

Winner for Outstanding
Character Animation
Doug Sweetland

Winner for Outstanding Effects Animation
Martin Nguyen

Winner for Outstanding Directing
in an Animated Feature Production
Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich

Nominated for Outstanding
Character Animation
David Devan

Nominated for Outstanding
Character Animation
Gini Santos

Nominated for Outstanding
Effects Animation
Justin Paul Ritte

The ConFurence Group
Winner of Ursa Major Award for Best
Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

Golden Globe Awards
Nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

The Human Society of the United States
Winner of Genesis Award for Outstanding Animated Feature Film
Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

International 3D Awards
Winner of Digital Hero Award for Best 3D
Animated Feature Film

Motion Picture Sound Editors
Winner of Golden Reel for Best Sound
Editing in Animated Features - Music:
Bill Bernstein

National Board of Review
Winner for Best Animated Feature
Andrew Stanton
Lee Unkrich
Graham Walters

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Winner for Favorite Movie

Winner for Favorite Voice from
an Animated Movie
Ellen DeGeneres

Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Pick of the Year 2003

ShoWest
Awarded Animation Director of the Year
Andrew Stanton

SPACE: The Imagination Station
Winner of Spacey Award for Best Animated Movie

Video Business DVD Exclusive Awards
Winner for Best Games and Interactive
Bill Kinder; David Jassen

Winner for Best Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and Bloopers:
Bill Kinder
Andrew Stanton
Roger Gould


Winner for Best Menu Design
Bill Kinder; David Jessen

Visual Effects Society
Winner for Outstanding Character Animation
in an Animated Motion Picture
Andrew Gordon
Brett Coderre