"Finding Nemo" - The Underwater Pixar Success that Captured the Hearts of Surface Moviegoers of All Ages and Became a Part of Pop Culture

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies. 

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

Now I'm entering a Pixar property for the first time. But hey, I was ought to do it sooner or later, since Pixar is a part of Disney after all!



Yes, pun intended, guys ;)

It should've been 
Ice Age and
weirdo's :)

The early 2000's was a crucial time for animation in general. CGI animation was taking over and making the audiences yearning for more of them and pushing hand drawn animation to the corner. While pencil animation had seen a brief success with Disney's 2002 hit Lilo & Stitch, it unfortunately couldn't really revive hand drawn animation alone. Since the following releases (from Disney and otherwise) never broke the Box Office. In fact, it's fascinating to look at the history of Full-Length animation and how quickly it changed in the course of a couple of years at both sides at the new Millenium. 

I'm the green goblin.
Sort of ;)

While Pixar were the ones who marked their field with the then-new animation form, other studios were making their mark with Shrek and Ice Age (both of them becoming very much milked franchises). And sure, all studios also made sure that mainstream, American Computer Animation were mostly made in a comedic mold. And while there's no denying that both Ice Age and Shrek had pathos and emotion (especially the first ones), they've been mostly labeled for their comedic elements.
Pixar's approach, however, is pretty much not as different as DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios. Yet they've been labeled for multilayered storytelling and having pathos and emotion being an integral part of them. While CGI animation has been seen as almost synonymous with pop culture since Shrek, Pixar allowed pop culture being prominent, but not overshadowing the story. When most studios turned to CGI, most movies were mostly made in a comedic mold, yet having comedy and pop culture being the most integral part.

Finding Nemo`s Success, Position and Awards

The actual stitch is
not a part of this
picture :)

With Finding Nemo, Pixar made another landmark in their history. First of all, it was their very first Summer release (due to how Disney occupied the Summer slot priorly and Pixar the Thanksgivings, the dates were switched. Making Lilo & Stitch Disney's very last summer release for their animated film, which Disney to this day haven't had any summer release ever since). 

Yes, this pic is photoshopped, 
otherwise the money would've
melted :)

Secondly, it was Pixar's Most Successful Animated Film at the time. While their previous outputs fared well at the Box Office, Nemo still outgrossed it's predecessors and also became a Landmark and a Phenomenon of it's own.
Nemo managed to outgross even Disney's most successful feature, The Lion King at the time (which producer Don Hahn congratulated Andrews and apparently said that "it was about time").
Nemo also won the newly added Best Animated Feature Award at the Academy's and was nominated for three other Awards, including best screenplay. Nemo has still, however, been a winner of several other Awards. 

We're conceited
because of the title :)

Nemo had a record-breaking opening, the biggest one for an animated movie at the time. It was also the best selling DVD and the highest grossing G-rated film at the time. However, there were a couple of naysayers suggesting that Nemo was going to be Pixar's first flop back then and even at the studio there were some insecurities about it, due to how some crew-members thought The Incredibles looked superior
(yes, this is comparable to The Lion King vs. Pocahontas situation. But of course not in that same league). Nemo was also dedicated to Glenn McQueen, a Pixar animator who died of melanoma the fall prior to it's release. And since we're mentioning Lion King, Timon's voice actor, Nathan Lane, has cited that Nemo is his favorite animated movie. 

Finding Nemo`s Pixar Trademarks, Innovations and Disney Comparisons

Don't get used to this,
Mini-Me :)

This is the only time parents
and child can goof together :)

It would be tempting to claim that Finding Nemo was a departure from Pixar at the time, but now that we think about it, in reality it wasn't. It was basically taking the typical Pixar-trope of presenting an alternative "what if" world of a specific object. In that case, Nemo was nothing different. 
Yet what made it actually specific that it was the first time a Pixar movie centered around a child protagonist. In reality, Nemo was Pixar's second film centered around an animalistic world (the first being of course A Bugs Life, which preceded Nemo five years priorly). Yet of course what made Nemo different was that it was about a child/parent, which made it instantly comparable to The Lion King (mostly due to that both films has a death scene, but both being executed differently).

Finding Nemo`s Appeal, Impact on Pop Culture and Behind the Scenes Information

We're the original L
ighthouse Family :)

Truth to be told, I felt that Finding Nemo truly deserved it's success at the time. Being then my favorite Pixar's film, even surpassing A Bugs Life, which I truly loved when I saw it initially (which coincidentally director Andrew Stanton began working on during the post production of the latter film, despite how the production began in 1999, yet the initial idea was planned in 1997). 
Unlike previous Pixar properties, the screenplay was complete before production, written entirely by Stanton himself. How some members handled the production was to often drive to Los Angeles and coming up with story ideas in the car, such as Nemo's ceremony (which was the first scene that was put into production). As well as the jellyfish ride (which happened to be the longest scene to produce and an own production system called transblurrency was made).

Ratcliffe from
Pocahontas 
 isn't the only one
who can say it ;)

Why Nemo has appealed towards a wide audience it's easy to see! It's cute, appealable and engaging! Yet the Pop Culture References has made the film memorable and having their own impact on Pop Culture (Mr. Ray's voice and co-writer Bob Peterson said he's never been on a beach without hearing people quoting the seagulls from this movie..Which were deliberately made to be greedy/just saying the word "mine", being voiced by Andrew Stanton). And whuke Nemo leaned on the dramatic side, it proved that Pixar could actually handle the naturalistic drama quite well. Still originally the film was intended to be less epic than it turned out to be. 

Yet the crew were jokingly asked if they were going to have sushi at the wrap party, producer Ralph Guggenheim claims that he gets a lot of pictures with sushi and Nemo! 

Several Pixar veterans worked on the movie, like Sound Designer Gary Rydstrom. Since Steve Jobs was a part of Pixar's foundation, he was certainly a big part of Nemo. Even rendering the film to HD was a more arduous challenge than usual, due to the complexity of the water. And it was the last film from Pixar to be featured in 1:85:1 before Up.

Finding Nemo`s Plot, Inspiration & More Behind the Scenes Information

Yes, they look harmless 
because they're pink :)

At least we're colorful and
beautiful, two reasons to stay :)

Otherwise, the plot in Finding Nemo may be not the most innovative, but it's still a well told story with a clear message. It's a parallel story of how Nemo (interestingly enough named after a certain Captain) learns to gain independence and his neurotic dad Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks, while originally voiced by William H. Macy) learns to let go of his worries, having fun and to let his son gain independence. Both of them have an equal character arc and growth. 
Since Pixar bases their stories of original ideas taken from their real lives (which they've been known for), it was director Andrew Stanton's baby, based on his own over-protection of his son (but also of his own childhood interest in his dentist aquarium and his own thoughts about the fishes yearning to go home). 

Even a fish can
spy like a hawk ;)

Stanton believed that the sea could be beautifully rendered in CGI, which was his main motivation to do the movie. But also because of a picture of a clownfish, despite that he didn't knew nothing about fishes. And the reasons for choosing clownfish was how Andrews received many catalogs about them, pictured with a parent and a child. But a catalyst for the story was how they don't leave their anemone's. And yes, the references to clownfishes` comedic names and not living up to it was a deliberate joke (which Albert Brooks' take on it were longer and Andrews didn't know that they were even called clownfishes).

I was just swimming randomly by.
 I was not being asked to make the in-joke
reference:)

The Pixar crew had to take diving lessons and wanted to dive at the Great Barrier Reef in order to brag about it during their press at Australia (co-director Lee Unkrich wanted to cut the sewage treatment plant-scene). The anemone was a challenge for the crew to work with, since they used a year before setting it right and succeeding by putting fur on it, whereas the sandy bottom is a frozen ocean surface (and the same production system that made hair in Monsters Inc was made for the anemone). 

Finally I could catch food...
after so many rehearsals :)

Andrews didn't want the fishes to be too humanized and having them move animalistically. The crew even took the fishes out of their bottles to look at them for research! They also looked at dogs for reference for the fishes. Yet despite mandatory ways of designing the fishes, they weren't as caricatured as expected! And the issue of Dory disappearing into the blue, due to her color, was also an issue! 
Originally the crew couldn't afford to splash shots, but they still had to do it quite a lot. A pre-screening in October 2002 was at the time the best pre-screening in Pixar history! While Stanton claims that the film didn't turn out as originally planned, it still came across the way he felt it should be.

The Harrowing Opening, Similarities to The Little Mermaid, Episodic Story-Structure & Dramatic Devices

At least Marlin is given a logical trauma in his backstory, which for a Pixar movie was surprisingly bleak, despite how it's handled in an off-screen way (and actually traumatized a lot of people. Both adults and kids, despite that Stanton himself never doubted the moment). Originally the prologue was executed in a more scattered way, with the backstory going to appear in flashbacks and a deleted narrating. However, one of the early drafts actually had Nemo interacting with his mother. 

We're distant relatives.
Sort of :)

As Lindsay Ellis (former Nostalgia Chick) said in her video of The Little Mermaid, Nemo basically has the same theme as Disney's hand drawn 1989 movie. Just executed mostly from the point of view of the father.
And yes, since it's after all Disney, the comparison to Mermaid is inescapable, because of it's setting (yet Nemo's also the second Disney film to take place in Australia. Which clips from the promotional campaign proved, still the decision to not have an all Aussie cast was to diversify the sea).

My adorability makes you 
forget a certain thing :)

Perhaps one remark about the story's execution is how it's presented in a episodic way. While it could be easy to ponder about it, at least it's not as episodic that it becomes outright scattered. But Nemo still manages to make it work (Nemo's shrunk fin was a conscious choice to stress Marlin's paranoia). And their reuniting by the very end was also a well-planned choice, by having the payoff being more satisfying (yet Nemo's line of hating his father was initially thrown out).

Cast & Characters

You don't need scary movies 
when you've got me :)

This is for you, Roxette :)

Of course it's impossible to not talk about the colorful cast of characters our heroes meet on their journey! Some of them just having one cameo (Crush the turtle, some of the fishes), while others being more prominent.
Of course the most crucial character is Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGenres, who was praised for her friendliness, even though Bob Peterson spilt his lunch on her shoes), the short-term memory loss-fish who Marlin reluctantly bonds with (which makes her a contrast, since the Sea is an awfully non-friendly place. With only a few creatures being eager to help Marlin, while the scene of the passing of Marlin's journey through several characters was written one late night). 

The casting of DeGenres was from the get-go and a inspired one, since Stanton thought she could "change the subject five times before finishing a sentence" (it's rumored that it's the first ever role written for her). She also nailed the dramatic sequences, as when Marlin decides to leave her (which was from one part cut from the movie).
And of course the purpose of Dory and Gil (Willem Dafoe, which his facial lines are transferred to Gil) is to make both Marlin and Nemo grow with them (yet Gil was originally going to be a liar and invent a story just to get sympathy). And yes folks, the climax where the fishes swims down the net was actually taken from a real-life incident in my homecountry, Norway.

The right part of me is Shrek.
Sort of :)

The cast is quite colorful and mostly engaging, which could certainly be said about Crush and his Turtle Squad (which Stanton originally voiced just temporarily, where his voice was so popular with test audiences that Stanton became his official voice. Which he recorded on a couch). Originally Crush was going to be different, being more like Dennis Hopper. And the wee turtles were designed to be colorful, like Hawaiian shirts (which is not coincidental, since according to the Audio Commentary, the turtle gang were going to Hawaii). There are about 200 turtles in that sequence (and apparently Crush says dude 21 times).  

I did it only for a second :)

Squirt's voice was provided by Brad Bird's son, Nicholas, declared by Stanton of being this generations Thumper (while the little kid was apparently eager for the money). And the scene where Marlin tells Nemo about meeting sea turtles was the last scene animated.

And let's forget the Sharks, with their leader Bruce (named after the one in Jaws and voiced by Australian Barry Humphries). Which were the creators favorite characters to work on (Anchor was voiced by Hulk's Eric Bana), yet they originally weren't supposed to be in the ending (and Bruce having 202 teeth in his mouth, each of them animated individually).

I'm the brunette version
of Braceface :)

Or the animals which Nemo first meets on his School (Sheldon the seahorse was played by Malcolm in the Middle's Dewey, um, no I meant, Erik Per Sullivan). Nemo's friends at the Aquarium gets their own screentime, while of course Nemo presents, in a politically correct way, the humans as the antagonists (which is also evident by little Darla. Named by producer Darla Anderson, which she loved, and was added late in the development). Will & Grace's Megan Mullally was originally cast, but eventually dismissed due to her not wanting to have her same high pitched voice for the character.

The Different Cues Between Finding Nemo and Previous Pixar Films

Of course Nemo was made in true Pixar mold by having the typical Pixar-designs for the characters, while having the settings be designed more realistically. And Nemo is a gorgeous looking film, having a vast variety of locations/settings (and probably the first time that blood was ever shown in a Pixar feature). 

Where Nemo at least differed, was by not having crucial song numbers (with the exception of the Ray, but at least his songs are not crucial). But at least it was a rare movie at the time to not have Randy Newman present as the composer. Instead we got his cousin, Thomas (probably not the biggest departure, but hey, at least it was some). 

The water takes
away my beauty :)

While it was rumored that John Lasseter considered Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer as the composers, both declined. The crew saw Thomas as important that he almost was perceived as a character in the movie (the part of the score that occurs when Dory and Marlin are trapped inside the whale was deliberately called Haiku, because being of five images, And speaking of,

At least I'm not
Mozart's whale ;)

the image of the whale in the trailer and the movie are different and that was deliberately a change from the directors). And yes, of course that scene has been compared to Pinocchio and the crew looked at a dead whale for reference.

Nemo was also the first Pixar film to not have outtakes, which was a deliberate choice due to not being repetive. It was also the first Pixar film to have a major star to do the end credit songs, Robbie Williams, by rendering Frank Sinatra's Beyond the Sea.

Pixar`s Fate After Finding Nemo, Placement, Reception, Controversy & Finding Dory

Who's the most
adorable of us? :)

Finding Nemo would eventually be outgrossed by Toy Story 3 seven years later. And Pixar would continue their impressive streak of films that won the audiences and critics alike (at least eight years from Nemo). While there have been a couple of reviewers who haven't been as mesmerized by Nemo as with Pixar's other properties, Nemo still has gained endless praise and is placed among Pixar's most beloved films. 

It was hard to
 find me, huh? :)

Still, Nemo hasn't been avoided of controversy, since it was sued for being plagiarism of Franck Le Calvez Pierrot the Clownfish, which he lost to. The movie also caused a hysteria for buying clownfishes at the time and having many owners ending up killing them (because of not knowing how handle them), yet it has caused a diminishing of the spieces. Yet several owners released their clownfishes to the ocean.
However, when Pixar's reputation changed and they went into sequel territory, Finding Nemo received a sequel with Finding Dory. Which was quite successful. While purists and naysayers were whining about Pixar's sequel policy, at least Dory made it's own impact and was a well made film (while that movie is about her family, Dory would originally refer to her grandma while seeing the light in the first movie. Which was taken out since people didn't laugh as much)

Epilogue

Overall, to summarize Finding Nemo itself, it's frankly good film that deserved it's success. It`s a very engaging and captivating film, with a well made score, engaging characters and splendid visuals. This entry was written to synergize Nemo's 15th Anniversary, so let's hope that it will continue to dazzle audiences through many years more!

And wish us good luck with that :)

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References:
Finding Nemo Collector's Edition DVD
Finding Nemo Collector's Edition Blu Ray
The Pixar Story  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finding_Nemo
http://www.threecommentears.com/2016/05/finding-nemo/
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=findingnemo.htm
http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=1
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2010/01/clownfish-anemone-symbiotic-relationship/
http://www.contactmusic.com/megan-mullally/news/megan-mullally-dropped-from-finding-nemo
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0530_030530_findingnemo.html 
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0530_030530_findingnemo_2.html
https://archive.is/20140613184015/http://voices.yahoo.com/profile-gini-santos-pixar-animator-brings-asian-4692281.html
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Bruce#cite_ref-1  
http://pixartimes.com/2010/12/24/remembering-glenn-mcqueen-1960-2002/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/24/books.film 
https://www.forbes.com/2004/03/12/cx_al_0312nemo.html#1a3787de27bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzNVkgAy-r0 
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/finding_nemo/ 
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2003&p=.htm 
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=pixar.htm 
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/movies/?id=findingnemo.htm 
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/46072-afi-crowns-top-10-films-in-10-classic-genres 
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-08/18/content_255968.htm
https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/03/1054406187273.html 
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/clownfish/  
http://www.oceans.com.au/nemo-controversy.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZtqUqGS8o 
The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom and Beyond 2011 Edition (Christopher Finch)  
Absolutt Underholdning 18. November 2003 (Absolute Entertainment).