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"Finding Nemo" has all of the usual pleasures of the Pixar animation style--the comedy and wackiness of " Toy Story " or "Monsters Inc." or " A Bug's Life ." And it adds an unexpected beauty, a use of color and form that makes it one of those rare movies where I wanted to sit in the front row and let the images wash out to the edges of my field of vision. The movie takes place almost entirely under the sea, in the world of colorful tropical fish--the flora and fauna of a shallow warm-water shelf not far from Australia. The use of color, form and movement make the film a delight even apart from its story.

There is a story, though, one of those Pixar inventions that involves kids on the action level while adults are amused because of the satire and human (or fishy) comedy. The movie involves the adventures of little Nemo, a clown fish born with an undersized fin and an oversized curiosity. His father, Marlin, worries obsessively over him, because Nemo is all he has left: Nemo's mother and all of her other eggs were lost to barracudas. When Nemo goes off on his first day of school, Marlin warns him to stay with the class and avoid the dangers of the drop-off to deep water, but Nemo forgets, and ends up as a captive in the salt-water aquarium of a dentist in Sydney. Marlin swims off bravely to find his missing boy, aided by Dory, a blue tang with enormous eyes who he meets along the way.

These characters are voiced by actors whose own personal mannerisms are well known to us; I recognized most of the voices, but even the unidentified ones carried buried associations from movie roles, and so somehow the fish take on qualities of human personalities. Marlin, for example, is played by Albert Brooks as an overprotective, neurotic worrywart, and Dory is Ellen DeGeneres as helpful, cheerful and scatterbrained (she has a problem with short-term memory). The Pixar computer animators, led by writer-director Andrew Stanton , create an undersea world that is just a shade murky, as it should be; we can't see as far or as sharply in sea water, and so threats materialize more quickly, and everything has a softness of focus. There is something dreamlike about the visuals of "Finding Nemo," something that evokes the reverie of scuba-diving.

The picture's great inspiration is to leave the sea by transporting Nemo to that big tank in the dentist's office. In it we meet other captives, including the Moorish Idol fish Gill (voice by Willem Dafoe ), who are planning an escape. Now it might seem to us that there is no possible way a fish can escape from an aquarium in an office and get out of the window and across the highway and into the sea, but there is no accounting for the ingenuity of these creatures, especially since they have help from a conspirator on the outside--a pelican with the voice of Geoffrey Rush .

It may occur to you that many pelicans make a living by eating fish, not rescuing them, but some of the characters in this movie have evolved admirably into vegetarians. As Marlin and Dory conduct their odyssey, for example, they encounter three carnivores who have formed a chapter of Fish-Eaters Anonymous, and chant slogans to remind them that they abstain from fin-based meals.

The first scenes in "Finding Nemo" are a little unsettling, as we realize the movie is going to be about fish, not people (or people-based characters like toys and monsters). But of course animation has long since learned to enlist all other species in the human race, and to care about fish quickly becomes as easy as caring about mice or ducks or Bambi.

When I review a movie like "Finding Nemo," I am aware that most members of its primary audience do not read reviews. Their parents do, and to them and adults who do not have children as an excuse, I can say that "Finding Nemo" is a pleasure for grown-ups. There are jokes we get that the kids don't, and the complexity of Albert Brooks' neuroses, and that enormous canvas filled with creatures that have some of the same hypnotic beauty as--well, fish in an aquarium. They may appreciate another novelty: This time the dad is the hero of the story, although in most animation it is almost always the mother.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Finding Nemo (2003)

101 minutes

Albert Brooks as Marlin

Ellen Degeneres as Dory

Alexander Gould as Nemo

Willem Dafoe as Gill

Geoffrey Rush as Pelican

Brad Garrett as Bloat

Barry Humphries as Bruce

Written and Directed by

• Andrew Stanton

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Finding nemo, common sense media reviewers.

Sweet father-son tale has some very scary moments.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Though not intended as an educational movie, kids

Diverse characters get along well, and a disabled

Nemo's dad is protective (sometimes overly), lovin

Scary creatures with lots of very sharp teeth, the

In the short film Knick Knack, which appears on so

Though there aren't any real brands used in the mo

The sharks attend a 12-step-type of meeting to get

Parents need to know that even though there are no traditional bad guys in Finding Nemo , there are still some very scary moments, including large creatures with zillions of sharp teeth, the apparent death of a major character, and many tense scenes with characters in peril. And at the very beginning of the…

Educational Value

Though not intended as an educational movie, kids will pick up facts about sea creatures and perhaps an interest in learning more about the ocean.

Positive Messages

Diverse characters get along well, and a disabled character is brave and capable. A father searches tirelessly for his son and learns a lesson in letting go and letting him grow up. Major themes include compassion, gratitude, perseverance, and courage.

Positive Role Models

Nemo's dad is protective (sometimes overly), loving, and determined when it comes to finding his son. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them. Nemo is brave (and sometimes defiant) and learns lessons about working together. He doesn't let his disability slow him down.

Violence & Scariness

Scary creatures with lots of very sharp teeth, the apparent death of a major character, and many tense scenes with characters in peril.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

In the short film Knick Knack , which appears on some DVDs, the female characters have exaggerated breasts.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Though there aren't any real brands used in the movie itself, this is part of the Disney-Pixar dynasty, with plenty of merchandise associated with the film.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The sharks attend a 12-step-type of meeting to get them to stop eating fish, but only adults will get the reference.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that even though there are no traditional bad guys in Finding Nemo , there are still some very scary moments, including large creatures with zillions of sharp teeth, the apparent death of a major character, and many tense scenes with characters in peril. And at the very beginning of the movie, Marlin's wife and all but one of their eggs are eaten by a predator -- a scene that could very well upset little kids. Expect a little potty humor amid the movie's messages of teamwork, determination, loyalty, and a father's never-ending love for his son. The issue of Nemo's stunted fin is handled exceptionally well -- matter-of-factly but frankly. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (129)
• Kids say (291)

Based on 129 parent reviews

wonderful for all age groups

there is "loss" in the beginning in the most gentle way for a child's movie

Best Pixar movie

I love to watch it

What's the Story?

In FINDING NEMO, clown fish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks ) is a fond but nervous dad -- understandably so, since a predator ate his wife and all but one of their eggs. When it's time for Marlin's surviving son, Nemo (Alexander Gould) -- who has an underdeveloped fin -- to start school, the little guy is excited, but Marlin is terrified. Marlin has done a good job of making Nemo feel confident and unselfconscious, but he's still overprotective, which makes Nemo anxious to prove that he can take care of himself. But Marlin's worst fears are realized when Nemo is captured by a deep-sea-diving dentist who collects fish for his aquarium. On a journey that will introduce him to extraordinary characters and teach him a great deal about the world and even more about himself, Marlin must go literally to the end of the ocean to find his son and bring him home. On the way he meets Dory ( Ellen DeGeneres ), a cheerful blue tang who has a problem with short-term memory loss. They search for Nemo together in the face of stinging jellyfish, exploding mines, and creatures with many, many, teeth. Meanwhile, Nemo makes some very good friends in the dentist's aquarium, including a tough tiger fish ( Willem Dafoe ) who helps him plan an escape. The 2012 DVD release includes the short film Knick Knack .

Is It Any Good?

Pixar may have the most advanced animation technology in the world, but they never forget that what matters most in a movie is story, characters, imagination, and heart. Finding Nemo has it all. Yes, it's a visual feast (the play of light on the water is breathtaking), but above all it's an epic journey filled with adventure and discovery that encompasses the grandest sweep of ocean vastness and the smallest longing of the heart. While preserving the characters' essential "fishy-ness," Pixar and the talented voice actors have also made them each wonderfully expressive.

While there are certainly some terrifying-looking creatures and scary moments in Finding Nemo -- including the off-screen death of Marlin's wife and future children -- there really are no bad guys here; the danger comes from a child's thoughtlessness and from natural perils. And there are no angry, jealous, greedy, or murderous villains as in most traditional Disney animated films. (One of the movie's best jokes is that even the toothy sharks are so friendly that, in an AA-style program, they keep reminding one another that "fish are friends, not food.") Another strength of the movie is the way it handles Nemo's disability. But best of all is the way it addresses questions that are at the heart of the parent-child relationship, giving everyone in the audience something to relate to and learn from.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how parents have to balance their wish to protect their children from being hurt (physically or emotionally) with the need to let them grow up and learn how to take care of themselves, like Marlin has to in Finding Nemo . Kids: How do your parents handle this?

Talk about Nemo's disability and about how everyone has different abilities. How do you know what your abilities are, and what do you do to make the most of them?

What parts of the movie were scary? Why? Did anything that you think was going to be scary turn out not to be so bad?

How do the characters in Finding Nemo demonstrate perseverance and courage ? What about compassion and gratitude ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 30, 2003
• On DVD or streaming : December 4, 2012
• Cast : Albert Brooks , Ellen DeGeneres , Willem Dafoe
• Directors : Andrew Stanton , Lee Unkrich
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Lesbian actors
• Studio : Pixar Animation Studios
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Adventures , Ocean Creatures
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Courage , Gratitude , Perseverance
• Run time : 101 minutes
• MPAA rating : G
• Award : Common Sense Media Award
• Last updated : January 31, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Finding Nemo Reviews

Outside of being one of the greatest animated films of its generation, it’s got a delightful sense of humor.

Full Review | Aug 4, 2023

Pixar's Finding Nemo elevated their already visionary and pioneering output to the thematic level of Hayao Miyazaki.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 14, 2022

Easily Pixar's most colorful and joyous movie.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Sep 18, 2021

Finding Nemo teaches the classic Pixar/Disney lessons about the importance of family, acceptance, kindness, and love, but it also an exciting tale of adventure, overcoming adversity, and teamwork.

Full Review | Apr 1, 2021

In its story, characters, and visuals, Finding Nemo reminds us of how remarkable- and poignant- a well made family film can be.

Full Review | Mar 11, 2021

The visuals are as sharp as the scripting, succeeding with laughs, thrills, heartache, and unforgettable characterizations to craft an animated masterpiece.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 29, 2020

Compared to other Pixar films, this may not be as good as the Toy Story franchise, but it's awfully close.

Full Review | Nov 16, 2019

A family film that is truly for the whole family - from grandpop to grandson. Finding Nemo is a precious gem in the Pixar and Disney vaults. Exquisitely stunning, enchanting and magical from start to finish.

Full Review | Nov 8, 2019

It's downright curmudgeonly to remain focused on the negatives when the rest of the picture is saturated with invention and wit.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 20, 2019

Pixar really knocked it out of the park on this one.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Apr 26, 2019

Most of all, Finding Nemo is a touching tale which reassures you that even though things may look bleak, it will all turn out well in the end.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 4, 2019

Finding Nemo offers as much in terms of thrills, frights, humour and psychological insight as it does in pure technical skill, proving that a movie can be art without being an "art" movie.

Full Review | Jan 11, 2018

This gem of a film is the one with which Pixar asserted their supremacy over the animated world.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 28, 2017

...a good-but-hardly-great animated endeavor from Pixar.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 30, 2016

Finding Nemo is ultimately a rewarding, engaging, compelling, and even spiritual adventure that works charismatically on multiple levels.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2015

It looks great, of course: All the Pixar movies do. But the genius of those other movies lay in their actual stories -- stories as inspired as the animation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 29, 2015

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 29, 2015

Visually, Finding Nemo is spectacular. The animators render theses scenes with exquisite detail and vibrant color, reaching beyond mere CGI-wizardry to artistry.

A beguiling piece of storytelling and creates a magical underwater world through its imaginative graphics and sound effects.

Artistically, it's up there with the all-time animated greats.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Finding Nemo

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. 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. 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.

• Andrew Stanton
• Lee Unkrich
• Bob Peterson
• David Reynolds
• Albert Brooks
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Alexander Gould
• 1K User reviews
• 146 Critic reviews
• 90 Metascore
• 49 wins & 63 nominations total

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Andrew Stanton pitched his idea and story to Pixar head John Lasseter in an hour-long session, using elaborate visual aids and character voices. At the end of it, an exhausted Stanton asked Lasseter what he thought, to which Lasseter replied, "You had me at 'fish.'"
• Goofs Marlin and Dory are advised to swim to the back of the whale's throat and to be blown out of the whale's blowhole. This is not physically possible as whales' mouths and digestive systems are not connected to their respiratory system and blowhole.

Dory : I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy. Come on, Squishy. Come on, little Squishy.

[baby talk, the jellyfish stings her]

Dory : Ow. Bad Squishy, bad Squishy.

• Crazy credits Vicki Lewis is credited as "Deb (and Flo)" which refers to the gag in the film where Deb thinks the reflection in the glass is her twin sister.
• Alternate versions In the 3D re-release the old Disney logo is replaced with the new Disney logo and the Pixar logo that was used in the 3D version of Up (2009) . These changes were also made in the 3D Blu-ray release (The regular Pixar logo is used in the 2012 DVD & 2D Blu-ray version).
• Connections Edited into The Paul Behragam Talk Show: "Balto 3" R&T Part 6 (2015)
• Soundtracks The Girl from Ipanema Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim , Vinicius de Moraes , and Norman Gimbel

User reviews 1K

• Jun 14, 2020
• Is "Finding Nemo" based on a book?
• What happened to Marlin's family?
• Why do the Lobsters have a New England accent?
• May 30, 2003 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official site
• Finding Nemo 3D
• Pixar Animation Studios - 1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, California, USA
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Walt Disney Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $94,000,000 (estimated)
• $380,843,261
• $70,251,710
• Jun 1, 2003
• $941,637,960

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 40 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Digital EX

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• Buena Vista Pictures

Summary This visually stunning underwater adventure follows the comedic and eventful journeys of two fish - a father and his son Nemo - who become separated in the Great Barrier Reef. [Disney/Pixar]

Directed By : Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

Written By : Bob Peterson, David Reynolds, Andrew Stanton

Where to Watch

Albert Brooks

Ellen DeGeneres

Alexander Gould

Willem Dafoe

Brad Garrett

Allison Janney

Austin Pendleton

Stephen Root

Vicki Lewis

Geoffrey Rush

Andrew Stanton

Elizabeth Perkins

Nicholas bird.

Bob Peterson

Barry humphries.

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Bill Hunter

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Finding Nemo

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Review of Finding Nemo

Just go see it..

Finding Nemo is a classic.

Produced by Pixar Animation Studios (the Toy Story adventures, A Bug's Life , Monsters, Inc. ), Nemo capitalizes on everything that has been learned by the company over the years, and manages to break new territory while doing so. Dazzlingly rendered in vivid resolution and vibrant color, Nemo is a surreal dream come to life – like a beloved storybook endowed with aural substance and kinetic vitality. It is dreamy, elegant, affecting, exciting, and utterly devoid of emotional or artistic pretence. It is clearly the result of a confident vision, from filmmakers who believed the story they were telling was worth telling without unnecessary detail or convoluted trappings. It feels natural. Thus, as completely artificial as every construct on screen may be, the characters and their emotional journeys feel...well...real.

The concept is simple: Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) is a widowed father to a little fish named Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould), who has a gimpy fin. Fearing that "something could happen" to diminutive Nemo, Marlin has sheltered and isolated his son in an order to protect him from the big, bad, unpredictable world. In an act of exploratory defiance and desperate self-empowerment, Nemo challenges his father's conservative restraints and sets off on his own – resulting in his capture by divers, and his subsequent imprisonment in a dentist office's decorative fish tank. The skittish Marlin immediately sets-off to find him, and will stop at nothing until he is successful.

Ingeniously voiced by Albert Brooks (Marlin, a chubby oaf turned hell-on-wheels), Ellen DeGeneres (Dory – a dingbat she-fish with short term memory loss & haunting cosmic insight), Alexander Gould (Nemo), Willem Dafoe (Gill – a wise old fish determined not to let Nemo languish in captivity), and Andrew Stanton (the director/writer of this film, who also voices a Bill & Ted -esque turtle named Crush), Finding Nemo is not without its faults. The big "payoff" for the film's narrative arc doesn't quite hit as hard as it should: it works intellectually, but feels too cursory for a sequence of such great import. And, there's a sense that director Stanton & company have relied on too many "chase scenes" to jeopardize our intrepid explorers. These sequences are brilliantly realized and cleverly conceived, but too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing.

But the overall achievement is what counts in evaluating any movie, and Finding Nemo is ultimately a rewarding, engaging, compelling, and even spiritual adventure that works charismatically on multiple levels. Many recent endeavors have used ultra-powered Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) to broaden their canvas of storytelling, usually to cold, lackluster, and uninspired results. Nemo powerfully illustrates the conceit that...at the end of the day...the human equation is still what prevails in filmmaking. And, that all the meticulously rendered razzle-dazzle in the universe doesn't mean anything unless it's driven by a truthful human spirit.

If a bunch of fish can figure out what truly matters in the endgame, why can't we?

4.5 out of 5 Stars, 9/10 Score

In This Article

Review of <I>Finding Nemo</I>

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Finding Nemo Review

01 Jan 2003

104 minutes

Finding Nemo

No doubt there is a scientific explanation for why human eyes are always drawn to a tank full of tropical fish. Whatever the fascination is, the Pixar boys have it rumbled - so entrancing is the composition of this animated fishy tale.

On paper, a story about fish doesn't sound as engaging as a yarn about cuddlier critters or the secret life of toys. But, of course, the eye-catching marine life in Finding Nemo is more human than piscine. Marlin is a red-and-white clownfish at pains to correct the misconception that his species is funny. He can't tell a joke to save his life and has been a bundle of nerves since his mate and her eggs were eaten. The sole survivor was Nemo, who, in a differently-abled touch, has an under-developed fin and has been kept sheltered in the anemone they call home. Rebellious, he wanders off perillously close to a fishing boat, is caught, and gets plopped into a Sydney dentist's waiting-room aquarium, where senior prisoner Gill is plotting a great escape with the kind of ingenuity and daring immortalised in the more upbeat prisoner-of-war movies.

Anthropomorphism runs (or is that swims?) riot on Marlin's quest. One of the characters, somehow, fortuitously reads English. A toothsome trio of sharks (led vocally by Barry Humphries) have formed a Fish-Eaters Anonymous chapter which meets in a wrecked submarine to forswear cannibalism (pity we aren't told what the alternative nourishment is). And reports of the devoted father's courageous journey spread through the ocean and above it until a multiplicity of genuses are rooting him on. This passes the point of absurdity when Marlin hitches a lift to Australia with thrill-seeking stoner turtles who talk like Bill and Ted.

Yet it's all beautifully composed and consistently charming, as Disney's bacon-saving association with the inventive Pixar studio strikes gold again in a perfectly family-oriented pitch of adventure, humour and thinly-veiled life lessons for the sprats.

The voice cast is highly recognisable and the scripted characterisations capitalise on actors' familiar mannerisms - particularly Brooks' perennially neurotic, pessimistic schtick wrapped up in the anxious Marlin; DeGeneres' perky, goofy Dory (who wittily suffers from short-term memory loss and regularly has to be reminded of the story so far); Dafoe's sinister gravitas in the battered, grimly determined Gill; and Rush's uninhibited pizzazz for Nigel the pelican.

Grown-ups may experience some restlessness as sentimentality seeps in. But there are nods to adults in fun homages to Psycho, Pinocchio and The Terminator (the pelican getting the immortal line, "Hop inside my mouth if you want to live"), in almost subliminal leg-pulls (a moored boat named The Surly Mermaid), and in a postscript visual gag that makes sitting through the end credits essential. The style is a triumph in the use of colour, movement and effects - notably in the detailed schools of fishes, the emergence of figures from the blurry depths and a 'swirling vortex of terror' sequence.

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