FINDING NEMO

Year: 2003 (2012 - 3D version)
USA: Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios
UK: Buena Vista International UK
Cast (voices of): Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Barry Humphries, Brad Garrett, Austin Pendleton, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Joe Ranft, John Ratzenberger, Andrew Stanton, Elizabeth Perkins, Nicholas Bird, Jordy Ranft, Erica Beck, Erik Per Sullivan
Director: Andrew Stanton,
Country: USA
USA: 101 mins
UK: 104 mins
USA Rated: G for general audiences
UK Certificate: U contains mild peril
USA Release Date: 14 September 2012 (3D version)
USA Release Date: 30 May 2003
UK Release Date: 29 March 2013 (3D version)
UK Release Date: 10 October 2003
UK Release Date: 3 October 2003 (Limited Release - London)



Synopsis

Life along the Great Barrier Reef is full of dangers when you're a tiny clown fish. And for Marlin, a single parent determined to protect his only son, Nemo, there are constant fears and anxieties. When it comes time for Nemo to leave the protective shelter of his sea anemone home for the first day of school, Marlin nervously accompanies him and agonizes over his every move. When Nemo defies his father and swims beyond the reef's awesome "drop off" to investigate a boat, he is suddenly scooped up by a diver as Marlin helplessly watches.

Marlin's sinking feeling turns to desperate action as he frantically swims off in search of his son. As he passes a school of fish, he literally bumps into Dory, an agreeable blue tang who offers to help. The only problem is that Dory has severe short-term memory loss and forgets things as quickly as they happen. Together, this aquatic odd couple set out on an impossible mission.

Meanwhile, in a dentist's office overlooking Sydney Harbor, Nemo has landed in a fish tank that is home to a colorful group of characters. The leader is a tough moorish idol named Gill, who also came from the ocean and dreams of one day returning. The other tank-mates include: a starfish named Peach; a temperamental blowfish named Bloat; Bubbles, a bubble-obsessed yellow tang; a germophobic royal gramma named Gurgle; a compulsive cleaner shrimp named Jacques; and Deb, a black and white humbug damsel fish who believes that the reflection in the tank glass is her identical twin sister, Flo. When Nemo is officially initiated into the gang, he rekindles Gill's dormant desire to escape.

Marlin and Dory soon find themselves in troubled waters contending with such hazards as a trio of sharks (embarked on a self-help program to improve their image from mindless eating machines); a mesmerizing-but-deadly angler fish; and a tangled forest of jellyfish. The duo also have a close encounter with a blue whale, surf the East Australian Current (EAC) with a herd of hip sea turtles, and fend off an attack by ravenous seagulls, as they make their way to Sydney Harbor. Their adventures become the stuff of legends, and soon fish and fowl alike are buzzing about this extraordinary pair. Word of this heroic clown fish travelling the ocean in search of his son even reaches Nemo back in his tank.

Nemo is surprised and thrilled when he learns of his father's search for him. With Gill's encouragement and motivated by a strong desire to return to his father, Nemo moves forward with a daring escape plan. But time is running out; the dentist's rambunctious niece Darla (a destructive dynamo who has been known to shake her pet fish until they go belly up) is set to pick up Nemo the next day.

Arriving at Sydney Harbor, Marlin and Dory get a major assist from Nigel, a friendly pelican who has also heard the amazing stories of this brave clown fish searching for his son. With the clock furiously ticking and numerous forces at play, the father and son remain oceans apart in their efforts to reunite.

Written and directed by Oscar® nominee Andrew Stanton, who co-directed the 1998 Disney/Pixar hit A BUG'S LIFE and is credited as co-screenwriter on all four of the previous Disney/Pixar features, FINDING NEMO sets a new "high water mark" for the art and technology of computer animation with its incredible underwater world populated with memorable characters. John Lasseter (Pixar's executive vice president, creative) serves as executive producer.