180 Fun Facts About Finding Nemo

What kind of fish is Marlin, Nemo's overprotective father?

Real clownfish live inside stinging sea anemones, protected by a mucus coating that stops the anemone's barbs from firing.

Which comedian voices Dory, the forgetful fish who helps Marlin?

The director cast her after seeing an episode of her talk show in which she changed subjects five times before finishing a sentence.

What condition does Dory famously suffer from?

Despite forgetting things constantly, Dory can read human writing, a skill that turns out to be crucial for finding the dentist's address.

In which Australian city is the dentist's office where Nemo ends up?

Dory reads the full street address off the diver's mask by the light of an anglerfish's lure.

What is the address Dory keeps repeating from the diver's mask?

Dory reads the address by the light of an anglerfish's lure moments before Marlin traps the predator with the mask.

What predator kills Coral and all but one of the eggs in the film's opening?

Stanton originally planned to reveal Coral's death through flashbacks, then decided the audience needed to see it up front so Marlin's anxiety would make sense.

Which studio produced Finding Nemo?

It was Pixar's fifth feature and the first the studio released in summer rather than November.

Who directed Finding Nemo?

Stanton also voices Crush the sea turtle, and went on to direct WALL-E and Finding Dory.

In what year was Finding Nemo released in theaters?

It opened on May 30 alongside The Italian Job and Wrong Turn, and outgrossed both many times over.

Which shark leads the 'Fish are friends, not food' support group?

The name is a nod to the animatronic shark from a famous 1975 thriller, itself nicknamed after Steven Spielberg's lawyer.

The great white shark's name is a reference to the mechanical shark used in which film?

The film is full of borrowed cues: 'Here's Johnny!' from The Shining gets a shark makeover, and Bernard Herrmann's Psycho theme plays whenever the dentist's niece appears.

Who voices Marlin?

Another actor had already recorded most of the dialogue before Stanton recast the part, a decision the director said 'saved' the film.

Which actor originally recorded most of Marlin's dialogue before being replaced?

Brooks embraced the idea of a clownfish who isn't funny and recorded outtakes of deliberately terrible jokes.

Which Oscar-nominated actor voices Gill, the scarred leader of the Tank Gang?

Gill's species is notoriously hard to keep alive in home aquariums, which suits his constant scheming to get out.

What species of fish is Gill?

Real Moorish idols eat mostly sponges, which is one reason they do so poorly in captivity.

Which Australian actor voices Nigel the pelican?

The film leans on Australian talent throughout: Barry Humphries and Eric Bana voice two of the three sharks.

Which member of the Tank Gang is a pufferfish?

Bloat is voiced by Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond and presides over the tank's 'ring of fire' initiation.

What is Jacques, the tidy French-accented member of the Tank Gang?

He was voiced by Pixar story artist Joe Ranft; in Finding Dory's post-credits scene he is the only Tank Gang member not covered in algae.

What is Peach, the Tank Gang member who watches the dentist through the glass?

Peach is voiced by Allison Janney, who was starring in The West Wing when the film came out.

What is the name of the dentist's niece, feared by every fish in the tank?

Her arrival is scored with the shrieking violins from Psycho, a joke that flies over most kids' heads.

What is Gill's plan for getting the fish out of the dentist's office?

The plan is foiled when the dentist installs a self-cleaning filter while the fish sleep.

What is the mock volcano at the centre of the tank called during Nemo's initiation?

The initiation sequence was dreamed up by Stanton and Bob Peterson during a car ride to a recording session.

What nickname does the Tank Gang give Nemo?

The name comes from the pufferfish's chant at the initiation: 'Shark bait, hoo ha ha!'.

Marlin, Dory and the sea turtles ride which ocean highway toward the dentist's city?

Nigel's second-hand retelling of Marlin's journey has him 'riding with a bunch of sea turtles' on it, which is how Nemo learns his father is coming.

How old does Crush the sea turtle say he is?

Marlin later gets furious that a schoolmate named Sandy Plankton told Nemo sea turtles live to 100, insisting 'He was 150! Not 100!'.

Who provides the voice of Crush?

The director voiced the laid-back turtle himself, and Crush later got his own Disney park attractions, Turtle Talk with Crush and Crush's Coaster.

What is the name of Crush's son?

Squirt was voiced by Nicholas Bird, son of Pixar director Brad Bird.

What kind of animal swallows Marlin and Dory near the end of their journey?

Dory insists she can 'speak whale', and it turns out she can: the whale is telling them to let go so it can blow them out its blowhole.

What single word do the harbour seagulls shout?

The animators modelled the seagulls on Feathers McGraw, the silent penguin villain from Wallace & Gromit's The Wrong Trousers.

What does the school of moonfish do for Marlin and Dory?

The moonfish, voiced by Pixar regular John Ratzenberger, form shapes to mock Marlin before Dory sweet-talks them into helping.

What does Dory name the baby jellyfish she tries to befriend?

'I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine' ends with a sting and the two fish racing through a jellyfish forest.

How does Nemo finally get out of the dentist's office?

Nemo first plays dead so he will be flushed rather than handed to the dentist's niece, a bluff that convinces Marlin he really has lost his son.

In the climax, what do Nemo and Marlin tell the netted fish to do to escape the trawler?

The scene mirrors the film's theme: Marlin finally lets Nemo take a risk, and it works.

How much money did Finding Nemo gross worldwide in its original theatrical run?

That made it the highest-grossing animated film ever at the time, ahead of The Lion King, and the second-biggest film of its year behind The Return of the King.

Finding Nemo was the first Pixar film to win which Academy Award?

The Best Animated Feature category had only existed for two years; Pixar's Monsters, Inc. had lost the inaugural award to Shrek.

Which record does Finding Nemo hold in home video?

It sold more than 8 million copies on its first day of release, breaking Spider-Man's single-day record.

Who composed the score for Finding Nemo?

It was the first Pixar feature not scored by Randy Newman; the job went to his cousin Thomas, who returned for Finding Dory.

Which singer covers 'Beyond the Sea' over the film's end credits?

For a 2016 Indigenous-language dub, the song was re-recorded by Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.

Which real place did the film's director say inspired the whole idea for the film?

Stanton assumed as a kid that the dentist's fish had come from the ocean and wanted to go home, which became the Tank Gang's whole storyline.

Which Will & Grace actress was dropped from Finding Nemo for refusing to use her character's voice?

Producers were reportedly stunned that Karen Walker's squeaky voice was not her natural speaking voice.

A French author sued Disney claiming Finding Nemo copied his children's book about which character?

The judge ruled against him, citing the colour differences between Pierrot and Nemo.

The film is dedicated to Glenn McQueen, who was what at Pixar?

McQueen died of melanoma in October 2002; a Cars character, Lightning McQueen, was later named in his honour.

In 2016, Finding Nemo became only the second film dubbed into which Indigenous American language?

Star Wars had been the first; auditions were held on the reservation, and finding a young native speaker to play Nemo proved difficult.

Which Toy Story 2 co-director called starting production with a finished screenplay 'very unusual for an animated film'?

The script was written during post-production on A Bug's Life, so the film began with a complete screenplay, a rarity at Pixar.

In real life, what happens to a breeding male anemonefish when the group's dominant breeder dies?

Biologists love pointing out that a scientifically accurate Marlin would have become Nemo's mother.

Marlin and Nemo's home, on the edge of the 'drop-off', is a real place. What is it?

It is the world's largest coral reef system, over 2,300 km long, and can be seen from space.

Dory's voice actress won which honour, only the second time it went to a voice performance?

Robin Williams had been the first, for the Genie in Aladdin.

In Finding Dory, what is unusual about Hank the octopus?

Voiced by Ed O'Neill, Hank is dubbed a 'septopus' and wants nothing more than a quiet tank in Cleveland.

Which actors voice Dory's parents, Jenny and Charlie, in Finding Dory?

They spent years laying trails of shells from their home so their daughter could find her way back.

Where does Dory believe her parents live in Finding Dory?

The fictional Marine Life Institute was modelled on research trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Marine Mammal Center and the Vancouver Aquarium.

Roughly how much did Finding Dory gross worldwide?

Its $135 million domestic opening was the biggest ever for an animated film at the time, almost double Finding Nemo's debut.

Why was Nemo recast for Finding Dory?

Hayden Rolence took over, while Gould, then an adult, voiced a minor character in the sequel.

Which actress voices herself as the recorded voice of the Marine Life Institute in Finding Dory?

Her disembodied announcements become a running joke, with Dory following 'the voice of Sigourney Weaver' to safety.

Which patient is in the chair when Nigel crashes into the dentist's window?

The startled dentist yanks out a tooth by accident and quips that at least he pulled the right one.

What is the name of the new self-cleaning filter that ruins the Tank Gang's escape plan?

Peach reads the manual aloud from the outside of the box: it scans the tank every five minutes.

Which of Nemo's classmates announces 'I'm H2O-intolerant' before sneezing?

Sheldon is a seahorse; his classmates Tad and Pearl are a butterflyfish and a flapjack octopus.

Where did Disney open the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride in 2007?

The same year, Animal Kingdom got Finding Nemo - The Musical and Epcot got The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

How many Academy Award nominations did Finding Nemo receive in total?

It won one of the four; the other nominations were for Original Screenplay, Original Score and Sound Editing.

Who co-wrote Finding Nemo with Andrew Stanton?

Peterson also voices Mr. Ray, the school teacher.

What physical trait of Nemo does Marlin warn the teacher about?

Nemo calls it his 'lucky fin'.

What is the 'drop-off' that Nemo's class visits?

Nemo swims out to a speedboat there to prove his independence.

What sets Bruce off on his rampage at the shark meeting?

His frenzy detonates old naval mines.

What is the name of the dentist whose office Nemo lands in?

His address on the mask is 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.

Which Tank Gang member is a striped damselfish?

Deb thinks her reflection is her sister, Flo.

What species is Gurgle, the germ-fearing member of the Tank Gang?

Bubbles, obsessed with the treasure chest's bubbles, is the yellow tang.

How do Marlin and Dory read the address after losing the mask in an abyss?

Marlin traps the anglerfish with the mask afterwards.

What knocks Marlin and Dory unconscious before they wake up with the turtles?

They had become trapped in a forest of jellyfish.

How does news of Marlin's journey reach Nemo in the tank?

Inspired, Nemo successfully clogs the filter.

How does the whale get Marlin and Dory to Sydney Harbour?

Dory had urged Marlin to trust the whale.

What is Nemo doing when Marlin finally sees him through the dentist's window?

Marlin leaves believing his son is really dead.

Along with Dory, what kind of fish does the trawler net at the end?

Nemo leads them all to swim down and break the net.

What does Marlin tell Nemo as he drops him off at school at the end?

Dory arrives at the school shortly afterwards.

A 1992 family trip to which attraction convinced Stanton the undersea setting could be animated beautifully?

He was struck by the shark tube and other exhibits.

The idea for Marlin and Nemo came from a photograph of two clownfish doing what?

Stanton loved that they seemed to want to play peekaboo.

Stanton began writing Finding Nemo during post-production on which Pixar film?

Pre-production began in early 1997.

What did the Pixar artists do to study the coral reef?

They also had in-house lectures from an ichthyologist.

Stanton originally planned to reveal Coral's death how?

He realised there would be nothing left to reveal by the end, so he showed it at the start.

In a deleted scene, Gill claims to be from a place called what?

Nemo catches the lie when a patient reads a storybook with the same details.

What kind of outtakes did Albert Brooks record as Marlin?

Brooks liked the idea of a clownfish who is not funny.

Where did the idea for the tank initiation sequence come from?

Stanton and Bob Peterson were driving to record the actors.

Dory was originally envisioned as what?

Watching Ellen change subject five times in one sentence changed Stanton's mind.

What is the name of the pelican who swallows and chokes on Marlin and Dory?

He was originally written as Nigel's scruffy friend.

Where did Stanton record all of Crush's dialogue?

His story-reel voice was so popular in test screenings that they kept it.

Squirt was voiced by the young son of which Pixar director?

Stanton called the voice 'this generation's Thumper'.

Who animated Dory at Pixar, blending fish and human movement?

Ralph Eggleston's pastel drawings guided the lighting crew.

Bruce the shark's name honours Bruce Ramer, who was whose lawyer?

The Jaws animatronic shark was nicknamed after him.

Bruce's line 'Here's Brucey!' references a famous line from which film?

Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance says 'Here's Johnny!'

Darla's theme music is Bernard Herrmann's score from which Hitchcock film?

It plays whenever the fish-killing niece appears.

The seagulls were modelled on Feathers McGraw from which short film?

He is the silent penguin villain of the 1993 Wallace & Gromit film.

Which singer performed 'Beyond the Sea' for the Navajo dub of Finding Nemo?

He is the lead singer of Fall Out Boy.

Finding Nemo was the first Pixar film not scored by whom?

His cousin Thomas Newman took over.

The first Finding Nemo teaser was attached to which 2002 Disney film?

Later trailers ran before Treasure Planet and The Jungle Book 2.

Which fast-food chain sold eight Finding Nemo Happy Meal toys?

Kellogg's also made a Nemo cereal with fish-shaped marshmallows.

What Nemo-themed Pop-Tarts flavour did Kellogg's launch?

They had wild berry filling and fish sprinkles.

Why did Kellogg's recall Frosted Flakes boxes in May 2003?

Hasbro sued to protect its trademark.

Finding Nemo was Pixar's first film released in which season?

Its four predecessors had all opened in November.

Finding Nemo opened in US theatres on May 30, 2003, alongside which heist film?

Wrong Turn opened the same weekend.

Which short film played with Finding Nemo in theatres?

It was included as a bonus on the DVD too.

How many DVDs did Finding Nemo sell on its first day of release?

It broke Spider-Man's single-day record.

Roughly how many DVD copies of Finding Nemo have been sold in total?

That makes it the best-selling DVD of all time.

On what date was Finding Nemo released on Blu-ray 3D?

It came in 3-disc and 5-disc sets.

Finding Nemo was the second-highest-grossing film of 2003 behind which movie?

It did beat The Matrix Reloaded to be the top film of summer 2003.

How much did Finding Nemo earn on its US opening weekend?

It dethroned Bruce Almighty and The Italian Job.

Which film took Finding Nemo's record for the biggest animated opening weekend a year later?

Nemo had taken it from Monsters, Inc.

Which film overtook Finding Nemo in its fourth weekend at the US box office?

Nemo had already dropped to second behind 2 Fast 2 Furious in weekend two.

Which animated film did Finding Nemo pass to become the top animated earner in North America?

Shrek 2 and Toy Story 3 later passed it in North America.

Which was Finding Nemo's highest-grossing market after North America?

It earned ¥11.2 billion there.

Which film later beat Finding Nemo as the top foreign animated film in Japan?

Frozen took ¥25.5 billion.

Finding Nemo held the international animated gross record until which 2009 film?

Outside North America it remains the fifth highest-grossing animated film.

Which film surpassed Finding Nemo as the highest-grossing Disney film after three years?

Nemo was the fourth animated film to make $500 million worldwide.

Finding Nemo's 3D re-release opened at number two behind which film?

The 3D conversion cost under $5 million.

What was Finding Nemo's cumulative worldwide gross after the 3D re-release?

The re-release added $69.3 million.

What Rotten Tomatoes approval rating did Finding Nemo hold in 2025?

Metacritic scored it 90 out of 100.

What CinemaScore grade did audiences give Finding Nemo?

It was the third Pixar film to earn the rare top grade.

Finding Nemo defeated The Triplets of Belleville and which Disney film for the animation Oscar?

It was the first Pixar film to win Best Animated Feature.

Which film beat Finding Nemo for the Original Screenplay Oscar?

It also lost Sound Editing to Master and Commander.

Where did Finding Nemo rank on the AFI's 2008 top ten animated films list?

It was the newest film on any of the AFI's ten genre lists.

The surge in clownfish purchases after the film was nicknamed what?

A 2017 James Cook University study found little evidence for it.

Which Australian state used Finding Nemo to promote itself to tourists?

Its Great Barrier Reef is Marlin and Nemo's home.

Which studio developed the console versions of the 2003 Finding Nemo video game?

It was the last Pixar game the studio made.

Where did Turtle Talk with Crush first open in 2004?

It reached Disney California Adventure in 2005.

At which park did Crush's Coaster open in 2007?

The Musical opened at Animal Kingdom the same year.

Who wrote the songs for Finding Nemo – The Musical?

The couple later wrote the songs for Frozen and Coco.

What is the revamped 2022 version of the Animal Kingdom stage show called?

The original 40-minute musical closed in March 2020.

The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage re-themed a Disneyland ride that ran from 1959 to when?

The original was loosely based on the nuclear sub USS Nautilus.

The original Disneyland Submarine Voyage was loosely based on which real submarine?

That sub reached the North Pole in 1958.

What was Epcot's Nemo pavilion called before its 2006 re-theme?

It holds 5.7 million US gallons of water.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends ranks where among US aquariums by tank volume?

It is the ninth-largest in the world.

Nemo & Friends SeaRider at Tokyo DisneySea replaced which earlier ride?

It opened on May 12, 2017.

Which studio made the Game Boy Advance version of the 2003 Finding Nemo game?

All versions were published by THQ.

Which studio was Disney's planned Finding Nemo sequel assigned to in 2005, without Pixar?

The 2006 purchase of Pixar shut it down before it made a film.

The unmade Circle Seven script introduced Nemo's long-lost twin brother named what?

Marlin was to be caught and need rescuing.

Who co-wrote Finding Dory with Andrew Stanton?

She called Dory's forgetfulness the hardest thing to write around.

Which flow do the trio ride, with Crush's help, in Finding Dory?

Crush helps them once again.

What creature does Dory awaken in a sunken container ship?

It nearly devours Nemo.

Dory's tag marks her for transfer to an aquarium in which city?

Hank wants the tag so he can go there instead of the ocean.

What kind of animal is Bailey in Finding Dory?

Destiny, Dory's childhood friend, is a nearsighted whale shark.

How was young Dory separated from her parents?

She ended up swept out into the ocean.

What is the name of the common loon who helps Marlin and Nemo in Finding Dory?

A pair of sea lions also lend a hand.

What did Dory's parents lay down for years to guide her home?

Dory follows a trail to a tire where they are waiting.

How does Finding Dory's climactic hijacking end?

All the fish aboard are freed.

Which three real facilities inspired the fictional institute in Finding Dory?

Pixar staff made research trips to each.

Which 2013 documentary led Pixar to revise Finding Dory's ending?

Characters originally ended up in a SeaWorld-like marine park.

Who co-directed Finding Dory with Andrew Stanton?

He later made his solo debut with Lightyear.

Which Pixar rendering software was re-engineered for Finding Dory's lighting?

It was the biggest change to the software in 25 years.

Which film took Finding Dory's original November 2015 release slot?

Dory moved to June 17, 2016.

Which short film accompanied Finding Dory in theatres?

Home releases also included Marine Life Interviews.

What was Finding Dory's record-setting US opening weekend gross?

That was 93.8% above Finding Nemo's debut.

Finding Dory became the first animated film ever to cross what US box office mark?

It also passed Shrek 2 as the top animated film in North America.

What Rotten Tomatoes rating did Finding Dory hold in 2025?

Metacritic gave it 77 out of 100.

Which sitcom made Hank's voice actor Ed O'Neill famous as Al Bundy?

He later played Jay Pritchett on Modern Family.

Which sea creature did Idris Elba voice in Finding Dory?

The same year he voiced Shere Khan and Chief Bogo.

Which Pixar writer-director voices Mr. Ray, Nemo's teacher?

He also voiced Roz in Monsters, Inc. and Dug in Up.

Which Australian actor, the gyrocopter pilot in Mad Max 2, voiced Chum the shark?

He was also the Mouth of Sauron in The Return of the King.

Vicki Lewis, who voices Deb and Flo, is best known for which sitcom?

She played Beth on the NBC show.

Alexander Gould, the original voice of Nemo, later starred as Shane Botwin on which series?

The role earned him two SAG Award nominations.

Andrew Stanton won two Best Animated Feature Oscars for Finding Nemo and which other film?

He also directed the live-action John Carter in 2012.

In which Massachusetts town was Andrew Stanton born?

He has since directed episodes of Stranger Things and Better Call Saul.

Thomas Newman is the son of a nine-time Oscar-winning composer with which first name?

Randy Newman is his cousin.

Besides a Saturn Award, which honour did Ellen DeGeneres win for voicing Dory?

She also won Favorite Voice at the Kids' Choice Awards.

What is Dory's motto, which DeGeneres has adopted as a life philosophy?

She cited it after ABC cancelled her sitcom Ellen.

Besides reading human writing, what unusual language skill does Dory have?

She uses it to talk to the whale that swallows them.

Whose 1959 recording made 'Beyond the Sea' famous, decades before Robbie Williams's cover?

It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

'Beyond the Sea' is the English version of which French song?

Charles Trenet's original was an ode to the sea, not a love song.

The real regal blue tang, Dory's species, belongs to which fish family?

It is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus.

By what other name is Amphiprion ocellaris, Marlin's real species, known?

Adults grow to about 11 centimetres, and females are larger than males.

Real clownfish mostly feed on what?

They live in groups led by a breeding female.

What real-life distinction does the Australian pelican, Nigel's species, hold?

It is a mostly white bird with black wings and a pink bill.

On a real anglerfish, what is the glowing tip of the lure called?

The illicium is the length of the modified fin ray.

Real cleaner shrimp like Jacques feed on what?

They also eat mucus around the wounds of injured fish.

Which naturalist first described the Moorish idol, Gill's species, in 1758?

It is the only living species in its family, Zanclidae.

The real Great Barrier Reef stretches for roughly how many kilometres?

It is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.

In what year was the Great Barrier Reef named a World Heritage Site?

It lies in the Coral Sea off Queensland.

The real EAC forms from which larger flow crossing the Coral Sea?

It is a warm, southward western boundary current.

Captain Nemo, the possible namesake, appears in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and which other Verne novel?

His submarine is the Nautilus.

Stanton cast Ellen DeGeneres as Dory after seeing her do what on an episode of Ellen?

Dory had originally been written as a male character before that sitcom moment changed his mind.

Besides visiting aquariums, where did Pixar's animators go diving to study fish movement?

They also sat through in-house lectures from an ichthyologist to make the swimming believable.

In 1997, what everyday outing made Stanton realise he was overprotecting his young son?

That missed father-son moment became the emotional core of Marlin's story.

Gerald, the pelican who chokes on Marlin and Dory, was originally written as whose friend?

The pair were meant to contrast neat, fastidious Nigel with scruffy Gerald, but the role was cut back to keep the pace.

Which production designer made pastel drawings to guide how every scene of Finding Nemo was lit?

The lighting crew itself was led by Sharon Calahan.