Pixar does a great job at making classic family movies that everyone will love. One in particular is “Finding Nemo.” The 2003 film is portrayed to be a movie of the love between a father and his only son. The main character, a clownfish named Marlin, and his wife Coral, picked out the perfect life. They found a kid friendly neighborhood and a home with a view. Tragically, Coral and all of her eggs, except one, were eaten by a barracuda. Marlin becomes an overprotective father for his son, Nemo. Despite this, Nemo is soon captured by divers and brought back to a fish tank in a dentist’s office. Marlin goes to great lengths to rescue his son, and through his journey, he learns a lot about himself and life, too.
Pixar is very good at having subtle hints or hidden messages. This is seen in a multitude of their movies, such as all three “Toy Story” movies, “The Little Mermaid”, and “Finding Nemo.”. There are several different ways to look at and examine the storyline of “Finding Nemo”. The storyline of “Finding Nemo” may be the same to every viewer, but the takeaway and meaning could be interpreted differently. One common takeaway from “Finding Nemo” is that one cannot live in fear or else risk the chance of not living at all. What if the whole story, however, is just a figment of Marlin’s imagination?
When the barracuda attacks Marlin’s family and kills them, Marlin is put into shock. Marlin suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. What are the odds that only one egg survives the barracuda attack? Nemo is nothing more than a figment of Marlin’s imagination and is also a coping mechanism. When translated from Latin, Nemo mean “no one”. From this, the title would not be “Finding Nemo”, but instead translated to mean “Finding No One”. It’s not uncommon for an individual with PTSD to relive their trauma and to hold on to their memories. These memories also instill a sense of fear and uneasiness. Marlin is unable to let go of his wife and soon to be kids, and therefore he creates the idea of a son, who he names Nemo. Now this idea could seem to have a flaw due to the fact that Nemo lives in the dentist’s office and meets a handful of new characters. These scenes could be images of Marlin’s imagination. Movies such as “Fight Club” and “Black Swan” are key examples of this filming style. They both include scenes that the audience believes really happened, but are really just figments of the protagonist’s mind. “Fight Club” was released in 1999, and changed the way audiences approached the illusion between reality and onscreen. This movie introduced that a movie can exist inside a character’s mind and fantasy. The movie forced audiences to question what they saw onscreen at a new extent.
The fear of the unknown portrays Marlin to be an overprotective father. This can clearly be seen with how cautious Marlin is to leave the house and send Nemo off to school. Marlin has Nemo repeat the “Out, and back in” routine to leave their anemone. When they arrive at the meeting area with the other students, Marlin wants Nemo to play with the younger fish where it’s safer. Marlin also speaks with Nemo’s teacher, Mr. Ray, about Nemo’s handicap fin and to keep a close eye on him. Mr. Ray would then proceed to be another part of Marlin’s imagination. When Marlin discovers that the kids are going to the drop-off, he has the sudden urge to bring Nemo back to his safe arms and wait to go back to school. Marlin has a fear of the unknown. Marlin does not want his “son” to go off on his own because he cannot bear the idea of losing anyone else. With the idea that Nemo is Marlin’s coping mechanism, this leads to the common theme that marlin needs to let go. There is a common theme, or mood, of grief throughout the film. Marlin grieves the loss of his family for, what appears to be, years. He isolates himself from the world, and focus on his “son.” It is only when he receives advice and help from those around him is he able to let go of his grief.
The theme to let go can be seen when Marlin meets Crush, the sea turtle. He watches as the turtles let their kids swim free along the current. At one point, squirt, Crush’s son, falls out of the current. Marlin is troubled by this new form of parenting and leads him to ask, “How do you know when to let go?” Crush replies “You know when they know. Y’know?” Marlin is also challenged by his friend, Dory, to let go. At one point, Marlin and Dory are stuck in the belly of a whale. Dory believes that she speak whale and has come to the conclusion that they need to fall down the whale’s throat. Marlin has a hard time trusting her and fears that Dory will be wrong. Dory keeps yelling for marlin to let go and to trust her. Dory also teaches Marlin another valuable lesson, and that is to live each day in the moment. For a fish with memory loss, Dory treats everyday as new day with new adventures. Dory lives moment to moment and helps to teach Marlin to stop living in the past and to live in his current moment.
Towards the end of the movie, Marlin and Nemo are finally reunited only to be torn from each other again. In this scene, Nemo willingly goes to the fisherman’s net to help save the trapped fish. This scene teaches Marlin two valuable lessons, which are to trust others and to work as a team. Marlin has been isolated for years and gas not had anyone who he could trust or rely on. Part of this comes from his traumatic experience, and he’s afraid to lose someone else that he’s close with, so the result is that he distances himself. In this Marlin, watches how as the fish work together they are able to overcome their fears. Marlin realizes that he can do the same thing. With the help of Dory, and other friends, he is able to let go of his grief and his fear of being close to anyone. In a sense, Marlins past is ripped away from him, this is represented by Nemo going in to the net, and Marlin is forced to look towards the future and move on. In the final scene of the movie, Marlin hugs Nemo before he leaves for school. Nemo tells Marlin, “Uh, dad, you can let go now.” and Marline replies “Sorry! Now go have an adventure.” This is the scene where Marlin is finally able to let go of Nemo and of his past. He sees the opportunity to move on with the help of his new friendships.
Marlin has to practice letting go throughout the movie. He also has to practice facing his fear of the unknown and trusting those around him. In the final scene of the movie, Marlin hugsNemo before he leaves for school. Nemo tells Marlin “Uh, dad, you can let go now.” And Marlin replies “Sorry! Now go have an adventure.” This is the scene where marlins finally let’s go of Nemoand of the past. He sees the opportunity to move on with the help of his new friendships.
“Finding Nemo” is a unique movie with a twist. It can be a fun family movie with little thought, or it can be a deep thought provoking movie with subliminal messages. All in all, “Finding Nemo” is a good movie worth of at least four stars. It develops characters and relationships well. It is a movie of high quality and skill. It is a recommended movie and one that should be seen at some point in life.
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