Finding Nemo 3D

Story

This is the 3D re-release of the original Finding Nemo. It opens with excited clownfish parents Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) and Coral (Elizabeth Perkins), who live on the Great Barrier Reef, doting over their first clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, their happiness is short-lived when a rampaging barracuda attacks with devastating consequences. Coral and all but one of the eggs are lost, and Marlin names the surviving egg Nemo.

When we next see Nemo (Alexander Gould) he is a young clownfish, very excited and eager about his first day at school. Disaster strikes when Nemo, defying his overprotective father, swims out into the open sea where he is captured by a diver. He ends up in a fish tank in the office of a dentist (Bill Hunter) overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Marlin is distraught. He teams up with a fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who suffers from short-term memory loss, but can work out Marlin’s only clue to Nemo’s whereabouts. Marlin and Dory set off to find and rescue Nemo and come across many dangers on the way.

Unaware that his father is searching for him, Nemo is befriended by an array of marine creatures living in the fish tank. They include a tough old tigerfish called Gill (Willem Dafoe), who helps Nemo plot his escape.

Themes

Death and loss of a family member; animal predatory behaviour

Violence

Finding Nemo contains cartoon action violence. The violence is often meant to be funny but could be scary for younger children, especially with the 3D effects. For example:

A scary-looking barracuda with long sharp teeth attacks Marlin and Coral. The barracuda knocks Marlin unconscious with its tail, then lunges at another target. When Marlin regains consciousness, Coral and all but one of their eggs are gone.
Dory has a nosebleed, which attracts a large shark. The shark attacks and tries to eat Marlin and Dory. The scene includes lots of images of snapping jaws. The shark chases Marlin and Dory through a wrecked submarine, crashing into doorways and trying to break through the submarine’s hull to get at Marlin and Dory. The two fish shove a torpedo into the shark’s mouth, and the shark spits it out. The torpedo floats into an underwater minefield and sets off a chain reaction of explosions.
While swimming in deep water, Marlin and Dory are attracted to a small glowing light. The light turns out to be a deep-water fish with a mouth full of large sharp teeth. The fish chases and snaps at them, swallowing Marlin. There is a comical image of Marlin inside the fish’s stomach before it spits him out.
In one intense and scary scene, Marlin and Dory are surrounded by thousands of poisonous jellyfish. Marlin makes it out safely, but Dory is stung and caught in a jellyfish’s tentacles. Marlin swims back to rescue him. Marlin gets stung many times while Dory is left unconscious. Dory recovers but has a wounded fin.

Sexual references

None of concern

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

None of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Product placement

There is no product placement of concern in the movie, but there is plenty of associated merchandise, including food products, on the market.

Coarse language

The movie has some minor name-calling and toilet humour, which younger children might copy.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Finding Nemo 3D is a re-release of an animated adventure comedy movie. Its target audience is children and their families. The movie features lots of movie stars doing the voiceovers and some clever humour. But the movie does have some upsetting scenes, including the death of Marlin’s wife and the destruction of their eggs. Younger children might find these scenes upsetting. They might also be sacred by the scenes with the predator fish. The scary scenes are more intense in this 3D version.

These are the main messages from this movie:

Although parents know they must eventually let their children grow up, they find it hard to let their children take risks and become independent.
Parental love can inspire parents to do amazing things.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the following:

Self-sacrifice: many characters in the movie risk their lives for the sake of others.
Self-confidence: Nemo shows a confidence in his own ability to succeed, and this helps him escape from the aquarium.
Friendship and selflessness: both Nemo and Marlin make friends with other characters, who help them in different ways.

You could also talk about the food chain in the ocean and the way predator creatures such as sharks behave.