Finding Nemo (Film) Critique 2/4

*****SPOILERS*****

 
Clever: Favourites
 
Many things reflect reality.

My favourite is when Dory tries out different ‘dialects’ of speaking whale. That leads her to saying, “Maybe he speaks humpback. Too much orca.” Humpbacks actively defend animals from orca so picking these two as a contrast was nice nod to reality.

The volcano in the tank creates bubbles and the tank gang refer to this as ‘the ring of fire’. Now, these fish live in Australia which is on the Ring of Fire, a volcanic range around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. So this was a clever acknowledgement.

Whenever the fish speed up, they wriggle their rear ends very quickly in place before darting very fast through the water. This perfectly mirrors the movements of fish in real life.

Before Nemo leaves for school, Marlin reminds him to brush (like many parents in America do). Nemo does so, but it’s his body against the anemone.
Mr Ray reminds his students to “Keep your ganglion to ourselves.” The ganglion (in this context) are nerves inside an animal’s front limbs the process sensory input. Hands process sensory input on humans and hands are on our front limbs. So Mr Ray basically told the kids to keep their hands to themselves!

Squirt gives Marlin and Dory a safety announcement. Marlin says, “It’s like he’s trying to speak to me, I know it!” People never understand safety announcements so it reflects reality, too.

Chum, when finding out Nemo was taken, says, “Humans. Think they own everything.” Anchor says, “Probably American.” The rest of the world does believe that America acts like they own everything. It’s funny for an American-made film to criticise America (usually, they do this to show how bad and untrustworthy a character is. But that’s not the case here). This extra layer of realism is rewarding.
 
Some things were iconic. I often use them in daily life, co-opting them for whatever suits my current situation. Clearly, these phrases have captivated me.

When meeting a teeny-tiny jellyfish, Dory says, “I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy.” This is my favourite line from the entire film.

The gulls saying, “Mine,” is entertaining. It’s their only word and it’s overbearing and persistent, just like gulls are.

Darla says, “I am a piranha. I live in the Amazon.” The rhythm with the separated syllables really captures the ear.

Dory calls Marlin, “Mr. Grumpy Gills.” The amount I’ve used this phrase in my life is surprising. There’s also, “Fish are friends, not food,” a sentence with less application but still useful.

 
Beating expectation was put to good use.

Bruce abducts Marlin and Dory so we expect them to be shark food. As Bruce ushers Marlin and Dory to the meeting, one shark says, “I’m starving.” So we’re extra sure they’ll be on the menu. This is emphasised by the screen zooming in on Anchor’s mouth, as well as Chum having a fish skeleton stuck in his teeth. But it turns out this wasn’t the intention at all! (Plus, having this they-won’t-be-eaten expectation, it thus makes Bruce’s attempt to eat them later a complete surprise.)

At the end, the tank gang finally escape the tank. However, they are floating on the ocean’s surface within fish bags. One asks, “Now what?” They were so desperate to be free and despite this they’re still stuck. It’s good that their plot has been concluded, rather than left to our imagination. One would expect their ending to have gone better because Marlin’s finding Nemo plot went well. This contrast was good.
 
 

Clever: Details
 
Word play is fun.

Coral says their area has ‘great schools’. This phrase from parents is obviously about educational facilities but a school is also a name for a group of fish.
Chum calls Marlin his chum. He means it as in ‘friend’ whilst Marlin thinks he means it as in ‘fish food’. 

The tank gang say ‘aye’ instead of ‘yes’. Aye is often used by people living/working on the sea, meaning the tank gang using it is a nice idea.

Crush says he’s just waxed his shell. Car washes use turtle wax.

The other dads expect Marlin to be funny because he’s a clownfish. Then Marlin mucks up a joke spectacularly. It’s good to defy stereotypes. Also, it was clever for the filmmakers to make note of Marlin’s species name, rather than either ignoring it or leaning into it too much.
 
A school of fish make a bunch of shapes, sometimes complete with moving parts.

One example is a ship, complete with someone walking the plank. They even make the shape of Marlin with a really grumpy face, moving the mouth as they moaned!

Also, Dory guesses ‘clam’ for an octopus, to which the fish say, “Close enough.” Clams and octopus are both molluscs so that’s accurate.

Shoaling fish follow each other’s movements in perfect organisation in the wild, so to see this natural behaviour co-opted for complex shapes in the film was a great decision.
 
Deb with her ‘sister’ Flo. It’s both funny and sad.

It makes some laughs. Deb says that Flo is nuts. Flo is Deb’s reflection, so clearly if anyone’s nuts, it’s Deb. When Deb tries to look out of the tank, she complains that Flo is in the way.

But it’s also gut-wrenching. For Deb to think Flo is her sister shows Deb’s mental instability. This is most likely the result of captivity-induced psychosis, yet the possibility of Deb having an actual twin called Flo (from whom Deb was separated when bought by Sherman) can’t be discounted. When the tank is dirtied up, the lack of reflections means Deb can’t find Flo, something that’s hard to watch.
 
P. Sherman takes Nemo from the wild as a present for Darla.

Such poaching can’t be legal. Yes, he framed it as a rescue. However, that would require paperwork and handing Nemo over to a legitimate rescue aquarium. Neither happened. After all, that way he wouldn’t be able to give Nemo as a gift to Darla. Also, no-one would look at Nemo and think he needs rescuing, meaning the rescue centre would have to report Sherman for poaching.

Sherman is a cheapskate because he wouldn’t pay for Darla’s gift. Although one would imagine the petrol money for his motorboat would cost more than buying one fish. Perhaps it was a friend’s boat. Perhaps it was the principle of not buying presents you know will be broken/killed, like Darla does with fish. But if that were the justification, why give Darla another fish in the first place? Why let her kill something again? Clearly, he has a soft-spot for Darla so giving her a fish that he didn’t buy satisfies all his feelings.

This definitely shows that Sherman is a cheapskate who doesn’t care how many fish die under Darla. Not only that but he disregards the legality of poaching in order to do what he wants.
 
Two other details are worthy of note.

The turtles pass Marlin’s story along. It’s told in a montage shared between different species. The dolphins can only speak above the water, meaning the conversation is constantly halted and restarted. Swordfish fence and complement each other as a sidenote during the storytelling. A lobster shares it as he’s walking along with a friend, saying hi to another friend as they walk on by before turning back to his walking companion and continuing with the story.

In the fishing net, Nemo has all the fish swim downwards to pull the net away from the humans. (The tank gang did this early to free Nemo from the dentist scooping Nemo out.) During this, Marlin and Dory sing, “Just keep swimming!” like Dory said much earlier in the film. So the film brings together all these separate things and combine them to be relevant once more.
 
 

Clever: Names
 
The names of the characters were planned really well.
 
A few names were directly linked to the characters.

Gill has slash-like scars across his body, mimicking the slash-like shape of gills in fish.

The pufferfish is called Bloat. Pufferfish expand their bodies, i.e. they bloat. So this name is appropriate.

The hammerhead is called Anchor. Some hammerheads have a slight curve, giving their heads the appearance of an anchor.

P. Sherman sounds like ‘fisherman’. Fish get fished from the sea by fisherman, just like how Sherman took Nemo from the sea.

Gurgle is a germaphobe. People gurgle to clean their mouths (hence getting rid of germs). Hence this name is a good fit.
 
Most of the names have watery themes.

Marlin and Dory are both named after fish species. However, these aren’t their own species, meaning their names aren’t too obvious whilst keeping to the watery theme. If humans can name themselves after other mammals, like ‘Bear’ or ‘Wolf’, or after plants like ‘Daisy’ or ‘Violet’, why shouldn’t fish name themselves after other fish species?

The names Deb and her ‘sister’ Flo are a pun on the phrase ‘ebb and flow’, describing the tides. Nemo’s mum Coral is named after coral reefs.

Bubbles are made of water. Gurgle and Squirt are actions that happen with water. Pearl is something from the sea. Shells also come from the sea, matching the name Sheldon. Chum is named after a food used to attract sharks.
 
The pelican was called Nigel.
            This name is usually said to mean ‘champion/hero’. Nigel is nowhere near status of main character so for him to be the hero or champion of the story is insane. However, he did save Marlin and Dory from the gulls, going very fast and risking his life to do so. Even if he isn’t the story’s hero, he still acts heroic.
        Another possible meaning of Nigel is ‘cloud’. Clouds are watery things in the air, something that equally applies to sea birds like pelicans.
            However, the consensus seems to be that Nigel was named that just because that’s just what the filmmakers wanted. Not everything has to have a deeper meaning.
 
Some names can’t be linked to water (the overall theme of names) but that’s okay.

Darla was named after a colleague of the filmmakers. She was a prankster. To seek retribution for Darla’s antics, they gave her name to an annoying, spoilt, obnoxious, murdering little girl in this film. (If you have a character named after you, a character like Darla isn’t the one you want!)

Peach’s name is in reference to her colour and rounded shape (Peach isn’t as pointy as most starfish). It’s not an inspiring name but it works.
Bruce is a great white shark. His name is in homage to the mechanical shark in Jaws.
 
Nemo, the main character, has an interesting choice of name.
            He is named after Captain Nemo, a famous literally character from ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea’. So, whilst Nemo isn’t a nautical name by nature, it is nautical by association.

The name is Latin for ‘no-one’. Nemo was damaged (and almost eaten) by the barracuda, meaning that he might not have been born, thus meaning he would be no-one. Marlin wouldn’t let anything happen to Nemo. He got to do little, meaning his life was empty and full of nothing: an empty life of nothingness makes people feel like they are nobody. Also, Marlin’s actions prevented Nemo was socialising and, if no-one knows or remembers him, that makes him a no-one, too.