''Finding Nemo'' is a CGI animated

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

that began with the 2003 film of the same name, produced by

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

and released by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

. The original film was followed by a

standalone sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, '' Finding Dory'', released in 2016. Both films were directed by

Andrew Stanton Andrew Ayers Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is best known as the director and co-writer of the Pixar animated films ''Finding Nemo'' (2003), ''WALL-E'' (2008), ''Finding Dory'' (2016), and the upcoming ''Toy Story 5 ...

. The film series received widespread critical acclaim from critics and audiences with two films released to-date, the series has grossed $1.9 billion worldwide.

Film series

''Finding Nemo'' (2003)

''Finding Nemo'' is the fifth

film. The film tells the story of a clownfish named Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould), who gets abducted from his home in the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

and winds up in a dentist’s office aquarium. His overprotective father Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), along with an amnesiac regal tang named Dory (voiced by

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...

), searches for him all the way to

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

. Along the way, Marlin learns to take risks and let little Nemo take care of himself.

''Finding Dory'' (2016)

''Finding Dory'' is the seventeenth

film. The film focuses on the amnesiac character Dory (voiced by

), who travels to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to find her long-lost parents, Jenny and Charlie, as well as exploring the idea of her being reunited with her family. It takes place one year after ''Finding Nemo'' and is set off the coast of Morro Bay, California.

Future films

Director

commented in June 2016 about the possibility of a third ''Finding'' film, stating: In May 2024, Pixar CCO

Pete Docter Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American filmmaker and animator, who has served as chief creative officer (CCO) of Pixar since 2018. He has directed the company's animated films ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Up (2009 film), Up'' ( ...

suggested that the studio was considering making a third installment in the ''Finding Nemo'' franchise. He stated "Where else have we not gone in the ocean? The ocean's a big place. I think there's a lot of opportunity there. We're kind of fishing around." In July 2024, while in the middle of her final tour entitled "Ellen's Last Stand...Up", DeGeneres answered in a Q&A session that her

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

special later that year would be her last act in show business. When asked if she would reprise the role of Dory again, DeGeneres responded "No, I’m going bye-bye, remember."

Short films

* Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau (2003): A short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. It features

Jean-Michel Cousteau Jean-Michel Cousteau (born 6 May 1938) is a French oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer. The first son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, he is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Céline Cousteau. Life and ca ...

, exploring the

, but Marlin, Dory, and Nemo keep interrupting him. The short film is included on the ''Finding Nemo'' DVD. * Marine Life Interviews (2016): A short film focusing on some of the supporting characters within '' Dory'' as they give brief interviews and thoughts on Dory herself. This is similar to the character interviews for ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

''. * Dory Finding (2021): Dory Finding shows Dory finding items from the surface in the coral reef. This short is part of the '' Pixar Popcorn'' series on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. * Field Trip (2024) This short of part of the '' Lego Pixar BrickToons series on

Reception

Box office performance

''Finding Nemo'' is the second highest-grossing film of 2003, behind '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. It was the highest-grossing Pixar film, up until 2010 when ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...

'' surpassed it. ''Finding Dory'' is the third-highest-grossing film of 2016, behind ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

'' and '' Rogue One''. ''Finding Nemo'' is the 10th highest-grossing animated franchise.

Critical and public response

Accolades

Both films received universal acclaim, with the first film winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was a financial blockbuster as it grossed over $921 million worldwide. It is the best-selling DVD of all time, with over 40 million copies sold as of 2006 and is the 2nd highest grossing G-rated movie of all time. In 2008, the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

named it the 10th greatest American Animated film ever made during their 10 Top 10. It also won the award for best Animated Film at the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards, the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, the

Online Film Critics Society Awards The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karten ...

, and the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Cast and characters

* Note: A grey cell indicates that the character didn't appear in the film.

Theme park attractions

* '' Crush's Coaster'' at

Walt Disney Studios Park Walt Disney Studios Park ( French: ''Parc Walt Disney Studios'') is the second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France. The park opened on 16 March 2002, and it is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company t ...

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...

. * '' Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage'' at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Experiences division and is home to two theme parks (Disneyland and Dis ...

. * '' Finding Nemo – The Musical'' at Disney's Animal Kingdom at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. * '' The Seas with Nemo & Friends'' at Epcot at

. * '' Turtle Talk with Crush'' at Epcot at

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The park is themed after Disney's interpretation of California ...

and

Tokyo DisneySea is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, just next to Tokyo. It opened on 4 September 2001, at a cost of 335 billion yen. The Oriental Land Company owns the park, and licenses intellectual prope ...

at Tokyo Disney Resort. * '' Nemo & Friends SeaRider'' at

at Tokyo Disney Resort.

Other media

Video games

''Finding Nemo''

''Finding Nemo'' was released in 2003 by THQ. The goal in the game is to complete different levels under the roles of film protagonists Nemo, Marlin or Dory. It includes cutscenes from the movie and each clip is based on a level. For example, Marlin and Dory hopping through a batch of jellyfish. The game received mixed reviews. It received 2/5 stars on

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

, 6.2/10 points on

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

and

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

gave it 7.0/10 and 6.0/10 on its PS2 and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

, and

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

platforms, respectively.

''Disney Friends''

In 2007,

Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and inter ...

released ''Disney Friends''. It is a video game based on various

films. The game features characters Stitch from '' Lilo & Stitch'', Dory from ''Finding Nemo'', Pooh from '' Winnie the Pooh'', and Simba from '' The Lion King''.

''Kinect: Disneyland Adventures''

''Kinect: Disneyland Adventures'' is a video game released in 2011 by Frontier Developments. The game is based in various

attractions. It was released on

Kinect Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...

for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

. Characters from ''Finding Nemo'' appear as part of a minigame based on Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

''Nemo's Reef''

''Nemo's Reef'' was a mobile game available from December 20, 2012 to June 30, 2017 by

Disney Mobile Disney Mobile is an American division of Disney Consumer Products, which is in itself a division of The Walt Disney Company, that designs mobile games and apps, content and services. History In August 2000, Disney Interactive, Walt Disney Interne ...

. The game is a casual reef building which features characters from ''Finding Nemo''. It was released on Android and iOS devices.

''Disney Infinity''

''Disney Infinity'' was a video game series developed by Avalanche Software that ran from 2013 to 2016. Elements from ''Finding Nemo'' appeared throughout all three games in the series, with power discs based on the film released for the first game, and a playset based on ''Finding Dory'' along with Dory and Nemo figures released for the console versions of ''Disney Infinity 3.0'' in June 2016. The aforementioned playset and figures were the last new content released for the series, which was cancelled by Disney in May 2016.

''Rush: A Disney•Pixar Adventure''

''Kinect Rush: A Disney•Pixar Adventure'' is a video game developed by

Asobo Studio Asobo Studio SAS is a French video game developer based in Bordeaux and founded in 2002. The studio is most known for developing video game adaptations of several Pixar movies, ''A Plague Tale: Innocence'', and the 2020 and 2024 versions of ''Mi ...

originally released in 2012 for Xbox 360. On October 31, 2017, a remastered release without the Kinect branding titled ''Rush: A Disney•Pixar Adventure'' was released for

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

10. The remastered version adds a world based on ''Finding Dory'' alongside the original release's worlds.

''Disney Magic Kingdoms''

During a limited time Event focused on the franchise, under the name "''Finding Marlin''", the world builder game ''Disney Magic Kingdoms'' included Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Crush, Squirt, Bruce and Hank as playable characters, along with the attractions Crush's Coaster, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Bailey and Destiny were also included as playable characters in a later update of the game. In the game the characters are involved in new storylines that serve as a continuation of the events in the films.

Stage musical

''Finding Nemo – The Musical'' is a 40-minute show (performed five times daily), which opened on January 24, 2007 at the Theater in the Wild at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. It is a musical adaption of the film with new songs written by Tony Award-winning Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez. It would "combine puppets, dancers, acrobats and animated backdrops".

Appearance on Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman

In the PBS KIDS Show ''Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman'', Crush the sea turtle appeared as a guest star in the Season 5 episode, "The Ol' Shell Game", voiced again by

Magazine

In August 2016,

Egmont Publishing The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...

launched a magazine, titled ''Finding Dory''.

Music

''Finding Nemo'' is the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

of the film of the same name. ''Finding Dory'' is the

of the film of the same name. The soundtracks were scored by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...

. The score was nominated for the

76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2003 in film, films of 2003 and took place on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood ...

for Best Original Score but lost against '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. It received 5/5 stars from the Film Score Reviews and 3.5/5 stars from Soundtrack.net.

Crew

Notes

References

{{portal bar, Film, Animation, Disney, United States Pixar franchises Film series introduced in 2003 Animated film series Recurring events established in 2003 Computer-animated films Children's film series