Finding Nemo (2003)

“Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Winning 🐠”

Lets start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Trailer 🎥

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Non-Spoiler Review 🌊

Pixar in the early 2000s was untouchable, and Finding Nemo is one of their crown jewels. A heartfelt father–son adventure wrapped in dazzling underwater animation, it manages to be funny, touching, and terrifying all at once.

The film’s biggest strength is its balance: it’s a kids’ movie that never talks down to its audience. The Great Barrier Reef and the deep ocean are stunningly rendered, with animation that (even by today’s standards) feels alive. The voice acting is on point — Albert Brooks as the nervous dad Marlin, Ellen DeGeneres as the lovable but forgetful Dory, and Alexander Gould as Nemo bring so much personality to these fish.

The humor hits across all ages, the emotional beats land (that opening scene wrecks everyone), and the side characters — from the Tank Gang to Crush the surfer-dude turtle — are unforgettable. It’s a film about grief, overprotectiveness, friendship, and trust, and it handles all of that with surprising maturity.

Honestly, there are no real “cons” here — this is Pixar firing on all cylinders.

My Rating: 10/10


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Favorite Character 🐢

Crush the sea turtle. His “chill surfer dude” energy is the perfect comic relief, and the EAC (East Australian Current) sequence is one of the most joyful set pieces Pixar has ever done.


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Spoiler Warning 🚨🐠

Below are full spoilers for Finding Nemo!

Final Thoughts 🎬

Finding Nemo is Pixar perfection. It’s heartfelt without being saccharine, thrilling without losing its humor, and timeless in both story and animation. It’s not just a kids’ classic — it’s one of the greatest animated films ever made.

⭐ 10/10. Just keep swimming.


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Spoilers 🦈

The story begins with tragedy: Marlin loses his mate and nearly all their eggs in a barracuda attack. The only survivor is little Nemo, left with one damaged fin. This trauma shapes Marlin into an overprotective father.

On Nemo’s first day of school, he rebels against Marlin’s smothering and swims out to touch a boat — only to get scooped up by divers and taken to a dentist’s office in Sydney. From here, the film splits into two parallel stories: Marlin’s desperate search across the ocean with Dory (a forgetful fish who brings both comedy and unexpected wisdom), and Nemo’s efforts to escape the dentist’s fish tank with the help of the Tank Gang.

Marlin and Dory face trials that feel like ocean “levels” in a video game: run-ins with sharks in recovery (“Fish are friends, not food”), a pitch-black deep-sea chase with an anglerfish, jellyfish fields, and a terrifying encounter inside a whale. Meanwhile, Nemo proves his own bravery by clogging the dentist’s filter in hopes of freeing his tank mates.

The climax unites both arcs: Marlin reaches Sydney just as Nemo stages his final escape. The emotional payoff comes when Marlin finally trusts his son’s abilities. When Nemo plays dead to escape the dentist’s niece, and later risks his life to save a school of fish from a net, Marlin lets him go — and Nemo succeeds.

It’s a story about loss, fear, and learning to let go, wrapped in humor and adventure. The last scene — Marlin dropping Nemo off at school, finally at peace — is pure catharsis.