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Makayla M. Paige
30 April 2018
Critical Analysis: Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo was released on May 30, 2003 and is generally known for teaching

children the lesson of obeying and cherishing their parents. However, by examining the Tank

Gang characters on a scientific level, it is evident that realistically most of the fish could not

actually live in the same tank without harming or killing one another. Many parallels exist

between the fish of the Tank Gang and traits, often discriminated against, in society such as race,

background and disabilities. Over half of the fish in the Tank Gang possess traits of their specie

that could harm the rest of the members; however, they persevere in deserting those dangerous

traits of their species and learn to coexist together in the fish tank. The fish tank in the dentist

office is each of their new home. Before living in the tank, they all came from very diverse

backgrounds but learned to cope with one another by performing rituals. Through their initial

experiences with one another and throughout the film, they learn to identify each other’s quirky

character traits which are actually disabilities. In Finding Nemo, Andrew Stanton intentionally

places a variety of saltwater fish into a single tank, known as the Tank Gang, aware that

realistically they could not live in the same tank due to their scientific origin; however, he

reached a deeper meaning that abandons scientific evidence in order for the fish to come together

for one common goal—to escape the tank. The parallels between the species of fish in relation to

race, where the fish came from in relation to background and the quirks of each fish in relation to

disability explain that no matter what race, background or disability they originate, it is vital that

everyone in a community abandons their prejudice in order to become accepting and open

minded inevitably making the Tang Gang unified which ultimately allows them to free
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themselves both physically and psychologically from the physical walls of the tank and the

phycological walls around their preexisting nature.

In the Tank Gang of Finding Nemo, Andrew Stanton placed a variety of characters into a

tank that would not all be compatible with one other, yet by abandoning their individual

scientific differences, they achieve their goal of escaping. Gurgle, a Royal Gramma, Peach, a

starfish, Bubbles, a Yellow Tang and Jacques, a cleaner shrimp, are peaceful fish that could all

live in a tank together without being problematic. A Porcupine Pufferfish, an Ocellaris

Clownfish, a Moorish Idol and a Three Striped Damselfish could not realistically live in the same

fish tank due to their unique, scientific characteristics. For example, a pufferfish could not

actually live in the same tank, especially not as small as the one in Finding Nemo because it’s

spikes are a poisonous defense mechanism. The movie over exaggerated Bloat’s capability to

expand in order to gain the young audience’s attention. The spikes would actually kill any fish

relatively close to him and stain the tank red with blood. No antidotes for the poison of the

pufferfish spikes exist which means his victims would ultimately die.

Nemo is an Ocellaris Clownfish which is a relatively small fish that holds an immense

amount of aggression. However, Nemo is not portrayed as an aggressive fish; he is genuine in his

innocent and childish behaviors. Realistically, Nemo would have actually been aggressive due to

two different factors. The first reason is because clownfish need a sea anemone to live in unless

he has another companion. The second reason is because he did not have a fellow clownfish in

the tank with him which ultimately would result in his aggressiveness. Due to a clownfish not

having one of the two options, he would become very hostile and could possibly die, not only

from depression but also because of the lacking nutrients from the anemone and a partner. Nemo

was not portrayed as hostile or aggressive in any way; however, the movie did get his depression
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correct. Nemo missed his father, like most children would, proving that fish and humans actually

have something in common.

Gill, a Moorish Idol originally from the ocean, is Nemo’s mentor in the tank due to the

special connection they share of being from the sea. Gill is a mellow character that, in some

ways, accurately displays the characteristics of a Moorish Idol. Moorish Idols are peaceful fish,

but once they are removed from the ocean, they can easily die due to the inability to adapt to a

tank. In the ocean, they swim in groups and have endless space to roam; however, due to being

enclosed and alone, Gill would have died in the movie. Finding Nemo did an accurate job of

portraying how a Moorish Idol would actually act. The biggest portion of the movie that was

scientifically wrong was placing Nemo and Bloat in the tank with Gill due to their erratic

behaviors.

The final fish in the tank that realistically would portray hostile behavior is Deb, the

Three Striped Damselfish. Three Striped Damselfish are very territorial unless there are multiple

of them in an area. Andrew Stanton, the writer and producer, must have been aware of this issue

because he added her sister, Flo, who is actually only her reflection. Evidence of Deb being

hostile towards Flo is seen when she says, “Don’t listen to anything my sister says; she’s nuts.”

Flo has a very bubbly and sincere character that nurtures Nemo. Three Striped Damselfish are

aggressive with fish that are much bigger, smaller or fragile. Nemo has a hurt fin in Finding

Nemo, so she would realistically have taken advantage of him in order to claim territory. The

complete opposite appears in the movie and she treats him as a nephew or little brother;

however, realistically she would not be as gentle with a clownfish or any other fish.

Inevitably, according the scientific analysis of each aggressive fish, they would not be

able to coexist in the same tank without bringing harm or death to one another. Essentially, the
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tank would be a ticking time bomb which is why it is so critical to recognize what an incredible

accomplishment it is for each fish to have abandoned their hereditary instincts in order to achieve

their one common goal. Bloat abandons the poison in his spikes when he puffs, Nemo abandons

his hostile temperament, Gill survives with the help and hope that Nemo gives him, and Deb

abandons her territorial and aggressive instincts in order to escape the captivity. Together,

although scientifically different, they work past their differences to help one another fulfill the

ultimate purpose—to escape. Through abandoning their scientific differences, they also abandon

their specie which parallels with the idea of abandoning the abstract idea of race in order to

become equal and cohesive.

The first parallel can be observed through each fish in the Tank Gang’s own unique

specie which correlates with the idea of race. Every fish is a different color, shape, size and in a

particular taxonomic rank. Race is a person’s color of skin, bone structure, and other physical

features that make up a human being. A specie is essentially the same idea in regard to fish—

their color, shape, size and taxonomic classification. Gurgle is a Royal Gramma, Bubbles is a

Yellow Tang, Peach is a starfish, Bloat is a pufferfish, Deb is a Three Striped Damselfish, Gill is

a Moorish Idol, Jacques is a cleaner shrimp and Nemo is an Ocellaris Clownfish. With all of

these different species in mind, they individually recognize one another as equals rather than

comparing and contrasting each other. Initially, Bloat’s actor’s voice depicted a heavy, African

American male; however, Bloat is actually played by a white American, Brad Garrett. The

deeper meaning of the different species can be found when correlated to race. The race of each

fish is based on what type of fish each member is. Ultimately, each fish abandons its own race,

or species, in order to escape the tank. An example can be seen through Bloat. He abandons the

poison within his spikes in order to prevent death or injury to his friends. The deeper meaning of
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Finding Nemo can be found through the parallel of species and races. The movie was made for

all ages, but specifically for a younger audience. The parallel between species and race teaches

that by abandoning prejudices of race, the community, which is represented through the tank, can

ultimately achieve any goal that is placed before it. It is evident that the subconscious of the

millennial generation that watched this film did in fact gain insights on the idea of acceptance

towards race. In the past fifteen years since Finding Nemo was released, the world has advanced

in the movement of equality due to the millennials that assisted the awareness towards racial

equality and even one’s background.

The second parallel displayed through the Tank Gang in Finding Nemo can be found by

examining the environment that each fish came from in relation to one’s background. When

Nemo is emerged into the tank, the rest of the community swarms around him in order to

welcome him and clarify where they each came from. Gurgle is from Pet Palace, Bubbles is from

Fish-O-Rama, Peach is from eBay, Bloat is from Bob’s Market, Deb was a mail order, Gill is

from the ocean, Jacques was a gift from the President of France and Nemo is from the ocean.

Originally, it seemed evident that Jacques, the cleaner shrimp from France, was actually a French

man; however, he is ironically played by a white, English-speaking American. Furthermore,

initial assumption should not be made in a community because everyone comes from a different

background. The only two fish that are from the same place are Gill and Nemo which is why

they have a unique connection. The parallel between the Tank Gang’s previous situations and

people’s backgrounds are connected and proven through two rituals performed. After Nemo

responds to the group and tells him where he is from, Gurgle panics and screams, “The ocean?”

Jacques, the cleaner shrimp, cleanses him of his ocean contamination. The second and last

initiation is swimming through the Ring of Fire. Nemo passes both, but through the series of
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rituals the deeper meaning seems to be the idea of equality and unity. Everyone genuinely

accepts where each person is from. Through acceptance, the young audience learns that it is

irrelevant where each fish came from. Although Nemo goes through initiation rituals, it seems to

be more of a gesture of equality rather than conformation to the groups standards. People place

an emphasis on knowing one another’s background, but Finding Nemo is teaching its audience

that even though every fish is from a different place, all of the fish are treating one another with

respect. The parallel between the fish’s prior environment to the tank and the background of

where people come from is to exemplify that no matter who surrounds a person, everyone is

equal and made it to the same point in life. During all of their lives, they have all accumulated

different quirky personality traits which are also accepted through equality.

The final parallel that is demonstrated in Finding Nemo is through the Tank Gang’s

individual quirky character traits with disability. Through closely examining each character’s

own unique personalities, it is evident that almost every fish in the Tank Gang has a form of

disability. Gurgle has an obsession with the tank’s cleanliness. An example of this can be seen

when Nemo first enters the tank and explains he is from the ocean. Gurgle panics and tells

Jacques to decontaminate him. When the tank is covered in green slime due to their plan of

escaping, Gurgle calls Bloat disgusting and says, “Don’t you guys realize we are swimming in

our own [feces].” According to his quirky characteristics, it is accurate to note that Gurgle is a

germaphobe and possesses Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Bubbles also has an extremely

eccentric character that is obsessed with bubbles. Based on his reaction to the treasure chest of

bubbles being opened and his stinginess over the bubbles, it seems that he has anxiety about

them and has Irrational Attachment Disorder. Bloat is constantly stressing out and blows up

because of situations he cannot control. He seems to possess Generalized Anxiety Disorder and
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possibly high blood pressure. Deb always talks to her sister who is actually her reflection. Deb

and Flo argue continuously, and Deb even calls Flo crazy. Due to her odd character, Deb seems

to have Dissociative Personality Disorder which essentially means that she has various

personalities. Gill is extremely quiet and has scars from trying to escape the tank. As noted,

Moorish Idols can realistically have depression and it seems that Gill’s meek character is due to

acquiring depression. Jacques decontaminates new fish into the Tank Gang and even when the

tank is purposely dirty, he still desires to clean. According to his pretentious character, it is

evident that he also has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. All of the fish in the Tank Gang

possess mental and emotional disabilities; however, Nemo possesses a physical one—his lucky

fin. Nemo’s deformed fin is his personal struggle throughout the entire film. At the beginning of

the film, it is the reason why Marlin does not want him to start school and it is also the reason

Nemo gets caught by the divers. Nemo was constantly trying to prove to his father that he was

capable of swimming with his disability and, while in the tank, Gill trusts him. Nemo is able to

overcome his disability and escape the tank with the help of Gill’s faith. By accepting one

another’s disabilities, they are able to come together as a whole Tank Gang and plan their escape,

further proving how vital it is to be unprejudiced and open minded.

In order to unify the Tank Gang, the members are capable of escaping their captivity by

abandoning their prejudices. Each member is born with scientific identities and each member

chooses to abandon them in order to fulfil the objective of escaping. Each fish in the Tank Gang

also abandons their individual race, background and disability to form one strong, unified

community. By abandoning all of their personal and abstract concepts, they each are escaping

from psychological walls that are present in communities. The psychological walls of scientific

identity, race, background and disabilities are invisible barriers that are inescapable without
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individual realization. The Tank Gang members individually recognized their invisible,

psychological walls and, through awareness of urgency, escaped the physical walls of the tank.

The psychological walls were each escaped individually and formed a community; furthermore,

the escape of the physical tank was fulfilled through the community that was formed through

their own individual escapes of the psychological walls. Through their unification, it allows them

to free themselves both physically and psychologically from the walls of the tank and the walls

around their preexisting nature. By overcoming each own individual prejudice against one

another, they managed to free themselves both physically and psychologically from the physical

walls of the tank and the psychological walls that are placed on everyone in a community full of

prejudice against race, background and disability.

By understanding each character’s scientific origin, Andrew Stanton is able to reach a

deeper meaning that is solidified through understanding the characters on a more reflective

platform. The facts behind each species of fish is used as further evidence as to why and how it

was so crucial for the fish of the Tank Gang to abandon their scientific traits in order to reach a

deeper meaning. Not only do they abandon their scientific backgrounds to restrain from

harassing one another, but they also abandon their prejudices which can be found through

different parallels. The parallels can be found between the species of fish in relation to race,

where the fish came from in relation to background and the quirks of each fish in relation to

disability. The parallels explain that no matter what race, background or disability they originate,

all of the fish in the Tank Gang abandon their personal prejudices against one another to

ultimately escape. The Tank Gang in Andrew Stanton’s Finding Nemo proves that by

overcoming each own individual prejudice against one another, they managed to free themselves

both physically and psychologically from the physical walls of the tank and the phycological
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walls that are placed on everyone in a world full of prejudice against race, background and

disability. The fish from the Tank Gang display multiple types of “species,” “environments” and

“quirks” of the fish to symbolize something deeper which not only shaped the fish in the movie,

but also the generation of children watching the film—the millennials. This can be proven by

examining the different cautions that millennials take when choosing words that could affect

someone’s race, background or disability. In 2003, it was not taken nearly as serious as it is

today to say an inappropriate word against a race or call a handicapped person “retarded.” In a

classroom of twenty-two students ranging in ages nineteen to twenty-one, every person raised

their hand when asked if they had seen Finding Nemo as an adolescent. Those same twenty-two

students also agreed that fifteen years ago, people did not take verbal usage nearly as serious as

millennials do today ultimately proving that somehow, Finding Nemo could have played a role in

our subconscious to raise awareness for the generation coming that race, backgrounds and

disability are irrelevant walls placed upon humans to separate one another based upon different

classes and standards. By closely analyzing other children movies, a pattern may be evident

among directors and producers implementing deep meanings that play a role in a child’s

subconscious ultimately reemerging later in life to help form a new generation.