Finding Nemo

When Nemo, a curious young clownfish, is taken from the Great Barrier Reef and ends up in a dentist's aquarium in Sydney, his anxious father Marlin sets off to recover him. Along the way Marlin teams up with Dory, a friendly blue tang with short-term memory loss, and they encounter a string of oddball sea characters: a supportively reformed shark group, laid-back sea turtles riding currents, a jellied forest of stinging jellyfish, and a crafty cleaner fish plotting inside the aquarium. The story balances humor and peril as Marlin learns to loosen his grip while Nemo tries to escape and prove himself, all without spoiling how it ends. Nemo's curiosity and Marlin's protective instincts fuel the story, and surprising tenderness.

Released in 2003 by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Finding Nemo was directed by Andrew Stanton, with story by David Reynolds, Bob Peterson and Will Csaklos, and features voice performances by Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Alexander Gould.

At the Academy Awards the film won Best Animated Feature, and it was widely honored by critics groups and industry awards, with particular praise for its animation, Dory's vocal performance and accessible family storytelling, and received honors from critics polls, guilds and festival juries worldwide across multiple years and organizations.

Dory's line "Just keep swimming" entered popular culture, and the film's characters became ubiquitous in merchandise, theme parks and children's media. It also sparked wider interest in clownfish as pets, raising awareness and some concern about marine life and the aquarium trade, and inspired nostalgia among viewers worldwide for years.

Critics praised Finding Nemo for its inventive animation, well-timed humor and strong voice performances, reflected in its 7.817/10 user rating. The film centers on parental anxiety, resilience after loss, the value of trust and unexpected friendships, and balances scares with warmth so it appeals to children and adults alike worldwide.