15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Finding Nemo

One of the most beloved animated films of all time, Finding Nemo, is one of those films that almost everyone has seen and most people have seen it more than once. There are characters that are beloved and there are characters that no one likes and there are some characters that are totally forgotten. Even if you think you remember every line of Finding Nemo, you might be surprised to find that there are some things even you didn’t know about the movie. Sit back, relax, let us fill you in and then let us know what little factoid blew you away.

The Writer’s Took A Graduate Level Course In The Study Fish

In order to make sure that the fish in the film, actually looked and behaved like fish, the writers brought in a professor of ichthyology who reportedly gave 12 lectures.

Weird Ties To ‘Weeds’

Finding Nemo having ties to Bambi is one thing. The film having ties to Weeds, a television series about a family that sells marijuana is something else. Alexander Gould, who played Nemo, also played budding sociopath Shane Botwin. Albert Brooks, who played Nemo’s dad, played Shane’s grandfather throughout season 4 of Weeds.

The Film Was The First Summer Blockbuster For Pixar

Finding Nemo was the first in what has become a long line of summer blockbusters for Pixar. It also held the record for animated films revenue until Toy Story 3 came along.

Jaws Was Used As A Reference

Another way the writers got the film as realistic as possible was to watch movies like Jaws, The Abyss and A Perfect Storm in order to see how other filmmakers had dealt with stories based in and under the water.

Megan Mullally Was Almost Cast

Megan Mullally was originally a target of the film makers because they thought her squeaky voice as Karen on Will & Grace was her real voice. When she showed it wasn’t and didn’t really have a desire to use that voice again, she wasn’t hired.

Dory Was Written For Ellen Degeneres All Along

It’s not very often that a character is written with an actor in mind, and that actor then takes the role. It happened with Dory, who was written with Ellen Degeneres in mind and she took the spot.

The Lead Writer And Director Was Also A Voice Actor

Andrew Stanton was the voice of Crush the Sea Turtle. Despite making his name as the creator and director of films like Finding Nemo, he lent his voice to the projects often. Stanton was also the voice of Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2.

Albert Brooks Improvised A Lot Of Material

Albert Brooks didn’t love doing the voice work on the film because he couldn’t interact with his costars. That didn’t stop him from using his comedy chops to improvise a lot of material. Producers went on record as saying, “We didn’t want to interrupt his creative flow. He would just get these ideas and go again and again. He’s such a hard worker and very eager to please.“

The Hulk Was A Shark First

Eric Bana got his start as a comedic actor and that’s how he landed the role of Hammerhead, the shark. It wasn’t until later that he took on more dramatic roles, including Bruce Banner in one of the Hulk movies.

Squirt Was A Crew Member’s Son

Pixar staff Brad Bird played a recording of his son for Stanton and that’s how the young man got the job of Squirt. Stanton called the kid, Nicholas, the “Thumper of this generation.”

It Was Bambi Underwater

The producers of the film took a lot of the feel from the film from Bambi, another animated movie about an animal that had been separated from its parents. They actually felt it was Bambi underwater.

More Ties To Bambi

Alexander Gould also voiced Bambi in the straight to video film Bambi II.

Rendering The Movie Took A Long Time

Normally, rendering a single frame of Pixar’s work takes about six hours. That’s 1/24 of a second of screen time being rendered. Finding Nemo’s world was so complex, there were times where rendering a frame took as much as four days.

A Real Dentist Office Noise Was Used Once

In order to make the sound of the drill in the dentist’s office scene, a crew member actually recorded her visit to the dentist.

The Idea Came From A Dentist’s Office

Writer/director Andrew Stanton says that he got the idea from a fish tank at his dentist’s office when he was a child. He also said it came from a trip to six flags with his young child. He wanted to spend a fun time with his son, but kept telling him what not to do. That was the basis of Finding Nemo, a father who’s fear harms his relationship with his son.